Solving The National And Global Issue Of Human Trafficking

Trafficking of persons, both for labor and sex, has been an international problem for decades. Public knowledge of the issue has only begun to surface, and until recent years, a globally accepted definition of human trafficking was nonexistent. Both the lack of awareness and an established definition have led to the absence of research and viable policies to combat the issue. This thesis will examine awareness and attitudes on human trafficking, as well as current attempts to ameliorate the issue on both national and global scales. Evidence of these efforts will include research from scholarly literature, the United States criminal justice system, and federal and international policies. Human trafficking in the Americas and Caribbean will also be closely investigated. By considering how the world has offered to solve the issue, gaps in research, policy, and practice will be found in order to propose how such areas could be strengthened to better address human trafficking in the future.