Paris Bland: Academy of Global Studies Class of 2017

Another global issue related to trafficking is HIV/AIDS. Many girls in the industry are especially at risk when it comes to contracting the virus. The fear and stigma attached to the disease are the main reasons medical treatment is often not sought. In developing countries lack of education puts girls at higher risk than in other countries. In specific regions of sub-Saharan Africa, the common belief is that AIDS can be cured through intercourse with a virgin. This falsehood has been extremely harmful to many victims of trafficking. More education about the AIDS epidemic and other sexually transmitted diseases will take trafficked girls out of the high-risk category. Sex education in undeveloped nations is often looked at as taboo but ignorance widens the dangers for all parties involved.

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Many first world countries are struggling to deal with trafficking.

 

Since the United States has outlawed prostitution, the demand for paid sex has not decreased; it just became an underground economy operated by global traffickers.

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This is the judgment of many experts in the U.S. State Department. In countries like the Netherlands that have instituted legalized prostitution, the sex industry can be monitored to prevent girls from falling prey to trafficking networks. Since prostitution is off the books in the United States, there is the opportunity for large abuses to occur without any manner of protection. Workers are unable to seek treatment for STDs; they have little or no rights. They are beaten and abused and cannot use law enforcement for help. Many sex workers in the United States often fail to report cases of extreme abuse or mistreatment because they are afraid of getting arrested. Eliminating the fear of arrest would allow police officers to better go after the true offenders, the traffickers.