subject: Human Trafficking & The Internet: Fast-Tracking A Crime So Monstrous [print this page] Human Trafficking & The Internet: Fast-Tracking A Crime So Monstrous
HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND THE INTERNET: FAST TRACKING A CRIME SO MONSTROUS.
The disturbing tendency to treat prostitution as a business or industry not only contributes to the trade in human beings, but is itself evidence of a growing tendency to detach freedom from the moral law and to reduce the rich mystery of human sexuality to a mere commodity.
- Pope John Paul II (1920 2005)
The existence of human trafficking is by now not a question for debate. Though slavery in the 21st Century is unthinkable, it still exists on every continent and it affects mostly women and children, making it an affront to the rights, dignity and physical well-being of individuals affected, and a stain on humanity. The advent of information technology and the accompanying benefits to development cannot be denied. However, in as much as infotech has pluses, it also has minuses. The internet and human traffickers have become mutual partners in crime, making technology a dual purpose device for man.
Technology can be utilized to one's advantage and, at the same time, to one's disadvantage. The unchangeable fact now occurs that the internet is one of the most useful tools aiding criminals. This explains why there is an alarming trend of human trafficking activities on the internet. Human traffickers and pimps alike use the internet to promote their illicit business through the recruitment and cultivation of under aged children online and subsequently placing them on websites for possible buyers of their services. Thus, it is not uncommon for anyone who is browsing positively to run into web-savvy exploiters who are lurking and waiting for the big catch.
Traffickers that engage in online recruitment of young girls and women mostly operate fake accounts with social networking sites from where, they pounce on their victim with all viciousness. Some of the popular social networking sites easily accessible are, MySpace, Flixster, Facebook, Badoo, Hi5, Naijapals, Bebo, Bigadda, BlackPlanet, Blogster, Classmates, CollegeBlender, Faceparty, Lagos Meet, Flickr, Friendster, Fubar, Habbo, Hyves, Ibibo, Kiwibox, Last.fm, Meetup.com, Mylife, My Opera, Netlog, OkCupid, Orkut, StumbleUpon, Skype, Tagged, Twitter, Windows Live Spaces, Xanga, Zoo.gr, and 2go, just to mention a few. Other sites noted for erotic and explicit activities whose contents pimps circumvent to their illicit business advantages are, craigslist, MyRedBook, sfredbook, seekbang, escortinusa, and thelittleblackbookofescorts, among others.
Suffice it to say that, the social networking sites mentioned above and many other sites alike are created and operated with good intentions. The attainment of the status of Times' Man of The Year 2010 by Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, one of the most populous social networking site with over 300 million subscribers, just goes to show how noble the objectives of some of these networking sites are. However, Traffickers and pimps only circumvent the positives of these sites for the purpose of perpetrating evil. Though petitions have been brought forward against some deviant networking sites such as Craigslist for their abuse of due process, the social networking sites have hardly been found wanting or even caught in acts of impunity. The administrators of such sites claim they cannot have absolute control over access to their sites, just as it is impossible for post offices to monitor mail contents.
According to End Internet Trafficking Coalition (EITC), "Craigslist is by no means the sole site for concern for internet based trafficking, but it is an iconic representation of the glaring need for active oversight and monitoring of sexual exploitation on the internet".
Unsuspecting young girls with exuding exuberance who are of the habit of posting exotic, near nude, or even nude photos of themselves on social networking sites are vulnerable to this kind of recruitment. Young men who post half naked photos and make erotic or romantic comments on networking sites are also prone to attack by pimps and human traffickers. Some online employment agencies, such as model or artist agencies and marriage bureaus ploy to lure potential victims and exploit them. Internet Relay Chat can also be used to familiarize with potential victims thereby increasing the risk of young people falling into the traffickers' net. These categories of people easily fall prey to this technology enhanced form of recruitment.
More so, there are dedicated sites where sex can be bought with just two clicks of the mouse, and pornography enjoyed for free. Such sites more often than not, require you as a visitor/guest to sign up or register in order to have full access to its contents. That could just be the beginning of your recruitment process. To this end, we should all be wary of the kind of websites we navigate in and our level of inquisition. Though it is good to always search for knowledge and make ground breaking discoveries, being overtly curious could just kill the cat. We should always know what we are looking for while browsing. Surfing the net aimlessly could be dangerous. Also, there is certain information of ours that should not be on the public or social website. There is certain information about us that is considered private; we should be wise about such information. If you ask me, posting an exotic or near nude photograph on the internet is not a wise decision.
Trafficking in human beings is a major concern for the global community. The introduction, growth and utilization of information and communication technology have been accompanied by an increase in illegal criminal activities, including sexual exploitation. With respect to cyberspace, the internet was created with good intentions, no doubt, but it is increasingly used by transnational organized crime syndicates to perpetrate crime. Human trafficking is an obvious form of organized crime that has been affected by the global revolution in information technology. This online recruitment is certainly not exclusive to the sexual exploitation of women and children; it covers indentured servitude and child labour. It is pertinent to state here that, the process of recruitment for human trafficking via the internet is often initiated by the eventual victim who threw caution to the wind by refusing to thread the internet with caution.
Although new techniques are constantly being implemented and regulations adopted worldwide, yet the internet provides new means and tools for traffickers. The EIT Coalition posits that "In order to truly make progress, organizations and services that advocate for human rights cannot be anti-internet; we must continue to utilize the internet as an important resource and networking tool while challenging ourselves to design better, more creative solutions that include collaboration with website companies that have critical opportunities to lead the way in eradicating trafficking from their sites." By and large, the battle to stop trafficking gets thicker by the day, but we must not falter until the traffickers are summarily defeated.
