Sex Trafficking Research Paper

866 Words4 Pages

As fifty percent of the population, women represent half of the world’s potential in all fields of progress. Albeit, gender inequality still persists on a global scale, stagnating economic growth. Thus, unequal access to economic resources and education, as well as gender violence and trafficking are all factors which have shaped the world’s current social dynamics by stereotyping women as inferior. Lack of opportunities as well as biases within the workforce are the main difficulties obstructing women from contributing to the economy. In terms of education attainment, employed women exceed employed men among those 25 and over: 34.9 percent of men hold at least a bachelor’s degree compared to 37.1 percent of women (DOL 2011). Yet despite …show more content…

Whilst growing poverty makes women more vulnerable to labor and trafficking and boosts the supply of prostitution, increase in male customers boosts demand. This act of sexually and psychologically traumatizing victims plays a considerable role in the economy as a multibillion dollar industry. According to a 2014 report by the Urban Institute, it is proven that the economy sustained through sex trafficking is at an estimated $28 billion globally (Utley). The only way to destroy the cycle is to focus on cause of the problem which is currently shrouded in silence. Little research has been targeted at the potential male buyers as the root of trafficking and sexual exploitation, whilst even less attention has been focused on the penalization of male buyers and the question of their right to buy women for prostitution activities. Thus in order to mitigate the social, economic and psychological impacts of sex trafficking, more legislative measures should be called for. The Swedish Law, for example, focuses on the predatory actions of the consumers. Recognizing the correlation between prostitution and trafficking, the Law states: “Prostitution and trafficking in women are seen as harmful practices that cannot, and should not be separated; in order to effectively eliminate trafficking in women, concrete measures against prostitution must be put in place”