Section 6: Human Trafficking in Modern World
6.1 Impacts on Economy (With help from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research)
Human trafficking is a widespread issue. Between of 2015 and 2016, reports of human trafficking increased by a stunning rate of 36.7% (26,727 reports in 2016 alone). Moreover, sex trafficking represented a majority of 73.3% of all cases referred to the National Hotline in 2016.
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The industry’s continual prosperity heavily depends on its potential profit, and its nature to exploit a mass of resources and income with a limited and minimum startup cost (in terms of money and person). The International Labor Organization estimated that human trafficking globally generates $150 billion per year--- $99 billion from sex trafficking and $51 billion from labor trafficking. Once the victims fall into the trap of the industry, traffickers will have complete control over their victims, and will endlessly exploit their victims through force, fraud, and coercion--- and often for their lifetime. The U.S. the Department of Justice estimated that between 14,500 and 17,500 individuals were trafficked into the United States in 2004. However, with the climbing number of traffickers, buyers backed by the support of the modern internet, the numbers now will be far worse than what was predicted over a decade ago.
From the victim’s standpoint, their pursuit in economic activities are greatly limited. Even when the victims are rescued, the effects of trafficking last through their whole lives. Victims of sex and labor trafficking may experience severe psychological horror or mental illness due to the inhumane practices traffickers employed to keep the victims fearful, such as physical abuse, brainwashing, and threats to life. This made it especially difficult for the victims to find stable jobs and decrease their chance of employment.
6.2 Trafficking in Popular Culture (Rosemary Li):
Sex trafficking is especially normalized in the hip pop and popular music industry, as many famous singers have sang about it in their music. It’s infiltrated in our daily life and often influencing our judgements and values.
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It is indeed shocking to see that the winner of “Best Original Song” in the 2006 Oscars, Three 6 Mafia’s “Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” glorifies sex trafficking in its lyrics. Take a look at this verse of the lyrics: “Wait I got a snow bunny, and a black girl too. You pay the right price and they’ll both do you. That’s the way the game goes, gotta keep it strictly pimpin’. Gotta keep my hustle tight, makin’ change off these women.” Despite the fact that its lyrics suggests how sexual exploitation of women brings huge profits to pimps, it won an Academy Award and clearly demonstrates how the public is desensitized to the detrimental nature of sex trafficking. To some degree, the song even encourages it, as it only mentions the benefits but not the trauma experienced by the victims of sex trafficking. Because of its popularity and perceived endorsement by the broader entertainment industry, the song reinforces the message that sex trafficking is acceptable and causes more individuals to ignore the severity of this issue in our society today. Especially when a huge portion of the group's audience are teenagers, whose perceptions of trafficking and other issues are shaped by the popular culture that surround them, glorification of sex trafficking has to be stopped.
However, it is not just hip pop music that normalizes sex trafficking. Influential singers and bands, such as Queen and Donna Summer, also normalize it. In “Bad Girl” by Donna Summer, she sings “Hey mister, have you got a dime? Mister, do you want to spend some time. I got what you want, you got what I need. I’ll be your baby, come spend it on me.” The lyrics pictures sexual exploitation as harmless and beneficial to both the victim and the person receiving service. In other words, it falsely portrays and sugarcoats the immoral and brutal industry to be something opposite. Also, in “Killer Queen” by Queen, the lyrics “She’s a Killer Queen...Recommended at the price” indicates how the victims have been “recommended” to the customers by the pimp and were able to make money easily off of it. These lyrics lead many people, specifically teenagers, to falsely believe that sex trafficking is not a serious issue because the victims are receiving financial profits. Only the “benefits” of sex trafficking and never the actual devastating effects are discussed in these songs, which causes the public to turn a blind eye toward this serious issue.
With sex trafficking being a common, normalized topic in the music industry, the public is unaware of the extent of harm sex trafficking has brought to its victims. Because many famous singers and groups have glorified sex trafficking in their music, the severity of this issue is rarely brought to light.