What Is the Social Problem?
Human trafficking is one of the most significant social and legal problems that affect people at an international level. The act involves recruiting, holding, and transporting people into exploitative situations through the use of coercion, violence, force, and violence amongst others. It is, therefore, modern slavery that puts human beings into an inhumane situation in a bid to profit financially. Some of the jobs that the victims of human trafficking are forced to engage in include prostitution, begging, working in sweatshops, and involuntary servitude. According to research by Polaris Project, an organization that aims at ending modern slavery, human trafficking is the third most significant criminal industry after drug dealing and arms sale. Di Nicola (2013) indicated that research has also proved that approximately 27 million people are victims of the exploitative practice with about 50% being under the age of 18. According to the US State Department, between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficked every year across the international border (Di Nicola, 2013). Human trafficking has several negative social consequences. The families and communities of those left behind suffer emotionally due to the loss of their loved ones. The victims are put in harsh, abusive, and violent conditions that in most cases leads to injuries, disease, and in some instances death. Women and children are special groups that are in an increased risk to suffer the social impact of human trafficking. Since women are mainly trafficked for prostitution, they are put at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS amongst other sexually transmitted infections. Children are denied the opportunity to advance their education thus increasing illiteracy and poverty in the society (Shelley, 2013).
What Is The Envisioned Change As It Relates To The Social Problem Of Human Trafficking?
Therefore, there is a need to stop human trafficking with immediate as it only destroys the society by denying people the opportunity to enjoy their rights. The world would look different if human trafficking were eradicated. People should note that human trafficking is a form of slavery. It is a gross violation of human rights and also puts the health of the people at risk. Therefore, the eradication of human trafficking will prevent the exploitation of human beings for the wrong reasons as life will be held in high dignity. Furthermore, social evils such as prostitution will reduce as the cartels will lack the people to deploy to such acts. Lee (2013) asserted that businesses such as sweatshops that have a record of benefiting from human trafficking would use legitimate means to earn their profits. The specific goals to achieve the desired change include implementing local programs that aim at enlightening people on human trafficking. Families should be empowered to prevent their direct involvement in human trafficking as a result of poverty.
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What Contextual Factors Influence This Social Problem?
The first contextual factor that explains human trafficking is the economic reasons. Many victims of this practice want to leave their homes to go and achieve economic emancipation and escape poverty in their areas of destination. As such, Lee (2013) asserted that the human traffickers have bait which they use as a basis to lure the victims. The second context can be provided by looking at the situation through the lenses of social and cultural conditions. Many societies, especially in the developing countries, mistreat and even devalue women. The women and girls are provided with limited opportunities that limit their progress. Therefore, this makes them vulnerable to acts such as human trafficking due to the insufficient investment put on their advancement. The functionalist theory best explains human trafficking as a social problem. The structural-functional illustrates the vulnerability of a group of people in the society and the function that human trafficking aims at achieving. When given a chance to acquire income, desperate individuals will tend to overlook the warning signs of the activity and thus unknowingly put themselves in a position of compromise.
What Is Needed To Achieve The Vision Of Change And Address The Identified Social Problem?
In achieving the vision for change as far as human trafficking is concerned, social reform will yield that desirable results in the long run. Every stakeholder must adopt a common ideology that will enable them to achieve specific goals. Social reforms will aim at tackling some of the factors that expose people to human trafficking including poverty and ignorance. In planning for social reforms, it is vital to consider the perspectives of those who might support or propose it as the most desired form of social change. Proponents will be urged to help in creating policies that will empower the society to detect and avoid cases of human trafficking. Opponents will need to understand that human trafficking is a convoluted matter that cannot end overnight. It requires a strong foundation, which in this case is social reform.
Suggested Strategies to Alleviate the Problem
The best way to tackle the issue of human trafficking is through social reform. Policies and laws must aim at creating movements that yield gradual changes in a positive way. Human trafficking has existed for many years, and due to its illegal and underground nature, it is difficult to finish it overnight. Social reform will aim at empowering people to resist the temptations of human trafficking and possibly detect the vice and report it to the relevant authorities. Through social reforms, people will learn how to identify the red flags or signs of trafficking hence enabling one to understand if a person is in a situation of trafficking or abuse. Examples of the signs include poor living conditions, the tendency of the employer to hold identity documents, lack of or meager pay, and prostitution amongst others. Social reform will also ensure that people become healthy consumers in that they take cognizance of the nature of their favorite products to assess if they use slavery in developing their brands (Shelley, 2013). Thirdly, people can utilize social media to create awareness of the crime. The strengths of social reform include that it involves every citizen and also aims at taking a holistic approach to solving a social problem. However, the disadvantage is that it is slow and might require a long time for any significant result to be realized.
References
Di Nicola, A. (2013). 3 Researching into human trafficking: Issues and problems. In Human trafficking (pp. 61-84). Willan.
Lee, M. (2013). 1 Introduction: Understanding human trafficking. In Human trafficking (pp. 13-37). Willan.
Shelley, L. (2013). 6 Human trafficking as a form of transnational crime. In Human trafficking (pp. 128-149). Willan.
