Human Trafficking

Introduction:                                                                            

      The reason was to choose human trafficking issue that it has gained importance not only in domestic issue but also it concerns international areas in terms of human rights violations and damages to human security. It means that, many poor and vulnerable people were forced to use as goods in low wage industry or illegal commerce but it is contrary to spirit of human rights basis. As known that, using human beings as only an income is very dishonorable for every people. Since, we are all free to a basic set of human rights despite of color, religion, age, social status, gender as stated in Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the article 2[1]. Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, color, religion, language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and indivisible.[2] That’s why; it is worthwhile to mention about the disruption of using human beings as seen a good and its relation with human rights violation individual security.

      I am going to cover definition of the trafficking problem, its background, ways of victim recognition, and Turkish struggle with human trafficking in order to solve this and what should be done in order to eradicate this problem.  Human trafficking is one of the gravest and most common human rights abuses today, it was a serious crime against humanity and it is highly interrelated with human rights corruption in international area, mistreatment of human such as exploited as workers in sex industry is a profitable way of make money for human traffickers, it cannot terminate unilaterally or it can not be prevented by each state because it impacts every continent and county in the world, it means that no matter how good national measures a state have, it is inevitable to get rid of this trafficking but it can be reduced with the assistance of governments, NGO’s, media, social workers, volunteers, there is a need for social change in every states.

1. Definition of Human Trafficking

      Firstly, it is beneficial to define what it is without referring to an exact definition of human trafficking from UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. Simply, human trafficking is not a modern world problem, it generates from throughout history. In past, masters forced poor people to work, there is always a need to low-wage workers in order to gain more profit, and it is a rule of private enterprise. Dominating over poor people and utilizing from its labor force had induced the slavery. I mean, vulnerable people are regarded as the property of others in past.            
      With the globalization, the understanding of slavery cannot eradicate, but it has transformed and has branched out such as human trafficking, human smuggling. Therefore, human trafficking is seen as modern-day slavery. Human trafficking includes every mistreatment to human beings such as deprivation of freedom of move, access to health care and even right to live.  Human trafficking is a worldwide phenomenon that refers to the illegal trade of human beings through abduction, the use or threat of force, deception, fraud or sale for the purposes of sexual exploitation or forced labor[3]. I think the statistic data would help to draw images in our mind about how it becomes a big deal throughout the world.  Each year according to United Nations, 700,000-900,000[4] people fall victim to trafficking across international borders, they are bought, sold, transported and held against their will. It is sadly to say most of the victims are women and children.   
     Human traffickers see the victims as a property and these crime organizations would abduct child or woman by giving sweet promises to their families. For example, in a village, a girl who lives in poor conditions can meet some people under hidden and fake identity; these people would give promises to the girl in order to arrange her marriage and live in better life conditions in other country. She would be happy to leave the situation of poverty. However, the conditions become worse, the dreams can not came true. Traffickers prohibit speaking to her parents. She is taken to a house and stayed with other brides (victims) and a lot of small children. Every day, she was forced to steal money and beg. They are deceived in the same way. These examples can be expanded:  her parents sell a young girl to work in the big cities like Thailand but she is forced into prostitution in Tokyo or a woman in Russia is promised to good job in France as a child care but it ends up in Germany as a brothel worker[5].
      Human trafficking damages a personal security. Human life is the uppermost, the supreme worth and human security is important as well.  Unfortunately, in our modern-day world human life is increasingly at risk. According to Ulrich Beck, he defines contemporary world as a risk-society.[6] Apparently, human security has become a very actual, important problem and it is at risk in terms of human trafficking.
It is known that, welfare or happiness cannot pursue with the human rights violation or violence.  Human rights promotion and human security should be the ultimate goal of a state in order to develop and reach other states that had already achieved human rights standards like Scandinavian countries. That’s why, human trafficking cannot assist a states’ progress, and in contrast, it causes big troubles within states and human trafficking easily spread to other states, this problem will be unable to solve and it will become mixed up if the governments turn blind eyes to human trafficking issue.

1. The Background and Triggering factors of Human Trafficking

      Freedoms and justice are unreachable dreams for individuals who are forced into serving others against their will and their life’s’ and security’s are at risk. Victims are trafficked for the purpose of exploitation; these are sweat dreams because freedom and justice are not guaranteed for them.  Governments often ignore victim’s needs and punish victims as criminals by deporting them.  Unfortunately, victims suffer from violations of human rights, threatening of human security and denials of basic rights. There some reasons to evoke human trafficking such as capitalism, globalization, gender discrimination, and these factors trigger the human trafficking.

A. Capitalism and Globalization

      Capitalism can promote human trafficking because it is a kind of trade to gain profits more. To compare with slavery, we know that slavery gave rise to capitalism. Capitalism today involves an extraordinary commodity of human beings. Kathleen Berry states that in the last 30 years, the rapidly growing human trafficking has been massively “industrialized” worldwide.[7] It means that, human traffickers force people to become slaves in many industries such as agriculture, mining, caring system, forced prostitution. They are tricked into commercial sex or sold to domestic servitude, agriculture, construction, big restaurants, manufacturing. This process of industrialization, in both its legal and its illegal forms, generates profits amounting to billions of dollars[8]. It has created a market of human trafficking in which many women and children have been converted into commodities.
       Moreover, high rates of population growth, the radical changing social and economic conditions oblige many people from rural areas to go urban centers but they don’t have any guarantee in terms of permanent job or security.  They do not realize what kind problems they can encounter in other countries.  They could apply an illegal agency in order to find a job but generally human traffickers deceive them by giving promises.
      Capitalism shows different ways to states by using many resources in order to compete other powers. Capitalism has not allowed many poor nations to develop self-sufficient economies. Also, it does not allow for normal distribution of wealth, it prevents global justice as well.  Instead, poor states have expected something from capitalist powers.  Therefore, people in poorer nations have become puppets in the global capitalist machines.
      Global criminal enterprises flourish global human trafficking.  According to the International Organization for Migration, networks of traffickers are increasingly exploiting women subjecting them to a modern form of a slavery in a dynamic that is linked to the globalization process and transformation of local economies[9].  It is quite rational, because globalization is a stretching of social, political, economic activities[10]. A human trafficking illegal organization can easily spread to another country, the communication and inquiry service among traffickers became very easy with the help of globalization.
    Globalization trends and radical changes of local economies have forced people to abandon traditional jobs and give a chance to meet the changing demands of a new and flourishing labor sector.  Countries that are undergoing with economic struggles, it leads to rise in unemployment. The rise of economic disparities causes that the society adapts new opportunities such as job seekers by employers operating outside the law[11]. It is one of the results of rapid economic, technological and social changes worldwide. Such rapid changes have created people’s vulnerability and, at the same time, expanded the opportunities for predators to exploit that vulnerability.
      B. Domestic Violence and Gender Discrimination
      Domestic violence can increase the vulnerability to trafficking.  Domestic violence consists of violation of human rights and it triggers the women to escape from home and to search place that make them would be free and happy. Because, domestic violence would eradicate an individual’s self-esteem, confidence and security, it urges to escape from any danger, risk in domestic life.
     The reason is that low economic conditions can lead to discriminatory and insulting treatment. A major percentage of trafficking victims experienced domestic violence earlier in life. Unfortunately, several countries have restricted legal security for women in cases of domestic and sexual violence or harassment.[12] Even in countries with laws against various forms of violence against women, including sex trafficking, the laws are often poorly enforced, with violators receiving minimal sentencing. So, it causes human trafficking in an undesirable rise.
    Gender discrimination is a global reality.  Women’s social security conditions were less than men even if they are more educated than men. Where girls are less valued than boys, families make less investment in the girls’ futures. Girls can be considered a financial burden to the family if they are not providing an additional income. Also, their families can sell them to rich men for marriage or another purposes. Limitations on girls’ access to education and information also increase their vulnerability.[13]  Extreme poverty produces the supply of victims, the demand for commercial sex and cheap labor create illegal sectors for victims.  That’s why most victims are comprises of women and children.  Gender discrimination would lead to more women trafficking than man trafficking. By failure to protect and promote women’s rights society create situations in which trafficking flourishes.
      To brief, people are vulnerable to human trafficking for a number of reasons such as poverty, unemployment, lack of education and professional opportunities, family problems, domestic violence, desire for a better life, gender discrimination. Women have more tendencies to believe human traffickers because they are not happy with their position, role in life. They have dreams such as getting a good job, having better life standards than before.

1. Way of recognition victims

I think it is useful to learn what kind of people they are in order to inform to assistance services. As I mentioned before, a person can become a victim of human trafficking by being promised a good job, education, marriage or sold by their parents, husbands or abducted by organized criminals.  Traffickers would exploit victims for commercial sex, pornography, forced labor in sweatshops, factory, mine, farm[14]. Organized criminals keep victims under control such as beating, raping them. Traffickers would isolate them by keeping them locked up. They don’t allow contacting anybody else; they take away victims’ ID cards, passports.[15] Trafficking victims have no access to means of communications such as phones.  They might force them to take illegal drugs and threat them and their families with death.
   Moreover, people can see everyday victims in the street but we used to ignore or look them with an evil eye. Undoubtedly, there is no single way to recognize a victim of trafficking.  They are escorted or guarded by traffickers[16].  Traffickers would cover a story about being students or tourists for each victim and victims oblige to tell lies.  Also, language difficulty is another problem. Victims are in struggle to contact another person in order to inform their difficult position. The solution of human trafficking is not easy but realizing someone who is in struggle and insecure, people would inform the assistance service as soon as possible.

1. UN’s Role on Prevention of Human Trafficking

    Every country in the world is affected by trafficking, whether as a country of origin, transit or destination for victims. Ban Ki-moon states that human trafficking injures, traumatizes and kills individuals. It devastates families and threatens global security; and it involves hateful practices including forced labor, torture, sexual exploitation and slavery like conditions. It means that human rights is fundamentally an attack on the dignity and integrity of the individual, it damages the human security.
    UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime), as guardian of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Protocols thereto, assists States in their efforts to implement Trafficking in Persons Protocol. The main international instrument was the fight against transnational organized crime. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, was adopted by General Assembly.  It entered into force on 25 December 2003[17]. It is the first global legally binding implement with an agreed definition on trafficking in persons. The intention behind this definition is to facilitate union in national approaches with regard to the establishment of domestic criminal offences that would support efficient international cooperation in investigating and prosecuting trafficking in person cases.[18] Shortly, the aim is to protect and assist the victims of trafficking in persons with full respect for their human rights.
    UNODC offers useful help to countries, not only helping to plan laws and create broad national anti-trafficking strategies. Also, assisting with resources to implement them. States receive assistance including the development of local capacity and expertise, as well as practical tools to encourage cross-border cooperation in investigations and prosecutions.[19]
      The adoption in 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women and Children marked a significant milestone in international efforts to stop the trade in people.  More than 110 States have signed and ratified the Protocol.[20]  But, converting it into reality remains problematical. Very few criminals are found guilty and most victims are probably never identified or assisted. Therefore, UN tries to assist every country that exposes to trade in human but it would not eradicate immediately, all states have to fight with human trafficking.

1. Turkey 

    Turkey has recently been facing a very important and destructive international problem, human trafficking. The recent political turmoil and clashes occurring in neighboring areas have pushed people into the country with the hope of a better life, security and protection from persecution. That’s why, Turkey becomes an essential destination country for persons trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and labor[21].  In other words, Turkey is the transit country for women and children predominately from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union trafficked primarily for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and, to a lesser degree, for the purpose of forced labor. According to Chris Morris, Turkey’s geographical position lends itself to this booming business. Its eastern borders are porous. Westward traffic arrives from the vast Asian landmass, which extends from China, through India and Iran. Turkey’s Aegean coast is just miles from the Greek islands, their lights flickering in the darkness. To the west is the European Union.[22]
      According to Armenian NGOs and the Government of Armenia, the trafficking of Armenian women to Turkey for the purpose of sexual exploitation continued to be a problem in 2008.[23]  Turkey constitutes a
 link between East and West.  Most victims are from Romania, Russia Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova and Morocco.  They want to come Turkey to earn money in order to support their families but after their arrivals they are tricked into by traffickers as giving promise wealth and promise, traffickers take their passports away and they are forced to work in the sex industry. Not only in sex industry, labor and child caring cases are also common.
      Turkey ratifies the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its Additional Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking Persons, Especially Women and Children; Turkey banned human trafficking since 2002[24].  Within the last year the government amended its criminal code to prohibit trafficking in persons. Forced labor is also illegal under the country’s constitution.  Also, Turkish Penal Code sets out the definition of human trafficking and the imprisonment for a term of 8 to 12 years[25]. While there have been no official anti-trafficking education campaigns Turkey’s response to this problem has been quite effective since 2002. However, combating human trafficking cannot be considered as a program that can be executed or implemented by one sector. It is a program that involves various sectors and agencies from the public, NGO and private sector at the national level.
      In Turkey, Human Resource Development Foundation (HRDF) is an important nonprofit, nongovernmental and independent organization based in Istanbul working on population and development fields with an emphasis in reproductive health as well as the empowerment of the human resource[26]. 
HRDF maintains relationship with the media to increase the awareness of the society on human trafficking issues and the situation in Turkey through interviews with the major media organizations.
The campaign also helps highlight the issue of human trafficking by featuring short films on Turkish, Russian and Moldavian TV channels. The short clips would promote the use of a toll free nationwide “157 Telephone Help line” established to help identify and rescue growing number of victims of human trafficking[27].
The success of the help line has already made its proof as more than 160 victims were rescued through calls received by the end of  2008.[28]
      Protection of victims are quite important because their future is not in their hands, they take refugee in government. That’s why any government should provide physical, psychological, social assistance.  Turkish The Ministry of Health provides free medical treatment to the victims and supply residence permits for the victims’ rehabilitation.

1. My thoughts as a Conclusion

    Human security and protection of human rights contemporarily has ignored by several states. They are concerned with internal and political issues. However, a state’s development would understand from how a state cares their each citizen.  It means that if a country is well developed its status of caring its citizens will be higher than developing countries. Therefore, a state’s welfare is quite important.  Human trafficking damages the human security. I think that, it is impossible to give equal right to every human in modern life but it is possible to provide equal security for each person.   However, states’ policy should give priority to human security. Since, the main contributors to human trafficking are governmental corruption, economic and social crisis within each nation’s borders. Human trafficking is an open sore and it seems to increase.  With the globalization, the gap between global justice and living conditions become bigger.  Third world countries condemn searching better opportunities to just survive.  They would come to developed states in order to make money but human traffickers trap them. Human traffickers sell innocent people to illegal, baleful services.  I think it is a transnational crime; we cannot blame one state for human trafficking. Yes, it is exactly a modern slavery trade.  Human traffickers treat naive people as means.  It is contrary to human rights soul. 

Trafficking in human beings is an extremely critical offence against the human being. Not only the process of establishing control over the liberty, freedom of movement and earning capacity of vulnerable people, but the ways in which such power is established then maintained, together result in serious violations of the physical and mental integrity of the victims. 

   Lastly, media should increase the awareness of society. The media can clarify the human trafficking problem by writing an article. It would be a powerful tool to social change. It not only educates public but also helps to see, understands this serious issue. It can help to identify traffickers and protect victims.  I think it is also morally correct to search details of trafficker and hide the victims from public in order not to look them with an evil eye.

• .A. Gallagher, ‘‘ Trafficking , Smuggling and Human Rights: Tricks and Teaties’’.  Forced Migration Review, Volum. 12 (2002) p.8.

• Againist Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe and Eastern Europe, ‘‘Human Resource Development Foundation’’ < http://www.ariadnet.net/partner.php?Id=26& >Access Date: 16.12.2009

• Asia Watch, Women’s Rights Project and ed. Dorothy Thomas,  A modern Form of Slavery: Trafficking of Women and Girls into Brothels in Thailand, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1994) p 10.

• Beck Ulrich,  Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity  (London: Sage, 1992) p.56.

• Chris Morris ‘‘Turkey Becomes Way Station for Human Trafficking’’ Christian Science Monitor; Volum.93 No:130 p 8.

• Dorchen Leidholdt, Claire M. Roche eds., Position Paper for the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women  (Rhode Island: CATW, 2001) p. 2.

• F. Luckhoo, Trafficking in the World Today: A Briefing, (London: CHANGE, 2003 ) p.16.

•  International Organization for Migration, ‘‘Counter Trafficking 157 Help Line’’ <http://www.countertrafficking.org/faq.html >, Access Date:15.11.2009.

• K. Kempadoo  and J. Doezema, Global Sex Workers. (New York : Routledge, 1998) p. 25.

• Kathleen Barry, The Prostitution of Sexuality  (New York: New York University Press, 1995) p 114-116.

• National Multicultural Institute, ‘‘What Human Trafficking& Slavery may look like?’’ <http://www.nmci.org/news/news_items/trafficking.html >, Access date: 12.12.2009.

• Sheila Jeffreys, ‘’Globalizing Sexual Exploitation: Sex Tourism and the Traffic in Women’’. Leisure Studies Volum.18 No.3 (1999) p. 179-186.
• U.S.Department of State, ‘‘Trafficking in Persons Report June 2009’’ <http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/123357.pdf  >, p.  286 Access Date: 10.11.2009.

• United Nations  Refugee Agency, ‘‘Combating Human Trafficking: Overview of UNCHR Anti-trafficking Activities in Europe’’< http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/43fd782d4.pdf>,  p.137 Access Date: 15.12.2009.

• United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘‘What are Human Rights’’, < http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx> Access date: 12.12.2009.

• United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, ‘‘UNODC on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’’,<http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?ref=menuside>

• United Nations, ‘‘Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons’’ <http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/protocoltraffic.htm> Access date: 16.11.2009.

• United Nations, ‘‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’’, <http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/> Access date: 25.11.2009.

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[1] United Nations, ‘‘The Universal Declaration of Human Rights’’, <http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/>, Access date: 25.11.2009.

[2] United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, ‘‘What are Human Rights’’, < http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Pages/WhatareHumanRights.aspx>, Access date: 12.12.2009
[3]United Nations, ‘‘Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons’’, http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/protocoltraffic.htm, Access date: 16.11.2009
[4] National Multicultural Institute, ‘‘What Human Trafficking& Slavery may look like?’’<http://www.nmci.org/news/news_items/trafficking.html >,Access date: 12.12.2009
[5]F. Luckhoo, Trafficking in the World Today: A Briefing, (London: CHANGE, 2003 ) p.16.
[6] Beck Ulrich,  Risk Society: Towards a New Modernity  (London: Sage, 1992) p.56.
[7] Kathleen Barry, The Prostitution of Sexuality  (New York: New York University Press, 1995) p 114-116.
[8] Dorchen Leidholdt, Claire M. Roche eds., Position Paper for the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women  (Rhode Island: CATW, 2001) p. 2.
[9] K. Kempadoo  and J. Doezema, Global Sex Workers. (New York : Routledge, 1998) p. 25.
[10] Kempadoo  23.
[11] Kempadoo 24.
[12] Asia Watch, Women’s Rights Project and eds., Dorothy Thomas,  A modern Form of Slavery: Trafficking of Women and Girls into Brothels in Thailand, (New York: Human Rights Watch, 1994) p 10.
[13] Asia Watch, p 12.
[14]Sheila Jeffreys, ‘’Globalizing Sexual Exploitation: Sex Tourism and the Traffic in Women’’. Leisure Studies Volum.18 No.3 (1999) p. 179-186.
[15]  Jeffreys 180.
[16] A. Gallagher, ‘‘ Trafficking , Smuggling and Human Rights: Tricks and Teaties’’.  Forced Migration Review, Volum. 12 (2002) p.8.
[17] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, ‘‘UNODC on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’’,<http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?ref=menuside>, Access date 12.12.2009.
[18] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, ‘‘UNODC on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’’,<http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?ref=menuside>, Access date 12.12.2009.
[19] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, ‘‘UNODC on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling’’,<http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/what-is-human-trafficking.html?ref=menuside>, Access date 12.12.2009.
[20] A. Gallagher, ‘‘ Trafficking , Smuggling and Human Rights: Tricks and Teaties’’.  Forced Migration Review, Volum. 12 (2002) p.6.
[21]Chris Morris ‘‘Turkey Becomes Way Station for Human Trafficking’’ Christian Science Monitor; Volum.93 No:130 p 8.
[22]Chris Morris ‘‘Turkey Becomes Way Station for Human Trafficking’’ Christian Science Monitor; Volum.93 No:130 p7.
[23] U.S.Department of State, ‘‘Trafficking in Persons Report June 2009’’
<http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/123357.pdf  >,  p.286 Access Date: 10.11.2009.
[24] United Nations  Refugee Agency, ‘‘Combating Human Trafficking: Overview of UNCHR Anti-trafficking Activities in Europe’’ < http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/pdfid/43fd782d4.pdf>,  p.137 Access Date: 15.12.2009
[25] United Nations  Refugee Agency, Combating Human Trafficking p.137
[26] Againist Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe and Eastern Europe, ‘‘Human Resource Development Foundation’’, < http://www.ariadnet.net/partner.php?Id=26& >, Access Date: 16.12.2009
[27]  International Organization for Migration, ‘‘Counter Trafficking 157 Help Line’’, <http://www.countertrafficking.org/faq.html >, Access Date:15.11.2009
[28]   International Organization for Migration