Free Essay: Native American Sex Trafficking

The United States (US) experiences increased rates of violence against Native American women. The issue of human trafficking has become a major issue in the world. The reports by the ILO indicate that roughly 4.5 million people in the entire globe have become victims of sexual exploitation annually, and the same report has shown that there is an increase of 59% in the victims of sex trafficking since 2008 (Chaudhry, 2017). In the globe, sex trafficking is recognized as the third-largest form of criminal industry in the world. Sex trafficking is a violation of the human rights that has faced the US. Why are so many Native American women missing?

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Order now

Almost a quarter of the new cases of victims of Mexican trafficking are Native American women. In the US, thousands of human trafficking cases are reported annually, and only 10% of the victims are often identified. Most victims of human trafficking in Mexico encompass Native American women (Logan, 2015). According to the reports by Searchlight New Mexico, the native girls and women are the least protected or recognized by the state as it struggles to handle the problem.

There are no protocols that are put in place to coordinate with law enforcement professionals to avoid exploitation. Indigenous women have been lured, coerced, and traded for drugs, money, and other favors. The victims of sex trafficking have reported numerous cases of depression, anxiety, and other psychological issues. Native American girls and women are reported missing, but the government has become reluctant in its pursuit of the criminals (Logan, 2015). The criminal industry is networked, and they also use law enforcement officers to achieve their objectives. The US has become so reluctant to launch a thorough investigation to find the missing girls and women. Once the women and the girls are found, they are not screened or questioned for human trafficking; hence no tangible action is taken by the law enforcement officers.

Sex trafficking among Native American women manifests itself in the form of exploitation of girls and women through coercion or threatening to establish a commercial sex act. Crime is growing at a higher rate, and the industry is expected to earn approximately $99 billion annually. Sex trafficking is not a new phenomenon among native communities (Chaudhry, 2017). The Native Americans have been treated with sex violence for centuries that is integral to displacement and colonization. Sex trafficking of Native American women is comparable with the strategies of enslavement, relocation, and exploitation used by the whites against the people of color. Stories of sex trafficking are common, but it is hard to find real data on the problem. Several cases go unreported or sometimes are not even documented.

In the US, there are no centralized databases that exist, and hence it isn't easy to track the cases. In the US, more than 4 in 5 women are victims of sexual trafficking yet to obtain the real picture, and you must get the information from families, tribes, and individuals.

The primary source of the problem is the longstanding hostility and indifference to Native Americans, specifically the Native American women (Logan, 2015). The issue is traceable back in history in the days when racial segregation was the order of the day to ravage the native ways of life, culture, and beliefs. Progressive sexism and racism is also other common source of trafficking due to the view that native women are assailable. Women of color are viewed as less superior as a class and to white women as a subclass. The federal response to the crimes has not been diligent enough to address the issues, and it is high time that America solves the problem tremendously.

Native American women are also humans who deserve protection from the state, just like any other human beings on the planet. Congress must consider enacting laws that can defend the victims of sex trafficking. All the cases should be resolved, and the offenders are brought to justice. The worst thing that a state can do is to fail to bring law perpetrators to face justice since such crimes will also increase at a high rate when they are unresolved (Chaudhry, 2017). The senators must enact a bill that is focused on establishing adequate federal response to the sex trafficking of Native American women. I believe that TLOA and VAWA are still not sufficient measures since they face numerous barriers. Critical changes should be made to combat the trafficking of indigenous women through enhanced measures of capacity building, collaboration between stakeholders, and legal reforms (Logan, 2015). The Indian nations, together with the non-governmental organizations, must join hands to demand justice from the federal government concerning the cases of native women sex trafficking. The American nation should formulate effective initiates to defend the inherent rights of the indigenous women in America and should guarantee them equal protection, justice, and resources. Law enforcement officers must be subjected to mandatory training on how to treat and respond to cases of sex trafficking.

References

Chaudhry, N. M. (2017). The Traffic of Native American Women. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/utpp/171

Logan, M. (2015). Human Trafficking Among Native Americans: How Jurisdictional and Statutory Complexities Present Barriers to Combating Modern-Day Slavery. Am. Indian L. Rev., 40, 293. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/aind40&div=15&id=&page=