Providing Solutions for Human Trafficking as the
Result of Globalisation
In his TED talk, Goldin
mentions a number of problems that have resulted from rapid globalisation,
among them the collapse in biodiversity, climate change, financial crisis and
inequality (2009). In this essay, I would like to discuss human trafficking as
one of the results of globalisation, mainly in Southeast Asia.
Human trafficking is defined as
the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harbouring, or receiving
persons for the purpose of exploitation, by using or threatening force,
coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, or abuse of power against them, or by
giving or receiving payment for the benefit to those who control them. Human trafficking is usually for the purpose of
forced labor, sexual slavery or exploitation for the trafficker or others, or
removal of organs or tissues. Human trafficking can occur both nationally and
internationally, hence , human trafficking is said as a transnational crime (UNODC,
2011). Human trafficking is a crime against the person because it violates the
victim’s rights of movement.
In Southeast Asia, for example,
in Cambodia, Indonesia, and Thailand, the case of human trafficking reported is
about 10,000 cases during 2007-2010. It is actually hard to determine the
accurate number of cases as some cases may not be reported and others may not
be known yet. I believe that human trafficking is a very serious and complex
issue. The huge numbers of human trafficking cases in Southeast Asia are mainly
because people are poor and desperately need job or money. It is whether being
tricked into human trafficking or being the one who tricked the other. Sadly,
there has not been any clear and direct solution yet to this problem. "Nobody has been able
to convincingly demonstrate the scale of the problem, let alone come up with
clear ways of how to address it," Sverre Molland, a lecturer at the
Australian National University in Canberra who specializes in human trafficking
once told (2013). That being said, numerous efforts have been made by
governments and non-profit organizations.
The various efforts that have been made can be divided into 4 categories;
prevention, protection, prosecution, and reintegration. Prevention can be made
by raising the awareness of human trafficking through campaign and talk about
the trafficker’s methods and where the victims should seek for help. Protection,
mainly by the police, prosecutors, and judges, is needed to guarantee the
victims’ safety and privacy. Human trafficking victims are very vulnerable. They
are often troubled by their documentation and even worse, being judged as the
criminal because they are classified as illegal workers. Prosecution can be
made with the cooperation among countries and international law enforcement
agencies. International criminal
organizations are usually the mastermind behind human trafficking. Thus, it is
harder to detect and resolve human trafficking. There should be a system that
supports the victims and punish the traffickers quickly. For reintegration,
government and non-profit organizations provide supports such as counselling,
shelters, training in education or vocation, job placement, financial assistance,
etc. to help the victim being welcomed and ready in community or society.
Those efforts seem nice and effective to combat human trafficking.
However, as I said before, the clear solution for human trafficking has not
been found yet. It is because in reality, the execution meets a lot of
problems. First, for prevention, there has been an increase in awareness of
human trafficking as there has been an increase in report of human trafficking
cases, showing that people has been more aware of human trafficking and know
where to ask for help. In terms of talks to prevent human trafficking, it can
be more effective by giving talks to people who are more prone to human
trafficking. But the main problem here is that people who are more prone to
human trafficking are usually uneducated or not educated enough to really
understand how human trafficking works. For protection and prosecution, justice
is very important. But, in practice, this is very hard because Southeast Asia consists
mostly of developing country that still unstable in economics and politics. The
practice of corruptions, bribes, and manipulations cannot be avoided.
Reintegration is also facing its own problem because the support services are
very limited and sometimes, the victims are ashamed for being a victim of human
trafficking, makes it harder for them to be back to society.
In my opinion, although it takes a long time and is indirect, I think the
most important thing that governments and non-profit organizations can do is to
improve the quality and equity of education. Education is very important to
instil morals and ethics, also, to overcome poorness. It will take a long time
but if governments, organizations, and we work together, I believe one day we
can get over human trafficking.
Goldin, I. (2009). Navigating Our
Global Future. Retrieved from
http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/en/ian_goldin_navigating_our_global_future.html
Humantrafficking.org (2012). Approaches to Combat Trafficking. Retrieved from
http://www.humantrafficking.org/content/combat_trafficking
Irin News (2013). Analysis :
Southeast Asis’s Human Trafficking Conundrum. Retrieved on 6 May 2013 from
http://www.irinnews.org/fr/report/97979/analysis-southeast-asia-s-human-trafficking-conundrum
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes. (2013). Human Trafficking. Retrieved from
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/