According to the Somali Mam organization, human trafficking is the worlds fastest growing, second largest organized crime

(TIP Report, 45). The ILO estimates that up to 20.9 million children are sold each year, of which 55 percent are woman and girls. Of those 20.9 million children in human trafficking, 98 percent are cases of sex trafficking. Generally, Asia has the largest number of victims, with 11.7 million. On the other hand, in Europe; there are more convictions for rare crimes such as kidnapping in Denmark (3 per 100,000 people), homicide in Finland (4 per 100,000 people) or robbery in Norway (5.8 per 100,000 people) than for human trafficking (Trafficking in Human Persons, 8). Not only does Sex Trafficking violate many human rights, but girls all around the world are being held like slaves and prisoners, exposed to abuse and drugs, and forced to face many health issues.

Sex Trafficking violates human rights by keeping victims as prisoners and slaves, by robbing them of their identity and thus their life. Upon arrival, victims often become slaves with no identity and no freedom. All documents, including visas and passports, are confiscated. Women whose traffickers coerced them with promises of false employment are told that their contracts were bought and that another employer owns them until they repay the debt from their passage (Riegel, 9). In addition, sex trafficking also leads to debt bondage, as the victims have hardly any money; the only way to earn it is to take more clients. Even then, many girls become dependent on drugs as it is the only way to live through the horrible experience of working in a brothel. This pushes them even further into debt, as well as their traffickers charging them for housing, clothes, food or transport (World Health Organization, 4). Due to the victims being in debt, being stripped from their identity, and having none of their own documents, they have no way of escaping, and are being treated like prisoners and slaves.

Furthermore, women and children victimized in sex trafficking are generally exposed to drugs, abused or raped repeatedly. Being forced to have sex with over 25 clients per day is not unusual. After being raped by customers all day long, many victims are raped by their traffickers at night. Physical abuse and even murder is a constant fear for many victims(Riegel, 12). Not only do traffickers abuse victims, but often also threaten their families, as told by a young survivor in New York: With convincing death threats from my Master, I remained silent. If he suspected that I was going to expose him he would verbalize threats against my family and friends (Stop Human Trafficking NY). Moreover, forced or coerced use of drugs and alcohol is frequent in sex trafficking, used by the clients and traffickers, as well as the victims- when trying to escape their horrible reality.

Lastly, victims in the sex trafficking industry are exposed to many mental as well as physical health issues. Sex slaves may suffer from health issues stemming from poor living conditions, inadequate nutrition, poor personal hygiene, brutal physical and emotional attacks and a general lack of health care. Most frequently, this leads to sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS. The susceptibility of a trafficked woman to HIV/AIDS is certainly higher than that of a person who engages in sex work out of choice (Human Trafficking, UN). The reason for this is that women and girls are forced to have unsafe sex with multiple clients per day; complete strangers that might give them life threatening diseases. In the case that a victim chooses to seek medical treatment, the women will often be sent to unqualified practitioners working in unsanitary conditions and using contaminated instruments. This further leads to dangerous infections and mutilations (World Health Organization).

To conclude, sex trafficking violates many human rights, as seen in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, for example article 3 (Everyone has the right to live and to live in safety), article 4 (No one has the right to make you their slave, nor should you make anyone your slave) and lastly article 5 (No one has the right to torture you, or subject you to cruel and degrading treatment). Trafficking victims are being held captive against their will, while being abused, beaten and forced to live in horrible living conditions- which puts their life at risk. Sex trafficking is a worldwide atrocity, which we should all be trying to solve, in order to make this world a safer place, and to ensure that humans will still have the right to a safe life in the future.

Works Cited "Human Trafficking and HIV/AIDS." Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking. United Nations, 2013. Web. 26 May 2013. <http://www.ungift.org/knowledgehub/en/about/human-trafficking-andhiv-aids.html>. Riegel, April. "MISSING THE MARK: WHY THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT FAILS TO PROTECT SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES." Harvard Law, 9, Web. 27 May 2013. <http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlg/vol301/rieger.pdf>. A Survivor's Story." Stop Human Trafficking NY. Web. 26 May 2013. <http://stophumantraffickingny.wordpress.com/a-survivors-story/>. "Trafficking in Persons Report." United States of America Department of State , June 2012. Web. 20 May 2013. <http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/192587.pdf>.Trafficking in Human Persons;
Analysis on Europe, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 8

"Human Trafficking." understanding and addressing violence against women 9 World Health Organization . Web. 25 May 2013. <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77394/1/WHO_RHR_12.42_eng.pdf>. "Human Trafficking." understanding and adressing violence against women 12 World Health Organization . Web. 25 May 2013. <http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/10665/77394/1/WHO_RHR_12.42_eng.pdf>.