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Sex Trafficking And Gender Inequality

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Sex trafficking is an issue that frequently occurs around the world. However, despite how prominent this issue is, currently there are not many solutions to fix it. The solutions that currently exist focus on these issues as an individual problem. Sex trafficking is not an issue that stems from an individual level, but rather is an unforeseen consequence of globalization that furthers gender inequalities because of denied economic opportunities and the increased exposure to violence.
Globalization creates populations that become vulnerable to sex trafficking around the world. In order to truly understand the causes of sex trafficking, one must look at the larger issues at hand rather than trying to blame an individual or small group of people. …show more content…
The male dominated aspect of this industry causes gender inequality, it gives males the position to be in power and control women. This gender inequality can be seen as a form of sexual terrorism in the sense that victim blaming and indiscriminate violence is present (Scheffield, 2007). According to Franco, the lack of knowledge surrounding trafficking makes the victims “hard to detect”. Therefore, they seem to be prostitutes and are punished as if they are (Franco, 2015). The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that seventy six percent of trafficking victims were female, and of the seventy six percent, twenty seven percent were children (Franco, 2015). However, these figures are understandably incorrect because of the unfortunate hidden nature of these crimes. Therefore, theoretically, these figures have the potential to be much higher. Because a large percentage of the victims are females, one can assume that a large percentage of the buyers are male. In turn, making the men the ones demanding these situations and placing them in a position of power. Because males demand these encounters, “pimps” supply them. Therefore, making it a commodity trade in a supply-and-demand market. “If no one demanded the purchase of female bodies for sex, pimps would not supply them” (Hunt, …show more content…
However, the laws that have been implemented to date are not significant enough to make a noticeable positive difference. More laws and policies can and need to be implemented, but they need to go far beyond the application phase. Specific protocol, promotion, and follow up on the effectiveness of the new laws and policies should also be a major focus. For example, prostitution is often criminalized in many countries, many women find themselves with felony convictions in which hinder them from bettering their lives in ways like getting a job, housing, etc. Either new laws need to be created to decriminalize these types of acts or changes need to be made. New York began giving post conviction relief options for certain prostitution offenses (Bernard, 2014). However, not many eligible participants are aware of this option. In order to make this effective, it needs to be promoted. Normal promotions may not be the best option in this situation. Instead, promotion to attorneys, both in the public and private sector. This would allow them to notify their clients that this is an option and give them the means to implement the benefits. However, the normal means of promotions should still be implemented for those who are representing themselves. On the large scale, Franco believes that the solutions lie within the intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations. By expanding

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