Analyzing Human Trafficking and Smuggling: Ethical and Global Crime

This essay provides a comprehensive analysis of human trafficking and smuggling, differentiating between the two crimes through the lens of globalization theories such as neoliberalism and space-time compression. It evaluates the ethical implications of each, arguing that human trafficking is more unethical due to its exploitative nature and widespread victimization, particularly of women and children. The essay also explores prevention measures, including minimizing inequality and decriminalizing drugs, supported by case studies and current events. It highlights the role of international organizations and legal frameworks in combating these global crimes, emphasizing the complex and multifaceted nature of human trafficking and the need for comprehensive solutions.

Running Head: GLOBAL CRIME
Global Crime
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note

1GLOBAL CRIME
In this world there are several people, who are enforced to be in the crime called human
trafficking and smuggling. As said by many people, slavery existed from the past but nowadays
slavery has a different meaning. These criminal activities have involved many people forcefully
in various kinds of activities like sex act or smuggling. These crimes are seen throughout the
world but it cannot be excluded just from one state. In order to eradicate these crimes, there is a
clear way to get a proper solution. The essay throws light upon the crime of human trafficking
and smuggling in the light of various theories of globalization. The paper sets out the differences
between both the crimes and analyzes which one of the two is more unethical. The thesis
statement of the essay is that Human Trafficking is more unethical as compared to smuggling.
The term human trafficking is explained as the trading business of human beings for the
use of sexual slavery, sexual exploitation in a commercial way, forcefully making laborers work
for money matters. This also includes spouse in the reference to marriage that is forcefully done.
It also includes extraction or removal of organs or body parts and selling them to make money.
Human trafficking is a criminal method against any individual as the right of movement of the
victim is violated as they are commercially exploited. This crime is practiced in many countries
and it is the business of torturing children and women for the commercial use for money matters
(Cho, Dreher and Neumayer2013).
Human trafficking is said to be one of the rapidly growing activities of international
criminal organizations. According to international conventions, the activity of human trafficking
is said to be condemned as it violates the rights of the human. According to United Nations,
human trafficking might occur at the domestic level but it has its international consequences.
There are several protocols to prevent human trafficking, especially for women and children.
There was an international agreement made under United Nation Convention against

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Transnational Organized Centre that came into force on the date of 25th of December 2003. This
Trafficking Protocol is the first protocol which is the legal mechanism on trafficking and is the
only one to agree on the definition of trafficking. It facilitates the international cooperation to
investigate and prosecute such trafficking (Larsen and Renshaw 2012). There is another protocol
to protect and help the victims of human trafficking and to look after them with full respect for
their rights as mentioned in Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This Trafficking Protocol
consists of 173 parties that define human trafficking as the transfer or recruitment of person to
use them for threat or to use them forcefully in the other forms of fraud, using them in making
money illegally and exploit them while working. The child in human trafficking means any
person who is under the age of 18 years.
The annual profit in this human trafficking business on and around is $150 as estimated
by International Labor Organization in 2014.There are several protection protocols brought out
to prevent human trafficking like United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking,
International Labor Organizations, and United Nations Children’s Fund and there are several
other organizations to help out the victims of human trafficking (Wyatt 2016).
Smuggling is considered as the illegal transportation of substances, people, information
or objects. Such things happen in a prison or out of the house, or in international borders.
Smuggling is done to violate the applicable laws or the other regulations. There can be several
motivations for smuggling. It includes a trade of illegal weapons, tax evasion, drug trade, trading
of exotic wildlife. There are other products that are the part of smuggling that includes drugs,
cigarettes, and several others. Smuggling can be based on exporting goods illegally. Food items
like grains, tea, spirits, and wine are also exported illegally as they carry heavy duty charge and

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the profits gained by the smugglers are very high. There were also smuggling of consumer goods
and petrol from other neighboring countries as economic sanctions were imposed.
There are various types of smuggling which smugglers indulge into. There is smuggling
that occurs because of merchants that supply the demands for goods or services that are heavily
taxed or illegal. It includes trafficking of drugs, illegal trading or smuggling of weapons, alcohol,
tobacco, and staples of smuggling. There is a risk for the smugglers to be caught and pay the
penalties imposed on them. The profits that are involved in these goods are way too extensive.
The Iron Law of Prohibition explains that the enforcement of heavy duty taxes results in regular
smuggling of alcohol and drugs. There are certain profits that are gained from avoiding levies or
taxes on the goods that are imported. It has been noted that if smuggling of one whole truck of
cigarettes is done in the United States then the profit can lead to US$2 million. In order to
explain people smuggling, there is the difference between illegal trafficking of people and people
smuggling as their service to help the people to migrate. There was an estimation made that 90%
of the population have illegally paid the smugglers to cross the border that is between the United
States and Mexico. This type of smuggling can be used to rescue an individual from the cruel
environment. Wild life smuggling is a type of smuggling which demands the natural and exotic
species for trading purposes. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of
Wild Flora and Fauna has regulated the movement of these exotic and endangered species across
the geographical borders.
Smuggling is an import-export business of economic activity. It has not enhanced any
sector of the government and social welfare but it has diverted the resources to the private sector
from the government sector.

4GLOBAL CRIME
The term globalization enables human trafficking to flourish. In the modern times, human
trafficking has become a business and more rewarding for the human traffickers with the help of
globalization. Human trafficking is the matter of demand and supply. As per globalization, the
annual profit of human traffickers globally has increased according to ILO (International Labor
Organization). The advantage that has been gained by the human traffickers and smugglers is
that they have gained lot of money as the prices of the commodities have increased (Du.edu,
2018). In lesser developed countries the labors are cheap which help the traffickers to hire them
and exploit them to a greater extent.
Neoliberalism has widely shown its impact on human trafficking and smuggling. Its
impact on the security of human is causing an argument, mainly in the field of economic rights
and equity. On the market of human trafficking and liberalization, there are policies that promote
global economic openness, reduced the size of the state and market deregulation which are
totally related to smuggling and human trafficking. As per the policy of neo-liberalism, a market-
friendly regulatory environment gives the most important impact on trafficking in labor and
smuggling.
According to Flynn, Alston and Mason (2014) time-space compression means to
minimize the traveling time. It is the result of some innovation of techniques that condenses the
distance between people which includes internet, fax machines, telephones, trains, airplanes, jet
and any others. These facilities have gained the power of their human traffickers and smugglers
to increase their crime. They can easily do their crime by meeting these facilities.
It has been stated by Maras(2014)that smuggling and human trafficking are linked to
each other but there are some fundamental differences between them. Human trafficking means

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using a person to work forcefully, or using them for business profit. On the other hand smuggling
includes entry of the migrants or of any kind of goods into any state by illegal means. The person
who is the victim of trafficking can enter the state legally or illegally whereas in smuggling the
individual is made to enter the state illegally. Human trafficking is done within the national
borders whereas smuggling takes place across international borders. Trafficking involves
exploitation of human beings mainly women and children and it goes on and on whereas in
smuggling it ends as the migrants or goods arrive at their respective destinations. There is no
need of consent in human trafficking as they use methods like coercion, fraud, abusive languages
to the victims and use them illegally whereas smuggling happens in degrading and dangerous
conditions(Unit, 2018). That involves the migrants who have consented to smuggle. Smuggling
of people can lead to human trafficking. It makes the victim suffer exploitation and violence.
There is one similarity in smuggling and human trafficking is that it involves human beings in
profitable business and helps in the growth of criminal networks.
Human trafficking is more unethical than smuggling as it is widespread and there are
thousands of people who are victimized for this all over the world. In the United States, around
14000 to 18000 people are made victims of trafficking. Human trafficking includes a population
of businesses of restaurants, factories, the sex industry, adoption firms, marriage brokers and
some domestic workers. The percentage of victims of human trafficking is 80% women and rests
include children and some men of below the poverty line. The most unethical response to human
trafficking is that it is the most immoral practice that one can engage in (Unodc.org, 2018).
Human trafficking is the most complex and has different aspects of crime that has no single
solution to stop it. It is one of the degrading things that can happen to any individual and if there
is an unfortunate one then the life of that individual is as same as hell. The human traffickers do

6GLOBAL CRIME
not think of emotions or feelings of the victim. There are laws that have been enforced and
healthcare practitioners who have involved themselves in the prosecution of the traffickers and
they have become the advocates of the victims endured from this dangerous act. It is not possible
to imagine that this can happen to anybody at any time. The human traffickers do not think while
preying on any person of any social status that can be their victim (Le 2013).
Human trafficking means illegal trade or sale of the human beings for various purposes
like sexual exploitation, labor through kidnapping, use of force, threat, or coercion. The main
person who is abducted by these users is the person who is disabled, poor and are discriminated
by race, caste or gender. It is manifested all around the world in the form of trafficking of organ
and sex, bonded labor and many others. The main victims of this process are children and
women as they are thought to be the most disabled category of the human race (Scloenhardt and
Martin 2012). These victims are falsified with promises that their life will change in a better way
and then they have victimized in this degrading procedure of human trafficking. Sexual
exploitation is the major factor in human trafficking. There are several ways used by the human
traffickers to control these victims like threatening while creating violence against their family
members at home. Human trafficking is not easily recognized and detected as it is both the
national and international crisis and every individual of this world should be aware of it.
In the case McIvor v R; Tanuchit v R [2009] NSWCCA 264; R v McIvor
&Tanuchit[2010] NSWDC 310, it has been explained that Mr. Trevor and his wife, Ms.
KanokpornTanuchit, have owned a brothel and managed it in Fairfield in Sydney, Australia
between 2004 to 2006. Around this duration, this couple brought five women from Thailand so
as to work in their brothel and they were said that they will treat properly. However, in 2010,
these women were convicted for slavery offenses under the section 270.3 of the criminal

7GLOBAL CRIME
code(Antislavery.org.au, 2018). The court heard that this couple were forcing these women who
are now the victims to work for around 16 hours and 7 days a week. They were also prohibited to
refuse the requests of the customers like unprotected sex and if any request were not met then
these victims were locked up in the rooms in the brothel with the customer and their belongings
like mobile phones and passports were taken. This couple was found guilty in front of the court
and Mr. McIvor was imprisoned for twelve years and Ms. Tanuchit was imprisoned for eleven
years. They appealed that the trial judge gave the judgment incorrect and false element of the
crime. As in the next trial again they were found guilty. They appealed many times for trial
sessions but it was unsuccessful (Schloenhardt and Hickson 2013).
There are several methods to prevent human trafficking and smuggling. It includes many
prevention programs that are organized by the civil society organizations and media that gives
direction to a local population. These programs include seminars, roundtable meetings, training
and many others. Certain groups are targeted for these programs who are professionals in this
field and help in the protection of the victims of human trafficking and smuggling. These
professionals are the educational workers, counters of non-governmental organizations, police,
lawyers, and social workers and they support the seminars. The issues of these victims must be
monitored for further research. Women should be taught self-defense to stop them being
tortured. Smuggling can be eradicated by strengthening the control of the borders. The travelers
must carry legal documents and the quality of the identity documents must not be altered. There
must be public information campaigns held to strengthen every individual. These developmental
programs help the victims to gain knowledge about this topic and getting themselves away from
it. The Global Plan of Action, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the

8GLOBAL CRIME
GLO.ACT(Global Action) supports and gives preventive measures to combat these crimes
(Scloenhardt and Martin 2012).
All the countries in the world have faced the challenge of human smuggling and human
trafficking. These crimes have reached a global point of the problem in recent years. In and
around six to ten millions of people have been facing human trafficking and human smuggling.
Many of the victims are ensured with false promises to leave their home and get a better work to
do. However they were imposed with work like prostitution, domestic servant, forced labor and
many others. In order to combat these problems, there are several non-profit organizations that
take the responsibility to deal with the victims of these crimes. Hence it proves that human
trafficking is the most unethical crime than smuggling.

9GLOBAL CRIME
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