Diminish the Demand, Diminish the Trade

http://www.mtholyoke.edu

How do we eliminate a trade that has been going on for so many years? Is it even possible to completely abolish a type of slavery? In this blog post I will try to discover if the horrid sex trafficking could be eliminated. In order to do this I will need to look at the demand side of sex trafficking. I argue that if the demand diminished for good, then supply would also diminish resulting in a cease of the trade.

Many people fail to acknowledge the demand side of this trade and focus too heavily on the supply end of the spectrum. But it’s basic economics, the only way the supply will decrease is if the demand decreases. According to the Human Trafficking website “The demand side of trafficking, which includes, for example, sweatshop or brothel owners, and clients of sex workers, is often neglected by trafficking prevention programs.” This point is reiterated on the Global Centurion Foundation website when it states, “Human trafficking involves a triangle of activity: supply, demand, and distribution. Since the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, the focus has been on the rescue, rehabilitation, and restoration of victims. While these efforts are important, it is also important to target the demand side of the equation.” Global Centurion also proposes ideas to combat the demand of human sex trafficking. For example, “by creating “front-end” programs that are designed to reach young men and boys before they become part of the sex industry, and by targeting the “back-end” of demand –  predators and exploiters — for arrest, prosecution, and successful conviction, Global Centurion will help to eliminate the demand fueling this crime.” I think that this example shows that if we put in the effort and use the right tools, we could help diminish the demand. I do not think that these ideas will completely stop the demand, but it will greatly help to diminish the trade

Beyond this, we also need to do a better job by setting up strict government regulations in order to diminish the demand to help diminish the trade. According to the Soroptimist website, “By tolerating or legalizing prostitution, the state, at least passively, is contributing to the demand for victims. The more states regulate prostitution and derive tax revenue from it, the more actively they become part of the demand for victims.” I think that if there were stricter laws worldwide against this trade with greater punishments, then the demand would decrease and the trade would slowly diminish. It is also hard to diminish a trade where we live in a  world with, “The culture, particular mass media, is playing a large role in normalizing prostitution by portraying prostitution as glamorous or a way to quickly make a lot of money,” according to the same source. If we were able to abolish slavery as a country, we should be able to abolish this type of sex slavery. By putting our efforts together and targeting the demand aspect to this type of trade as well as the supply, I think that we would be able to diminish this trade.

Future Post: In my final blog post I will summarize everything I've learned so far by addressing the economics, the supply, and the demand to sex trafficking and addressing the psychological aspects to it.