Human Trafficking Has Become An International Crime

According to dictionary.com, human trafficking is the illegal practice of procuring or trading in human beings for the purpose of prostitution, forced labor, or other forms of exploitation. Human trafficking has become an international crime, affecting the lives of men, women, and children. There are several motives for human trafficking, but in Nepal, trafficking is mainly concentrated on domestic work and prostitution. While most people wouldn’t associate disease and post-traumatic stress disorder with victims of human trafficking, in reality, it tragically affects the lives of many women. Human trafficking exploits women in ways that include forced labor, slavery, servitude, sexual exploitation, or removal of human organs. In Nepal†¦show more content†¦These women and young girls not only suffer from being taken away from their families, but also dealing with being beaten, sexually abused, but also undergo mental strain and illness. The women who are trafficked suffer from a great deal of psychological abuse, leading to many mental health issues. In Cathy Zimmerman, Mazeda Hossain, and Charlotte Watt’s article, the authors describe different factors that lead to mental health issues in survivors. Traffickers use forms of intimidations to coerce women to obey and refrain from seeking rescue by threatening their loved ones and using blackmail. Because the women are being sold to different people constantly, their surroundings change uncontrollably, and often end up in unsafe environments. Due to these drastic changes and living in constant fear has lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can cause sleep issues, nightmares, memory loss, violent outbursts, and other aggressive behavior. Along with PTSD, many survivors experience signs of depression, leading to self-harm, and even suicide. â€Å"17% of trafficked women who had worked as sex workers, scored over the cut-off point of measurement f or PTSD and 19% were over the cut-off on the depression scale† (Mental health of female survivors of human trafficking in