Slavery still exists; it's modern term is known as human trafficking. According to the Polaris Project over 20.9 million people are victims of human trafficking. These 20.9 million people are estimated to be a part of $150 billion dollar industry, and it is showing no signs of stopping soon. One of the major policy questions that needs to be handled by elected officials is that of human trafficking.
One of the major policy proposals from the Department of Health and Human services is to label human trafficking as a public health issue. This lens informs who intervenes and engages in the fight against human trafficking. Victim services do not meet the needs alone, eradication cannot come when the issue is only being dealt with after it has happened. This can be done by asking victims to come forward with their experiences, and the trends that they have experienced. This will help to inform policy makers and will help them to make decisions and policies that will lead to better enforcement then policies which target every individual who cross the US border.
The next major benefit would be that this framework recognizes the social and economic determinants of health, which may lead to the moment when human trafficking occurs. This also allows for a spectrum to exist, which causes a more human approach to the issue. We do not treat prostate cancer the same as we do skin, why do we do this with human trafficking?
I agree with your approach to the human trafficking issue Ben. I think if people raise awareness of the health implications that accompany human trafficking. Like the readings depict, people that are trafficked usually begin to use drugs, are exhausted and have little rest, not to mention being beaten both physically and sexually. I think approaching it with a human/ health security aspect could be an effective approach because I think people would not really understand the severity of modern slavery unless they understand the adverse health effects.
ReplyDeleteBen I like that you thought of this in a different lens. Human trafficking is an extreme issue that we are facing in today's day in age, yet there is relatively little being done to combat it. Although I would hate to reframe the problem and take away from it, I do think that it is important to realize that this might be a way to get more attention to the problem.
ReplyDeleteBen, I like your perspective on the issue. I think it is a great idea however, victim services and victim insight is extremely difficult to come by. Victims, particularly those of crimes sexual in nature choose not to come forward for fear of retaliation of the offender(s) and it is entirely difficult to engage with the criminal justice system in the US in addition to having to relive the crime all over again publicly.
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