If we are going to talk about sex trafficking, we must talk about human trafficking as the overall issue. Human trafficking is extremely difficult to define, let alone trying to find a solution for it. No one leaves a paper trail behind, which makes it hard to document the actual cases and amount of people being taken. In order to understand human trafficking we must understand what the victims go through. We need to understand the definition of a sex slave and what they do, and specifically why they are labeled as that. The overall question then is should human trafficking be considered a security problem? To that I would answer yes.
Human trafficking presents a lot of security issue. Some of these we discussed during class. One of them is ontological security. The victims are forced out of their homes and raped. These are issues that take away from a persons character and makes them question who they are. There sense of home and comfort is ripped away. Another form of security is human security. They are pushed into forced labor, sex, taken away of their rights, and their health is at risk. Lastly, it is a form of national security. It can add to public health, illegal immigration and lots of border control issues.
Human trafficking should be a security issue, because it is a human security issue which leads to national security. We cannot jump to national security without protecting its foundation, which is human security. We need to secure the citizens of a nation in all aspects, in order to focus on national issues. However, there are many arguments against why human trafficking shouldn't be looked at as a security issue. One of those issues is that human trafficking is a long term problem. Where when people look at security, they think immediate solutions. However, in order to properly tackle this problem, we must look at immediate solutions that can be taken in order to start combating it. We must start somewhere. Another argument against it, is that is people don't think its serious enough. Yet, how can we not look at the trafficking and forcing people into sex slave as not a serious issue? We are talking about an individuals life taken away from them. If we were all to put ourselves in that individuals shoes, we would then possibly look at it as a security issue. However, we shouldn't wait that long. Human trafficking shouldn't be an issue that falls by the waist line. It needs to be front and center. The only way we will effectively combat it, is if we acknowledge the problem for what is. We must stop turing a blind eye to it.
I agree that human trafficking needs to be looked at as a security issue, and more specifically as a human security issue. Trafficking is a problem on so many different levels and it makes it even more difficult to create policies due to the lack of data on the subject. Do you think the state or an international organization is best equipped to create a plan of action to prevent human trafficking? What should this plan include (economic aid to trafficked people, counseling, more intense research/data collection, etc.)?
ReplyDeleteI think an international organization would be more equipped in creating a plan. The state has a lot that they already focus on, which is why they have left human trafficking on the side line. I think the first step in this plan is trying to figure out a way to collect more data on the number of people being trafficked. Where they are being trafficked, by who? These are questions that must be answered in order to move forward. Counseling and aid are great, but that won't do anything, unless we get to the start of the issue.
DeleteI think that human trafficking is a human security threat as well and I agree, it does not receive enough attention. Many people don't even know that it's happening. You wrote that we must look at immediate solutions, what types of immediate solutions do you think are possible and would be effective?
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