| Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing illegal | | | | used extensively in the developing world, often in |
| industries in the world, with the Council of Europe | | | | factories or for mass manual labor purposes. Human |
| attesting that it accounts for international revenue of | | | | traffickers will often round up laborers either forcibly |
| $42.5 billion annually. But what is human trafficking? | | | | or through false promises of pay and benefits. To |
| There are several different definitions, but the | | | | desperately impoverished and uneducated people, |
| broadest and most general is the illegal movement of | | | | these promises are often tempting enough to take. |
| people. That is, moving human beings for the intent | | | | Traffickers will usually move them across borders, |
| of anything ranging from forced labor to getting | | | | where foreign companies keep them de facto |
| around immigration laws to prostitution. But because | | | | enslaved. |
| of the amount of money generated by the industry, | | | | Prostitution |
| and because of the long history of human trafficking, | | | | "White slavery," as it is called, is one of the biggest |
| it will be very difficult to effectively combat the | | | | money-makers under the human trafficking umbrella. |
| problem. | | | | According to research funded by the United States |
| Immigration | | | | Government, nearly 80% of all people illegally |
| Because many of the world's most prosperous | | | | trafficked across borders are women, about half of |
| countries have rather rigid immigration laws (for | | | | whom are minors, a high percentage of whom are |
| example, America's quota system), there is a big | | | | made to submit to forced prostitution. Naturally, due |
| industry in circumventing these laws and bringing | | | | to the illegal nature of white slavery, it is impossible |
| people into the country illegally. These human | | | | to make an accurate estimate of the number of |
| smugglers are able to charge high prices for their | | | | women and children forced into such a degrading life. |
| expertise, so the racket has become quite lucrative. | | | | The criminals who run these prostitution rings usually |
| Just as governments employ expert professionals to | | | | have a front business such as a modeling or travel |
| keep illegal immigrants out, illegal immigrants are now | | | | agency which they use to dupe unsuspecting women |
| able to employ expert professionals to help them get | | | | into trusting them. They are then moved to their |
| in. | | | | new country and kept essentially enslaved to their |
| Forced Labor | | | | employers. As difficult as it may be to believe, this |
| Slavery is an enormous international business that | | | | happens even in the United States and other |
| requires human trafficking to operate. Forced labor is | | | | Western nations. |