Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight

by Stephanie Hepburn, Rita J. Simon

This unprecedented study of sex trafficking, forced labor, organ trafficking, and sex tourism across twenty-four nations highlights the experiences of the victims, perpetrators, and anti-traffickers involved in this brutal trade. Combining statistical data with intimate accounts and interviews, journalist Stephanie Hepburn and justice scholar Rita J. Simon create a dynamic volume sure to educate and spur action.

Hepburn and Simon recount the lives of victims during and after their experience with trafficking, and they follow the activities of traffickers before capture and their outcomes after sentencing. Each chapter centers on the trafficking practices and anti-trafficking measures of a single country: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Niger, Poland, Russia, South Africa, Syria, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Examining these nations' laws, Hepburn and Simon reveal gaps in legislation and enforcement and outline the cultural norms and biases, societal assumptions, and conflicting policies that make trafficking scenarios so pervasive and resilient. This study points out those most vulnerable in each nation and the specific cultural, economic, environmental, and geopolitical factors that contribute to each nation's trafficking issues. Furthermore, the study also highlights common phenomena that governments and international anti-traffickers should consider in their fight against this illicit trade.

Genres: Nonfiction, Crime, Politics, Social Issues, Sociology, Social Justice, History

552 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Stephanie Hepburn is an independent journalist whose work has been published in the Guardian, Huffington Post, Americas Quarterly and the journal Gender Issues. She is a weekly and monthly contributing writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. A graduate of the University of Michigan and the Washington College of Law at American University, she integrates her legal and journalism backgrounds to create pieces that are highly informative and have a human tone. Her book with Rita J. Simon, Women's Roles and Statuses the World Over, was named an Outstanding Academic Title by Choice.

Reviews

[Ariadna73 · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors analyze the problem of human trafficking within 24 countries, including the US. It is terrible to learn how people are abused all over the world, and there is little that can be done. The most frightening part was that about the "muti murders", where people are trafficked to kill them and use their body parts as components of religious rituals. 

Here is the cover and editorial information of the book I read:

Here is the table of contents:

A fragment of the introduction:

A fragment of the first part:

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An interesting analysis of Colombia's Human Trafficking situation:

How indiscriminate deportation affects the trafficking trials:

It is so disturbing that in Thailand, millions of children are born without citizenship. They have no rights and end up being sold. So despicable!

Hear this dreadful tidbit: Many teenagers are drugged and wake up in a ship nowhere near to shore. They are forced to work until the ship is back ashore. Some ships only come to shore every five years!

There are attempts to help these people, but they are too little and most of the time too late efforts.

The horrid situation in Colombia:

"In colombia an Iraq, there remains the question of who is in charge"

Colombia and Iraq: similar situations:

The United Arab Emirates are also another branch of Hell:

The employers lie and steal from their employees:

Conclusion: the situation is dire.

It is horrible to be abused and exploited and having no hope of escaping. Sometimes when reading about these kinds of events I feel ashamed about the human race and -naturally- this makes me love my dog even more every time.

I also have a blog! Here is the link: http://lunairereadings.blogspot.com

[Kadie Hayward Mullins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a dense text, with a robust textbook-style format that provides critical context and frameworks for understanding, examining, and dismantling human trafficking and modern day slavery. If you are interested in learning more about how and why human trafficking exists and who it impacts, this is a tremendous resource.

While the authors do share personalized stories and heart wrenching examples, this is not a light read that will help you feel connected to 'characters'. This is a a deep-dive that may take a while to wade through. The content is robust and it is heavy.

A 'must-read' for any activists or advocates against modern day slavery, I also recommend this for anyone looking to be more knowledgeable about a topic that impacts every community in the world.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book I chose for my ´´good read´´ delves into the world which is right under our noses. It gives the facts and figures regarding sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking in a total of 24 countries. Human trafficking is an issue that isn't much thought about by most people, which is surprising because of how truly prevalent the problem is. While many countries have taken steps to prevent cases of human trafficking from happening, an unfortunate amount of nations have simply overlooked the issue. An interesting fact I pulled from the text is that globally, the average cost of a slave is $90. This book is an eye-opener and is full to the brim with shocking information. It was a truly heartbreaking thing to read about, but well worth the information gained.

Human trafficking was a disturbing thing to read about, and if you'd like to learn more, I'd definitely recommend, Human Trafficking Around the World: Hidden in Plain Sight. I would also recommend this book for a mature reader. It didn't have much action and could be tedious to read. Overall, the book was gripping and easy to comprehend. I liked how many countries it provided an insight into and how it went over all kinds of trafficking. I really learned a lot about the subject from this book. It was a good read and I'd give it four out of five stars.

[Ahmad Moussa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comprehensive overview of the issues of human trafficking around the world. The only problem with the book is that it is 7 years old. Needs to be updated every few years to include new legislations. Overall an amazing reference!

[Jeanette · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring! Insightful for someone in my career field but boring and long

[Edward]

I found “Human Trafficking Around The World,” very enlightening. I was aware of the two most common types of Trafficking, sex and labor, but I was shocked to learn that humans are also Trafficked for harvesting organs that can be sold, and for sacrifices in cultural ceremonies. The author did an incredible job of researching the 24 nations profiled.

This book besides being informative can be used as a reference source to someone wishing to explore the topic further. The chapter structure enables the reader to more easily compare and contrast the nations' statistics, laws, treatment of victims and traffickers. I also found it interesting that some laws, designed to deter Trafficking, may actually prove to be advantageous to traffickers' who take of advantage of “Open Border” immigration.

A wonderful book, very relevant to our times. I highly recommend it.