Jocelyn Cook
INTRODUCTION
Throughout the course of the semester we have spent extensive amounts of time entrenched in readings and lengthy, sometimes passionate, class discussions regarding globalization and its effects. Much of the readings focused on issues of political and economic ramifications of globalization and only briefly did readings and class discussions zone in on the domino effect of these larger issues. A continuing theme I have noticed throughout the semester has been the emphasis on the growing gap between the rich and the poor. Although globalization has brought with it opportunities for the poor worldwide, globalization has also increased the opportunities for criminal and scandalous individuals to prey upon the poor. As such, globalization can be a force of freedom as well as enslavement. We debated the consequences caused by the free flow of goods and services and cross border migration, yet we afforded little attention to the way globalization has substantially increased modern day slavery of human beings.
Inequality within and between countries today has reached a new magnitude. “Within the United States, the average income of the top 20 percent of families rose to 13 times the income earned by the bottom 20 percent by the late 1990’s” (Aguilar, 13). Moreover, the growing global gap has increased to astronomical proportions, and as Sachs noted, the “poorest nations are caught in a poverty trap. They are poor because they lack the basic necessities” (4). Because they lack basic necessities, they cannot develop infrastructure, they cannot compete, and they cannot develop their economic and political abilities. So, while some countries and populations thrive and benefit from globalization, the development of a notion that people are disposable is taking shape. Global interest in others’ issues thus appear to be rooted and grounded in only those issues which are beneficial to the country from whose lens we are looking through. This leaves those undeveloped populations open to victimization of the well-resourced and advantaged.
Along with growing cross-border trade and the increasing ability to travel freely throughout the world, globalization’s changes to the very structure of how people communicate, transact, travel, and assimilate, has paved the way for an increase in modern day slavery. I argue that women and children are among the biggest losers in globalization if we consider the massive increase in human trafficking. “Globalization has changed the definition of choice itself…For people from the Third World, or poor countries, globalization could very well mean that there are certain rules imposed by the World Trade Organization (WTO), or the World Bank which say that the public sector unit has to be closed down…And, because it is not efficient or productive to be in the place where she is, she becomes vulnerable to traffickers” (Kerr, 126). Human trafficking, and the resolution to view and treat human beings as goods and services, is a direct adverse effect of globalization.
DEFINING TERMS
Human Trafficking
According to the United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVP) of 2000,
human trafficking is defined as:
“a) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force,
fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an
act has not attained 18 years of age; or: b) the recruitment, harboring,
transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services,
through the use of force, fraud, or coercion or the purpose of subjection
to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery”
(International Labour Organization, ILO, 2).
Human Smuggling
Smuggling implies:
“a contractual relationship between those seeking to leave a country and
those acting as agents to assist their client with entry to another country.
Usually, the relationship ends once the migrants have arrived at their
destination and have paid their legal fees”
(Clark, 2).
GLOBALIZATION AND ITS AFFECTS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Throughout this essay, varying statistics and numbers will be presented with regard to the number of victims trafficked annually as well as the lucrativeness of the trafficking industry. As is plainly obvious, the numbers and statistics vary widely, suggesting how little governments and NGOs are focusing on this issue. “Estimating with any accuracy the number of victims of human trafficking is a daunting task, so much so that the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime sated that such a statistical goal may prove to be unachievable” (Jones, 108). The difficulty in accurately documenting the victims is a direct result of globalization, expanding global markets, increased technology, and a lack of reported trafficking instances to local officials. “Trafficking as a modern phenomenon was propelled onto the world stage in the 1990’s. Traffickers, taking advantage of transparent borders, broadband communication, and political and economic upheaval as well as mass migrations of people, have preyed on the vulnerable” (Clark, 2).
The International Labour Office (ILO) estimated in 2005 that 12.3 million people worldwide were working in forced labor, of which about 2.4 million had been trafficked, both locally and across borders. “The U.S. Department of State, which focuses only on cross-border trafficking, estimates that each year between 600,000 and 2 million people fall into the hands of traffickers, either for commercial sexual exploitation or for labor exploitation, and of those, 17,000 to 30,000 are trafficked into the United States” (ILO, 1). In a world of thriving economic disparity, “trafficking flourishes because it is lucrative, generating $7 – $10 billion a year” (Globalization101, 9), however, another estimate puts the gross annual profits of trafficking at $32 billion (Jones, 108). No matter the figures relied upon, it is evident that human trafficking is an established problem that is only growing in significance.
Increased economic globalization is creating economic polarity, forcing greater numbers of women to seek economic opportunities from a variety of resources. Based on my research, I have discovered that many women, and even children, look to newspaper ads, acquaintances, marriage agencies, labor recruiters, and modeling agencies in search of employment. They accept positions as nannies, maids, factory workers, waitresses, labor workers, and hostesses only to later discover they have become the newest victims of illegal and corrupt trafficking networks. Globalization has provided the access points between the recruiters and those being recruited through increased communication and information sharing.
According to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, every person has ‘inherent dignity’ and ‘freedom’. Moreover, according to article 4, “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude” and article 23 states that “everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favorable conditions of work” (Jones, 115), yet the downside of globalization is that not everyone has the luxury of being granted these rights. Though government officials would argue, globalization breaks the link between government oversight and control of their own workforce as national boundaries become increasingly transparent and overshadowed.
Numerous sources in my research proposed that globalization impacts trafficking with both “push” and “pull” factors, which can be paralleled to industrial supply and demand. In short, impoverishment in the supply country is a “push” factor and the spread of global culture is a “pull” factor. “People are ‘pushed’ out of poor countries where economic opportunity is lacking and ‘pulled’ into countries that have a higher level of economic prosperity with a corresponding demand for cheap labor” (Jones, 112).
TECHNOLOGY
Across the board, studies on globalization exemplify how improvements in technology further the phenomenon of globalization. And as is often the case, that which is intended for good is easily leveraged for evil. Technology in many respects has increased avenues of negotiations and allowed for easier access to human trafficking, citing sex industries and mail order brides as classical examples. Local sex industries have gone global. Traffickers and pimps no longer need to rely on the traditional routes into sex work, as women and girls can now be sold on the Internet. “Globalization has, in short, encouraged new routes and new methods to exploit women and children for profit” (Kerr, 125).
A simple Google search of “sex tourism” results in 347,000 queries in less than a second. Many appear to be articles and news briefs on the lucrative industry; however, with further investigation one can find entire websites dedicated sex travel. As an example, one such site, “Sly Traveler: Adult Travel Guide to Sex Tourism,” lists 8 different geographical areas divided by continent or region of the world. Specification and detail on exact countries and even cities is also provided. Searching through detail on specific countries produces typical travel guide information ranging from background, culture, climate, money matters, accommodations, sight seeing, safety, and the main attraction. Under “main attraction” one will find a plethora of information on massage parlors, brothels, and detailed descriptions of the “exotic beautiful young talent.” Each locale is ranked on the website’s own developed ranking system called the “Red Light Rating.” This rating system consists of: How sexy are they, How safe is it, How much can I get for my money, Can they please me, How many of them can I choose from (Sly Traveler).
OPEN BORDERS & LABOR
Not only has advances in technology further fueled the human trafficking trade and industry, but so has developments in transportation. “As globalization flourishes and trade progresses, increased mobility due to improved transportation networks and technology facilitate human trafficking faster and cheaper than in the past” (Globalization101, 9).
Many critics argue that the War on Terror has directed eyes away from the seemingly illusive industry of human trafficking, turning the focus instead to international borders and national security. What appears to be overlooked, is that the human trafficking networks are comprised of corrupt criminals who are infiltrating countries through open border policies leading to increased violations of women’s and children’s human rights on the coat tails of globalization. As the eyes of governmental organizations focus on the threats forming across the world, they miss the building human smuggling rings being developed in their own back yards.
Globalization has also led to a growing disparity within international labor standards as well. The disparity can be affirmed from various, independent reports of women and children across China and other Southeast Asian nations working in sweat shops and in-depth studies on international factory conditions and child labor employment restrictions. Labor has become transferable, driven by open border policies, free trade agreements, multi-national economic unions, and the growing black market of human transport.
Recent, unprecedented international economic expansion has only increased the abilities of labor to move across borders to fill legitimate shortfalls in resources in developing economies. However, these same structural drivers have created the opportunity for vast networks of illicit activity to leverage the capabilities being developed for legitimate use. The illegal transport of human capital is being built of the fundamental shifts in resource relocation created by globalization.
ECONOMICS
In many Third World and developing countries, women find providing for themselves or their families to be increasingly impossible through established, legitimate means. Globalization has a dual role in this paradigm shift, both forcing the hand of these individuals into illicit activities by shifting resources, mainly economic, to the developed world, while providing them the opportunities to engage in such activities through information and communication sharing. The “sex industry, previously considered marginal, has come to occupy a strategic and central position in the development of international capitalism” (Poulin, 1), one reason presented is because goods (women) are doubly valuable as their bodies are both a good and a service. As noted above, the sex industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and as such, trafficking proves to be a fruitful business.
The same economic factors that encourage trafficking also provide a fertile environment for bribery or collusion of police, military, and customs and immigration officials. The way in which this occurs is obvious as globalization shifts resources from the poorer nations to the developing and developed nations, the individuals left behind are lured by the offer of money and goods from the traffickers cause police, military, and customs and immigration officials to “turn a blind eye” to the illegal trafficking of individuals.
LEGISLATION
Tragically, the legal system structure is designed in such a way that should a trafficked individual be found, more often than not they will be arrested and charged as an illegal alien and possibly criminalized upon returning to their home country. “Traffickers are rarely convicted” (Clark, 3). One reason is the fact that, as stated above, with the evolution of globalization and the increased focus on border security, the victims of human trafficking are quickly deported or detained without the opportunity to testify against their perpetrator.
In 2002, the U.S. Attorney General created the “T” visa program for trafficking victims. The new visa allows victims to remain in the United States if they cooperate with the prosecution of the traffickers and if it is determined that being returned to their homeland would harm or endanger them. After three years on the visa, they are eligible to seek U.S. citizenship; however, research failed to show any instances where this “T” bill was actually applied since its creation.
Interestingly, through research I was able to discover that “some women may end up as victims of trafficking and exploitation through officially legal routes. For example, under U.S. law, foreign diplomats and employees of international agencies (such as the World Bank and United Nations) are permitted to bring in domestic workers under special A-3 and G-5 visa categories. The several thousand workers – mostly women – imported each year under these programs are supposed to be paid minimum wage and protected by U.S. labor laws. But because oversight is extremely lax, many of these domestics are forced to work long hours for little or no pay” (Kanics, 1). Exploiting these loopholes and oversight failures, traffickers have been able to increase their trade. Globalization has led to some regulations and implementation of some laws addressing the growing trafficking issue, although clearly official focus and follow-trough is lacking.
Public awareness and education is extremely lax addressing the effects of globalization on increasing human trafficking, specifically by the U.S. Government. The State Department and the United States Information Agency has funded public-awareness campaigns and conferences abroad to warn high-risk groups and the general public of the methods used by traffickers. These initiatives however, appear to be hastily planned and lack in appropriate execution. One example, a brochure distributed through U.S. Consulates abroad to visa seekers, provides the National Domestic Violence hotline number to call if foreigners find themselves trafficked or otherwise abused in the United States. The hotline staff have confirmed they have not received training in how to handle calls about trafficking (Kanics, 2).
SPECIFIC CASES
MOLDOVA
“Widespread deprivation in Moldova and other parts of post-Soviet Eastern European has created golden opportunities for organized criminal gangs involved in the illegal sexual trafficking of women and children. Traffickers turn up in a rural community during a drought or before a harvest, when food is scarce, and persuade poor couples to sell their daughters for small amounts of money. Other girls are kidnapped from their homes and orphanages, while many destitute women are lured to foreign lands by assurances of work, income, and visas, only to find themselves forced into prostitution and slave labor” (Lee).
THAILAND
“Trafficking is a 500 billion Bahts (124 million U.S. Dollar) annual industry. The tourist industry brings four billion dollars a year to Thailand. It is not without reason, then, that in 1987 the Thai government promoted sexual tourism through advertising ‘The one fruit of Thailand more delicious than durian (a local fruit), its young women’” (Poulin, 1).
UNICEF estimates child prostitution exploits 200,000 – 300,000 children in Thailand. “Every year, nearly a quarter million women and children of Southeast Asia (Burma, Yunnan province in China, Los and Cambodia) are bought in Thailand, a transit country, for a price varying between $6,000 and $10,000 U.S. Dollars. On their arrival in Japan, Thai women have a debt of $25,000 U.S. Dollars that the bought women have to work for years to pay off ‘expenses’ incurred by the pimps. In Thailand, with 5.1 million sexual tourists a year, 450,000 local customers buy sex every day” (Poulin, 3).
CANADA
“In Canada, the intermediaries pay $8,000 for a young Asiatic from the Philippines, Thailand or Malaysia whom they resell for $15,000 to a pimp” (Poulin, 3).
BANGLADESHI
“Over ten years, 200,000 Bangladeshi women and girls were objects of trafficking to Pakistan” (Poulin, 1).
WESTERN EUROPE
“In Western Europe, the current price of a European woman from the former
‘socialist’ countries is between $15,000 and $30,000 U.S. Dollars” (Poulin, 3).
CONCLUSION
Globalization is changing the make up of the world, creating a paradigm shift. It is changing politics, laws, and the economic distribution of the world, creating new, and often times detrimental, issues. Human trafficking depends on chronic economic depression, desperate women seeking brighter futures. It also relies on the continued existence of individuals that view human trafficking as a legitimate industry, with minimal penalties if caught dehumanizing individuals through the trade of women and children. Human trafficking for the sex trade industry will continue so long as legislation is lax, and those trafficking narcotics and arms risk higher penalties and attract greater scrutiny than those trafficking humans.
The lack of regulatory focus on human trafficking can be exemplified by a man who had forced Russian and Ukrainian women to work as prostitutes at his massage parlor in Bethesda, Maryland. He was merely fined after a plea bargain stipulated that he could not run a future business in Montgomery County (Nikolic-Ristanovic). If he had sold heroin, rather than women, he would almost certainly have received a much tougher sentence. “Peddling narcotics pales in comparison to the money made on women because once a drug is sold, it's gone, a brothel owner told the Canadian magazine Macleans, ‘but a girl can be sold over and over before she collapses, goes mad, commits suicide, or dies of disease’" (Lee).
“It is worth remembering that in the nineteenth century many people argued that slavery would end ‘naturally’ once the practice was no longer economically profitable. But historians now agree that slavery remained extremely profitable until the day it was abolished, such an end was unlikely to ever come” (Kapstein). Globalization is changing the world. As the world dynamics are transformed, governments, NGOs, and other policing institutions sit idle as human rights atrocities across the globe continue, turning a blind eye to focus on agenda items of more “relevance” or greater benefit to their own country.
Globalization has a dual role in human trafficking. First, it creates economic disparities and incentives. The disparities drive those affected to search out new ways to satisfy their most basic needs, specifically providing for their families. The incentives motivate the criminal elements to leverage the structural changes globalization is affecting. Second, globalization is tearing down barriers through information and communication sharing, granting easier access for illicit behavior to criminals.
At a strategic policy level, the issue of reinventing globalization, human trafficking, sexual exploitation, and economic disparities needs to be addressed. “We need to push governments to look seriously at the strategic impact of trafficking and sexual exploitation in terms of its cost: the loss of productivity of nations and individuals” (Kerr, 131). Increased awareness does not change poor countries into rich ones, nor will education and stronger legislation topple the human trafficking industry overnight. However, it can play an important role in identifying problems and searching for solutions. At the core, governments are failing to address the root of the trafficking problem.
“This human stain is not just a minor blot on the rich tapestry of international commerce. It is a product of the same political, technological, and economical forces that have fueled globalization” (Kapstein). Globalization has become an issue of considerable prominence, but the illegal human rights atrocities associated with it have not.
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