The Path of Human Trafficking in My Own Backyard

Human trafficking has been an ongoing global social problem for decades with nearly 40.3 million estimated victims worldwide. This chapter, therefore, spotlights human trafficking with a special interest in the author's hometown of Flushing. Sex trafficking and sex work are two emotive issues about which much has been written because they touch the core of people's beliefs about morality, justice, gender, and human rights. The study demonstrates that trafficking in persons is a human rights violation that affects the lives of millions of women, girls, men, and boys worldwide. However, a large majority of identified trafficked victims are women and girls representing 71% of all trafficked victims detected globally. Findings reveal that the harms of trafficking are known to be more severe for women than for men and boys because of their exposure to specific forms of exploitation such as sexual exploitation and violence, domestic servitude, and forced marriage.