One of the fastest growing crimes in the world is human trafficking. Many factors like social and economic factors are involved as the causes of human trafficking such as poverty, war, political conditions, social situations. Recently social networks have been used as a way to target the victims of human trafficking and the social media like Facebook and Instagram are widely used for this purpose. The victims include women, men, and children, and they are usually trapped in situations like getting offers of fake jobs though social media. The social and psychological impacts of human trafficking on victims are always devastating. The role of cyber world is very important in combating trafficking of human beings, and it requires collaborative efforts. The chapter will look into the definition, causes of human trafficking, impact of social networks in human trafficking, forensic investigation, psychological impacts on victims and mental health issues, social impacts on victims, prevention of human trafficking emphasizing the role of social media and cyber world, and management of victims.
TopDefinition
Human trafficking is recognized as a growing international phenomenon which is a crime based on the exploitation of the most vulnerable and marginalized people of any community and is a violation of human rights (Steverson, Wooditch & Alese, 2023; Nazer & Greenbaum, 2020). According to The United Nations (UN), human trafficking is the induction by force, fraud, or coercion of a person to engage in the sex trade, or the harbouring, transportation, or obtaining of a person for labour service or organ removal. The definition emphasises the fact that human trafficking is the purposeful transportation of an individual for exploitation. It divides human trafficking into three categories—sex trafficking, labour trafficking, and the removal of organs. The United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (TVPA), and the UN TIP Protocol contain similar definitions of human trafficking. The Three elements such as acts means and purpose are essential to form a human trafficking violation.
Human trafficking is different from human smuggling though these are interconnected crimes. According to the U.S. Department of State, human smuggling is the facilitation, transportation, attempted transportation, or illegal entry of a person across an international border in violation of the laws of one or more countries, either clandestinely or through deception, such as the use of fraudulent documents. The Palermo Protocols differentiate smuggling and trafficking in terms of coercion and consent. Human smuggling generally occurs with the consent of the person being smuggled, or engaged willingly in an enterprise that one or both bordering countries consider illegal. people who are trafficked are considered “victims” or “survivors” whereas smuggled migrants are termed as “objects” of a process. Human smuggling is consensual, whereas trafficking is done against a person’s will (Rothman,2017). In general, the main differences are in terms of consent, exploitation and source of profits and it is also recognized that smuggled migrants can still be victims of crime – whether this is theft, fraud, sexual assault, deprivation of liberty or even human trafficking (UN General Assembly, 2000; Gallagher & David, 2014).