Socio-Economic Inequality, Human Trafficking, and the Global Slave Trade

John R. Barner, David Okech and Meghan A. Camp
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John R. Barner: School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
David Okech: School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Meghan A. Camp: School of Social Work, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602, USA

Societies, 2014, vol. 4, issue 2, 1-13

Abstract: The purpose of this paper is to discuss human trafficking within the broader framework of socio-economic inequality. The presence of socio-economic inequality in the world creates a system where those in power very easily dominate and take advantage of those people without power. One of the most serious contemporary effects of inequalities between and within nations is the phenomenon of global sex trade or human trafficking for the purposes of sex. Deriving from unequal power relations, human trafficking is a serious global crime that involves the exploitation of many, but mostly females and children. This paper provides an extensive discussion of inequality and its links with human trafficking as contemporary slavery. In conclusion, the paper provides a list of selected intra-national and multi-national service organizations that are adopting strategies for combating trafficking through the reduction of social and economic inequality. Implications for social welfare advocates and international collaborative efforts are highlighted.

Keywords: social inequality; globalization; slavery; human trafficking; poverty (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A13 A14 P P0 P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 Z1 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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