Looking at sex
trafficking as an issue of national security is interesting. According to
research, about 3500 cases of sex trafficking were reported to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center in 2014
alone (CNN). This was only in the U.S. While there were many reported cases,
there are so many unreported cases. According
to the U.N., about 2.5 million people around the world are ensnared in the web
of human trafficking at any given time. The difference between the
number of reported and unreported cases is significant, mainly because it
highlights its importance as a security issue. But, should this be considered a
issue of U.S. national security?
In essence, no it should not be.
Looking at the issue itself, it is something that is harmful to many different
types of security; it is a universal issue of human security, ontological
security, and physical security. Human trafficking is a threat to everyone’s
way of life, because they are being taken away from their lives and thrown into
a modern form of slavery. Anybody can be abducted at any time, and it is almost
always against their will. While it can be argued that it is a issue of
national security, the argument does not stand. If we make it an issue of
national security, then it makes it seem like it is our problem and not
everyone else’s. The fact of the matter is, it is an issue of global security.
This is mainly because these people
are abducted from all places around the world. They are abducted in countless
countries from around the world, then shipped around through many different
trade routes going through many different countries. In order to combat it, we
must attack it through an international entity (e.g. the U.N.). Shutting down
the trade routes would be the ideal way to attack it.
If we did attack it through the lens
of national security, we would only be going after the traffickers and the
trafficked people in our country. It is important to attack traffickers
domestically, but the problem is they can be easily replaced. Attacking the
trade routes and webs of trafficking must be the priority. These trade routes
are so widespread internationally that we cannot attack them with efficiency domestically.
This requires cooperation between all different countries. Tightening borders
might be one way to combat it, but it must be internationally coordinated. This
would be a short term solution to the problem. Attacking the trade routes
through the U.N. would be the long term solution, and would take some time. If
it can be given international attention, then a solution will come with time.
Diverting resources is essential, but it must be split between all the
different countries in order to effectively shut down the webs of human trafficking.
I agree with your argument in a way but I don't necessarily think it is feasible. I don't see all countries around the world working together to solve this problem, unfortunately. I understand why you don't think it should be considered a national security problem but I think that is how people would recognize it as a problem that needs international attention. I also understand your argument of attacking the trade routes but I think we mentioned in class that once one was shut down they would just be created somewhere else. I am just skeptical if this would really solve the problem.
ReplyDeleteBrianna Arnold
I like how you started off with statistics, and showing how important it is to identify that there are reported and unreported cases, which is a main security issue. However, I somewhat disagree that it should not be a national security issue. I think it is important to make sure more countries understand and recognize this as a main problem. Even though it would be hard to get all countries to work together, it is still important to prevent this from happening, and hopefully the stats would decrease over time.
ReplyDeleteChirusha de Mel
I like that you took a stance that trafficking is not per se an issue of national security. I agree that it is more effectively a global security issue. But this should not mean it is not a national security issue for an individual country, since it still affects us directly. In order to solve the problem, it should be labeled a global problem; however, we must not overlook the issues that affect us directly.
ReplyDeleteAnthony Coppola
I would agree with you that sex trafficking is a global security issue and I like that you identified that it isn't necessarily a national security issue. In terms of combatting the problem I would agree that some international entity should be in charge of working with the various countries to reduce sex trafficking as it is an issue that transcends borders.
ReplyDeletePost by Hedvig Blanco