Human trafficking: Offer and demand

I wonder how a man that goes to prostitutes feels. I imagine he makes up million excuses for his act; maybe he thinks that his loneliness justifies it or maybe he just doesn’t care about the meaning of his little gesture.

I’ve seen tons of features and documentaries on the human trafficking issue and each time the journalist talks about the victims and theirs foolish belief in the trafficker promises. But we rarely hear a debate about the demand in this field. If we look at the human trafficking as a business we have to ponder the importance of the demand. Let’s say that if no one would use a prostitute’s services, the traffickers would have no reason to steal and sell women. So my question today is: can we fix this problem by attacking it in another way?

Most of the human trafficking victims come from the poorest countries in Europe, like Moldova and Ukraine. These girls have no higher education; their best hope in life is to work in a store or to wait tables. But just because these countries are poor doesn’t mean that their younger citizens do not dream of the same things as any other teenager in Europe. So these girls are easier to trick when it comes to their “living abroad dream”, especially when they hear only happy ending stories about those who made it. This is why the possible victim is an easy pray.

Let’s think for a while about the predators. Who grows up to be a human trafficker? For almost the same reasons, money, adrenaline, success, normal teenagers became some soulless sellers. A trafficker will at first try to sale his neighbor’s daughter, because it’s easier to win their trust. But does he feel any pity? I wonder…

If we’re still talking about predators… what do you think about the final customer? For me he’s a predator as well. What kind of pleasure can you find in abusing a teenager? I imagine it’s obvious for the client that the girl in front of him it’s a human trafficking victim. Then why nobody does anything?

I think it’s a circle in which every actor plays his part: the foolish victim in search for a better life, the soulless trafficker and the careless client. If we can change the mentality in one part, maybe we can break the circle. But this takes time, money and hard will.