In the UK, instead of sympathizing with them, the authorities have been treating human trafficking victims like criminals. Human Trafficking has been a problem in the world for centuries and often the victims are not treated with the sympathy and concessions they should to people who have been through such a traumatic experience. Lady Helena Kennedy QC investigated and found that police and immigration authorities fail to see these victims as victims because they are often brought out of the industry through criminal offenses. Trafficked people are typically forced into the work they do and are often unpaid. The authorities often treat them as part of the problem and their needs are put to the side. Obviously, there is something wrong with this picture.
The human rights involved here are security of self and safety from violence. The UK has not been taking these rights into consideration when dealing with the victims. They have already had these rights violated, why hurt them more by treating them as if they did it of their own choice. Their security of self is violated in the process of trafficking and the safety from violence can be violated either by the people trafficking them or the authorities afterwards.
Human trafficking is one of those issues in the world that saddens me more than any other. It is hard for me to understand how people could do things like what is done to these people to other human beings. And then, to treat the victims like they are the problem is just horrible. These people have been traumatized and forced into labor. They did not immigrate on their own terms and yet they are treated as if they have and are automatically deported. These people need sympathy and help once they are brought out of this system of organized crime. It just seems like it is wrong to treat them as they do in UK, and in most other countries, after they have already had such a terrible experience.
What can be done to help the UK and other countries be more understanding of the plight of the victims of human trafficking? Are they part of the problem? Is the UK in the right?
I completely agree with your opinions. This issue is truly heart-wrenching and it is an issue the UK and other countries must take more seriously. I liked how you pointed out all of the human rights abuses going on here. I also want to mention that since most leaders of human trafficking oganizations get these poor women addicted to drugs in order to create a deopendency. Even if the women successfully escape, most eventually come back because they are so dependent on the drugs that were given to them. It is a horrible cycle. Most-if not all-women who are forced into trafficking are victims. Most governments turn the other cheek because they do not want to deal with it (because then they would be achnowledging the fact that it is a problem-which means they would have to deal with it). They most likely think that if they fail to realize the issue and simply ignore what is going on then they will not have to deal with combatting the issue. Majority of government regulations are geared towards pinpointing women as the criminals rather than the victims; and that is just plain sad. Governments which continually fail to address human trafficking are part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, this is something that happens all over the world, even here. And it honestly doesn't receive enough attention. These women are forced into slavery and are punished by their misfortunes. It happens here all the time with prostitutes being targeted and pimps being inadequately targeted. This happens all the time in the United States, where the little guys are targeted by police and the ring leaders, the ones causing the problems, are left alone. Its an incredibly sad injustice and is proof that our justice system is in need of reform.
ReplyDeleteIn cases like these, the structure is often so well concealed and protected that it is near impossible to pinpoint the ring leaders. They go through a great deal of trouble to make sure that their billion-dollar-a-year business stays running smoothly. It is true that the women are often addicted to drugs and then can be easily manipulated without much force into prostitution. The UK most likely has a hard time with this because, like in many other countries, prostitutes are not always a victim of human trafficking and it is difficult to prove if they are or not. Women who are prostituting themselves may claim that they are being trafficked to avoid getting in trouble and being deported, and this needs to be taken into account. This is a sticky situation :/
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