Theory and theTrafficker
Understanding what motivates the perpetrators of this crime is complex because we are limited in knowing details surrounding this crime. Most information gathered is done so by the victims who escape and at times, from the person in the business who is willing to share information. Rarely, are we able to sit down and get inside a traffickers head to ask questions regarding their involvement. It is safe to say a number of theories can be applied to this particular crime. In essence, theory can be applied to all players involved, including the victim, but for this instance, I will focus on theory surrounding perpetrators only. Applying theory can shed light on the motivations that drive people into this lucrative business, which is estimated to produce 32 billion in profit each year.
Understanding what motivates the perpetrators of this crime is complex because we are limited in knowing details surrounding this crime. Most information gathered is done so by the victims who escape and at times, from the person in the business who is willing to share information. Rarely, are we able to sit down and get inside a traffickers head to ask questions regarding their involvement. It is safe to say a number of theories can be applied to this particular crime. In essence, theory can be applied to all players involved, including the victim, but for this instance, I will focus on theory surrounding perpetrators only. Applying theory can shed light on the motivations that drive people into this lucrative business, which is estimated to produce 32 billion in profit each year.
Considering the theory of social disorganization, we have a basis of research that indicates when a society is faced with low socioeconomically characteristics crime is elevated. This idea is reconciled when we look at places like Phon Pehn, Benin City and Odessa, Ukraine. These are poverty stricken areas of the world which are highly involved in the human trafficking business; knowing that this is a familiar way that men of families support themselves with little opportunity of providing for your family, could this explain the phenomenon in Phon Pehn?. It is in Cambodia that the majority of the population lives off $1.25 a day, earnings by those who work in sweat shops while others rummage through garbage for recyclables. The remaining 40% of the population are employed by the sex trade.. Although this is a good example of a theory that could begin to explain cultures such as these, strain theory is best suited to describe conditions in which traffickers flourish.
Strain theory was introduced by Robert Merton in 1938. His basis for the theory coincided with Durkheim’s definition of anomie. Anomie is a state of being for an individual or group of people. This state is formed when there is dissociation between valued cultural norms and a legitimate source of means attainable by a society. The idea is that all people from all walks of life grow up with the goal to achieve and succeed. In order for this to take place there must be resources available for people to achieve that goal. In essence, everyone in America including the countries of the world strives to have the American dream. If there are no resources available to grow and foster this dream, such as education or employment opportunities; a population remains stagnant with the same aspirations existing. These aspirations to want more in life are what lead people to utilize any means necessary, including lawless forms to acquire some kind of income. This is interpreted as being a “strain”.
Strain theory is defined as being a social structural theory which seeks to explain the relationship between a social structure and crime. The Strain theory identifies different modes which directly relate to the pressure that societies are faced with when driven by a financial need and desire to succeed. There are five modes of adjustment. The adjustments include: conformity, innovation, rebellion, retreatism, and ritualism. Each mode is described as being the reasoning behind a “strain” that a culture faces. In relationship to human trafficking, the mode of innovation is best used to describe this phenomenon.
Innovation is the mode that is the most prominent in dealing with the strain theory. It is utilized the most in the lower classes where high rates of crime exist. In cases such as these illegal means are sought to gain resources. The seeking of illegal means as an alternative to legal forms of resources is viewed as an adaptation to the situation at hand. This theory best describes the involvement of both the trafficker and the victim. For example, if the only means of income for the Cambodian family of seven is to sell your youngest child to a trafficker, it is a decision many families feel they are forced to make. The trafficker, who is majority of the time a native to the country, has probably dealt with the same need for resources. Could the strain that causes the mother to feel the need to provide for her family, be so great that she would sell her own child? This theory would have you believe that the impending need exists. Although strain theory is best suited for those who are in desperate situations, it does also apply to those who are taught by society to desire more, even if the current state they are in is not dire.
Routine Activities theory can also be applied to the offender of trafficking. This theory is defined as a neoclassical theory which points out the routine activity of a specific society which fosters crime. In this theory, crime can be a result of three different characteristics. The characteristics of the crime include motivated offenders, suitable targets and the lack of capable guardians. This concept holds true when we think of the police corruption that takes place in many communities where trafficking victims is prominent. This idea held true in the story of story of Ketia. Ketia was trafficked by a friend of her husband over the border of Odessa. Once learnered her husband began searching for her in Turkey. Upon failure after failure to pinpoint her whearabouts, her husband alerted the Turkish police. He informed them of her abduction and her whereabouts, yet the police did nothing. Instead, they alerted the traffickers of the husband’s presence to retrieve his wife. This is a great example of how lack of capable guardians (police agencies), creates common feeding ground for traffickers.
In relation to the offenders who participate in the use of traffic victims, mainly children, they are considered to be pedophiles. Research has shown that pedophilia is a phenomenon of its own accord, in which adults are lovers of children. The acts committed by pedophiles range from use of photographs, videos and in the case of human trafficking, sexual relations with a minor. Tourists from all over the world travel to places like Phon Pehn, Cambodia because it is a popular red light district, known for its sex market of children. A theory that can be applied to this type of phenomenon is the feminist theory.
Feminist theory seeks to underline the clear difference in sex roles and gender inequalities among society. The theory is based on the idea that the world we leave in is patriarchal, with men desiring and maintaining the superior role in society. It highlights the differences between gender roles, race, age and class. The theory also applies power and how it is applied to the different roles described. In the case of child trafficking, it is safe to say that children are easy targets for sexual abuse due to their vulnerability, naivety, and innate proneness to adhere to adult figures. Abusers who are in this case the dominant, powerful, controller tend could be seeking a weaker, smaller, younger sexual partner then themselves. In affect the abuser could be suffering from a self esteem issue which accounts for the need to be accepted sexually or even the defect of a person who had been sexually abused themselves.
Akers, R. L. (2009). Criminological Theories (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
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MSNBC.com . Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43114611/ns/slate_com/
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Akers, R. L. (2009). Criminological Theories (5th ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bienstock, R. E., & Golubev, F. (Producers), & Bienstock, R. E. (Director). (2005). Sex Slaves
[Video file]. Retrieved from
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=456480507747515257#
Silverstein, K. (2011, May 20). brief tour of the Cambodian sex industry. Top Stories on
MSNBC.com . Retrieved from http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43114611/ns/slate_com/
THRUPKAEW, N. (2009). THE CRUSADE AGAINST SEX TRAFFICKING. (Cover story).
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HUMAN TRAFFICKING: THE FACTS. (2007). Retrieved from UN.GIFT Global Initiative for Fighting Human Trafficking website: http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs/issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRA
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