Event Highlights Need to Look at Human Trafficking on a Larger Scale

Opinion – The MSU Exponent

As co-sponsors of the March 1 event, “Lost Human: Trafficking in Our Own Backyard,” I wouldlike to thank the panel participants; particularly the two incredibly brave survivors who spokeout against this heinous crime. I would also like to thank the committed students of the HEARTInitiative for their hard work in planning this very successful event.
I would like to put this in a larger context, however, and highlight the fact that this crime isabout power, control and extreme greed. The estimated $32 billion (United Nations,2005) industry of human trafficking/slavery, and the closely related pornography industry, existlargely because of a gender power imbalance, which affects the lives of women and childrenthroughout the world. Recognizing that young men are also victims of human sextrafficking/slavery, the overwhelming majority of victims are female. Various forms ofdiscrimination (racial, class, religious, economic and gender) often lead to this grim conclusion.

The enormous appetite to abuse, manipulate, coerce and exploit humans is alarming. Toimagine the imprisonment, rape and torture of victims is disturbing enough, but to imagine thetwisted thinking, which makes it acceptable and justifiable for millions of “customers” toparticipate, is nothing less than horrifying. Partaking in the torture of trafficked individualsresults from dehumanizing and objectifying the “other” and makes this participation acceptableinstead of recognizing that it is a crime against humanity. Various forms of gender inequality(legal, economic, social and political) ultimately lead to the conclusion that women andchildren are of little value and, therefore, consumable and disposable. As Wilmer pointed out,most of us are unaware of the extreme prevalence of human sex trafficking and its strongconnection to pornography, and that most female actors in pornography are imprisoned andunwilling participants.

Gender parity is a crucial piece of the puzzle for eventually putting an end to human trafficking.Economic discrepancies, racism, religious persecution and other forms of discrimination andoppression in any given setting are also pieces ...


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