Elizabeth Bainbridge
9-8-10
6:00 pm
This week in Spain, police broke up a human trafficking ring that was responsible for the import of male prostitutes into the country. Fourteen individuals, mostly Brazilian, were arrested on the island of Majorca. The traffickers had tricked sixty to eighty Brazilian men, in their twenties, to pledge a years worth of work as models, and night club dancers. While some of the men knew that their would be sex involved, others were unaware. Even for those who what their jobs would entail, they were unprepared for the deception that would occur. They were housed in apartments and over half of their wages were taken by landlords. Then the men were told that they owed a large sum to the trafficking networks, and their lives were threatened if their "debt" was not paid back.
This situation struck me as very unusual. Almost all human trafficking cases that I've heard about have involved vulnerable women, not men. I am still upset that such deception is occurring in the world, however. Even though some of the men had an idea of the kind of work they were getting themselves into, it was wrong for them to be deprived of the money that they were promised. Human trafficking is just modern day slavery, and there is nothing just about it. I'm glad that the Spanish police are making efforts to break up these human trafficking rings, and hope that they continue to have success.
2 comments:
Wow! This is the first time I've heard about male human trafficking. Like you, the only human trafficking I've heard about has involved women or girls. I'm glad to see the authorities aren't taking this situation lightly. Men, women, children, it's all wrong and it should be stopped.
It is unusual to hear about men being trafficked for sex; the media always focuses on men migrating for labor positions and women for service jobs. I think that human trafficking is so pervasive today because of globalization, over population, and (relative) economic deprivation. Until governments internationally crack down on human trafficking by increasing/enforcing punishment on traffickers and improving their own national economics to stop people from seeking work placements elsewhere, human trafficking will continue.
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