Human Trafficking and the Role of Government in Combatting a Thriving Enterprise A Comparative Look at Government's Response to a Growing Problem

The last decade has been one that has seen several attempts at addressing and combating the human trafficking problem. There have been several meetings of the minds, if you will, to discuss the way in which governments and Non governmental organizations (NGO) can work together in an effort to topple this institution of modern say slavery. Despite the national policy responses, human trafficking has continued to thrive almost at accelerating rates. In an attempt to explain this upward trend, this thesis will pose the following questions: What government action is being taken to combat the human trafficking enterprise? What are some of the weaknesses that exist within these policy responses as well as the area of study? How do various nations approach the issue of human trafficking? Is there a unified front among international agencies dedicated to abolitionist efforts? What are some of the factors that determine the way in which government will respond to the human trafficking problem? Have government responses managed to indirectly support the existing institution of slavery?;An analysis of various nations and the way in which they've addressed human trafficking has allowed me to argue that national and international policies related to human trafficking have failed to significantly compromise the institution for the following reasons; (a) there is a failure on the part of government actors to address not only the issue of trafficking but also address the market that supports this demand for human cargo; (b) there is also a failure on the part of the scholarly community to account for the role that government corruption has had in the trafficking process; (c) the absence of a unified model within the international community as to how trafficking cases should be handled makes it extremely difficult to combat a problem that spans across national borders; and (d) the biases that dwell within existing legislation. The purpose of this thesis is to demonstrate that international policies will fail to succeed in their desired effect until they: (a) cease to support legislation preoccupied with the criminalization of the victim; (b) begin addressing the market that fuels the demand for human cargo; and (c) begin addressing the corruption that's prevalent among government actors aiding traffickers in the international exchange.