Human beings are social by nature meaning that they have to interact from time to time in the process of relating and sharing information. As such, there is a significant likelihood that their interactions may have either beneficial or adverse effect. What determines the kind of results these interactions will have is an inherent set of unwritten code of conduct. This system of conduct determines which is right or wrong, good or bad, moral or immoral, acceptable or unacceptable. However, human beings have free will meaning that they can choose to stick or not to adhere to this code. Consequently, these people engage in some practices such as human trafficking, gambling, and mass incarceration among others which fall below the ethical expectation. Some of the scholars have over time developed some ethical theories as well as perspectives be able to understand why people choose to stick or go against what is believed to be moral, right, right and acceptable behavior. Notable classical ethical theories include deontology, virtue ethics, and utilitarianism while perspectives on ethical issues include relativism, emotivism, and ethical egoism. Human trafficking as an ethical issue reveals various aspects of the classical theories as well as ethical perspectives.
Human Trafficking As an Ethical Issue
Industrial growth and development which has been witnessed in many parts of the world have created vast employment gaps in various economic sectors. Most of this economic growth, however, is felt in developed countries as opposed to developing or third world countries. The developed nations wanting to get these employment gaps usually import cheap labor from developing countries to reduce costs. Additionally, cartels taking advantage of such opportunities lure unsuspecting individuals from third world countries to apply for such employment opportunities. According to Ross et al. (2015), these individuals are driven by poverty and a desire to make it big in the developed countries the people accept these offers in their thousands not knowing what lies ahead. With the emergence of social media, the job offers are usually presented in such a way that one cannot resist them. Efforts by countries to reduce the rates of human trafficking are futile as the cartels take on social media as the preferred platform to lure unsuspecting and vulnerable people.
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On arrival to the employment station, these people realize that they have been duped since they end up getting the dirty jobs. More so these workers are turned into slaves where they are locked up at the master's residences with little freedom to move out. Worse still most of these foreign workers are turned into sexual slaves to serve the unending sexual desires of their domineering masters. According to ILO (2017), the number of people who are enslaved is more than 24 million with over 8 million of them working in coerced labor or sexual exploitation. These enslaved individuals are subjected to hard tasks which force them to wake very early in the morning and sleep late into the night. The masters also go ahead to cut any link they may have had with their families and countries of origin by taking away their telephones, passports, and memorabilia (ILO, 2013). Additionally, the foreign workers are denied several freedoms including their right of worship and are in turn forced to subscribe to the religion of their masters. Consequently, these employees are reduced to animals with no rights, privileges or fundamental human freedoms which is made worse by constant beating and issuance of threats
Application of Ethical Theories to Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is an ethical issue as it goes against the communities expectations. Selling humans into slavery against their own will or subjecting to inhumane treatment by denying them their fundamental rights is socially unacceptable. The increased human trafficking has caught the attention of ethically conscious individuals who feel that this should be stopped with immediate effect.
Utilitarianism and Human Trafficking
Utilitarianism theory as an ethical theory usually judges the morality, rightness or acceptability of action depending on its consequences. More so according to this theory, an action is ethical if it tends to benefit a large group of people (Mosser, 2013). If an act though deemed wrong by others ends up working for the greater good, then that action should continue. As such, some individuals feel that human trafficking is beneficial to some extent for the victims, their families and their nations of destinations. The reason for this is the fact that they offer cheap labor thus cutting down the costs of production which in turn increases profitability and economic growth. According to Smith (2014), human trafficking is a booming business which generates more than $ 31 billion annually. Going by this figure the perpetrators can argue that it is a reliable business which should be sustained in spite of the harm it causes in the process. The increased economic growth then means that poverty levels in these nations and those of the victims will go down significantly. Additionally, the relatives, friends, and communities of such individuals can live a better life one they could not have managed were it not for the employment opportunity. As such human trafficking is justified since it is a means to the desired end only for the few.
Deontology and Human Trafficking
The other theory which will be focused on regarding human trafficking is deontology. According to Mosser (2013), this classical ethical theory state judges whether an action is moral or ethical depending on the reasons that contribute to that effect. More so deontology call for individuals to have a moral obligation or duty when it comes to dealing with fellow human beings and treats them with dignity. Following this human trafficking goes against this theory as the victims are usually unaware of what awaits them. Most of them are hopeful of improving their lives once they get the promised lucrative positions. However, the perpetrators of human trafficking typically turn to be liars who sell them into slavery or sexual exploitation. As such, their dignity is tossed around as they are forced to endure tough life which does not befit humans. Additionally, the victims of human trafficking end up losing their individuality and freedom in the cruel hands of their masters.
Virtue Ethics and Human Trafficking
Virtue ethics usually focus on the ideals of human character: a virtuous person is a person exhibiting acceptable behavior which includes treating others well (Hursthouse & Pettigrove, 2016). Perpetrators of human trafficking go against the acceptable ideals as they bring immense suffering to the victims of human trafficking, their families, and friends. The slave traders benefit from huge profits while overworking and enslaving their employees as well as subjecting them to inhumane treatment without their consent
Human Trafficking Ethical Perspectives
Human trafficking is a major ethical issue affecting millions of individuals across the globe. Various ethical perspectives can be applied to analyze this problem further and get more profound insights.
Ethical Egoism and Human Trafficking
Human trafficking can be analyzed from an ethical egoism perspective. According to Mosser (2013), ethical egoism perspective points out that one should make ethical evaluations based on humans’ goals, objectives or desire. As such action or practice is deemed as ethical if it benefits an individual and unethical if it does not help an individual but instead becomes a hindrance. Human trafficking is immoral in this case as it does not benefit the victims but rather hinders them from exploiting their potential. Additionally, when these individuals are exposed to exploitation, it means that they have no control of their destinies and choices. In contrast, it benefits the perpetrators who live better lives but at what cost? Once the law enforcement catches up with them, they are likely to suffer a great deal too for breaching the constitutional rights of the victims.
Relativism and Human Trafficking
Relativism is an ethical perspective that nothing is right or wrong at least in an objective manner. According to Mosser (2013), the rightness or wrongness of an action is dependent on the widespread view of a culture, an individual or the historical era. What this means is that while a move may be right for a particular person, culture or in a period, the same action may be wrong to another person, culture or a period in history. Human trafficking, therefore, is unethical to some while it is ethical to others depending on their preferences. In the slave trade era, human smuggling was acceptable as it was a means of achieving industrial revolution (Harley, 2013). However, in the current age, human trafficking is shunned upon, and many organizations and governments are doing everything possible to see to it that human trafficking comes to an end
In conclusion, human smuggling which involves recruiting and moving people against their will through coercion or deception is an ethical issue. As such it sparks ethical debates as to whether it is moral or not. In addressing its morality various ethical theories and perspectives can be used. Some of these approaches and perspectives include utilitarianism, deontology, virtue ethics, relativism and ethical egoism among others. In analyzing this ethical issue, one comes to realize that they are people who feel that human trafficking is moral as it is a means to the desired end but only for the perpetrators. On the other hand for the victims who are the majority, it does more harm than good. Being turned into slavery with limited or no freedoms and rights goes against what is deemed right and moral in the society. It is essential for the concerned authorities to take steps to ensure that human trafficking does not shake up the societal fabric and bring more harm than good.
References
Harley, C. K. (2013). Slavery, the British Atlantic economy, and the industrial revolution. The University of Oxford . Retrieved on 13 January 2018 from https://www.economics.ox.ac.uk/materials/papers/12739/harley113.pdf.
International Labor Organization. (2013). Domestic workers across the world: Global and regional statistics and the extent of legal protection. Retrieved on 13 January 2018 from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---dgreports/---dcomm/---publ/documents/publication/wcms_173363.pdf.
International Labor Organization. (2017). Global estimates of modern slavery: Forced labor and forced marriage . Retrieved on 13 January 2018 from http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/@dgreports/@dcomm/documents/publication/wcms_575479.pdf.
Hursthouse, R. & Pettigrove, G. (2016). Virtue ethics. Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy . Retrieved on 13 January 15, 2018, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/.
Mosser, K. (2013). Ethics and social Responsibility , (2nd Ed.) [Electronic version]. Retrieved on 13 January 2018 from https://content.ashford.edu/.
Ross, C. et al. (2015). Human trafficking and health: A cross-sectional survey of NHS professionals’ contact with victims of human trafficking. BMJ Open, 5(8)
Smith, R. (2014). Selling Lives Seeking a Unified Solution to Human Trafficking. Policy & Practice, 72(6): 5.
