Trafficking in persons : a contemporary threat to human dignity

Abstract

The ease of movement of people across borders has repeatedly been heralded as a significant milestone in diplomatic and political history. Every year, thousands of migrants cross borders in pursuit of an improved quality of life, work opportunities and better chances at leading a dignified lifestyle. However, a substantial number of migrant women and children fall prey to the impediments and pitfalls of extensive recruitment within the framework of migration, and many hopeful victims end up in prostitution and other forms of modern slavery, either of their own free will or as a result of any form of coercion. Ebbe holds trafficking in persons to be 'an attack on the dignity of the human race'. The most vulnerable of citizens are drawn to what they perceive as safety or security due to political, economic and social hardships such as poverty, wars, famine and any other disturbances within a country's history and traditions.