Throughout life, experiences slowly sketch the framework that determines who one truly is. Whether for better or worse, those crucial and defining moments designate how the future unfolds for so many. It becomes an absolute travesty when countless young women around the world find themselves subjected to the horrors of human sex trafficking.
There are significant considerations to be made on a subject area, often overlooked or deemed too vexing to delve deeply into. Human sex trafficking continues to be a prevalent issue throughout the 21st century. In a time where more people are concerned about the announcement of the next iPhone than the state of humanity around the world, many should consider it appropriate to stop and take concern with how the survivors of human trafficking are being taken care of, both in our own backyard and on a global scale.
While many of today’s societies have fully embraced the empowerment of women, this seemingly fundamental consideration of women being independent, capable, and equal hasn’t received the notoriety it deserves in the 21st century. Despite exhibiting the strength and determination necessary to endure through their hardships, the survivors of human sex trafficking are often seen as broken members of their society, rejected solely on the basis of widely held stigmas. These perceptions arise from individuals that don’t fully understand the complex subject area. No one deserves to have their support systems suddenly ripped away because of circumstances out of their control, especially not the young, strong women that have undergone more than most do in their lifetime.
The Polaris Project found that the majority of young women affected are girls, no older than 12, which are systematically acquired, transported, and exploited by inhuman organizations. Not only do these girls experience immense suffering, but once they outlive their “usefulness,” they are either killed or discarded and left to their own devices. With more than 44 percent of human sex-trafficking survivors being under the age of 17, this rampant dehumanizing issue leaves its young survivors deprived of a childhood and on their own to recover from such a debilitating nightmare.
There are too many circumstances that leave survivors unsure of their fate and not enough adequate solutions for survivors to turn to. While some make their way to homeless shelters, those who attempt to return home are turned away by their own families, unwilling to accept their daughters back after what they were forced to experience. Regardless of their situation, these young women undeniably undergo a lifetime of anguish because of the cruelty of others, and more needs to be done to guarantee that these women are properly taken care of.
Currently there are various human sex-trafficking coalitions focusing primarily on deterring and combating the spread of sex trafficking. While preventative tactics are imperative for cessation of human sex trafficking, there is an overwhelming need for a prevalent and widely accessible method for women to acquire necessary aid, a definitive way to ensure that they are properly cared for after their mistreatment from humanity.
The United States Administration for Children and Families had previously initiated a policy that authorizes the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to certify foreign victims of a severe form of trafficking in persons, making these individuals eligible for federally funded benefits and services to the same extent as refugees. While this is leaps and bounds in the right direction, across the world there are combinations of laws and definitions which detrimentally limit the extent of their usefulness by not specifically implementing more policies and programs to protect and assist survivors in their own countries.
In order to resolve these devastatingly misconstrued perceptions and give survivors the fighting chance they deserve, an elaborate and globally supported system needs to be implemented, which would rely on localized communities’ support and awareness. The further establishment of additional organizations advocating for survivors of human sex trafficking on a governmental level would positively impact the lives of the countless young women in a more specified manner. By addressing the unique needs of each country, organizations would be able to take these women off the streets and give them the comforts and opportunities that aren’t presently afforded. This increased emphasis on efforts of recovery and integration back into society, instead of harboring dehumanizing misconceptions about survivors of human sex trafficking, is necessary to begin to give back the lives that were abruptly taken.
Ultimately, the implementation of these policies would result in the manifestation of encouragement and hope. Enacted upon the existing moral imperatives of humanity, and transcending every culture around the globe, these women would once again to be able to envision a brighter tomorrow.
