Human Trafficking I – SS1 Civic Education Lesson Note (Third Term)

Human trafficking is the recruiting, transporting, receiving and harbouring of people by force, threat or deceit so that they can be exploited for money.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define human trafficking;
2. distinguish between domestic and international trafficking;
3. state the causes of human trafficking;
4. explain the effects and consequences of human trafficking on victims.

What is human trafficking?

Human trafficking is the illegal trade in people, who are moved or kept against their will and made to work or serve for the profit of others.

• Human trafficker: a person who takes part in the business of trafficking people.
• Victim: a person who is recruited, moved or held and then exploited.
• Exploitation: using a person unfairly for gain, for example through forced labour or slavery.
• Human rights violation: trafficking takes away the fundamental rights of the people involved.

Who is most at risk?

• Women and children: they are the most vulnerable group.
• The poor: they may accept any offer that promises money.
• The less privileged and ignorant: they are easily deceived by false promises.

Traffickers use wealth and power to deceive and force such people into exploitation.

What forms of exploitation do victims face?

• Forced labour: work done under threat, with little or no pay.
• Slavery and servitude: the victim is treated as property.
• Prostitution: victims are forced into sex work.
• Forced fighting: children are made to join armies and carry guns and ammunition.

What are the types of human trafficking?

There are two types of human trafficking: domestic trafficking and international trafficking.

What is domestic trafficking?

Domestic trafficking is the movement of people for exploitation within the same country.

• Young boys and girls are brought from villages into cities.
• They are often forced to work as house help.

What is international trafficking?

International trafficking is the movement of people across national borders for exploitation.

• Young ladies are taken abroad through illegal means.
• Most are forced into prostitution.

What is the difference between domestic and international trafficking?

Human trafficking is a crime both at home and abroad.

What are the causes of human trafficking?

The main causes of human trafficking are poverty, greed, low self-esteem, corruption, ignorance and war.

• Poverty: lacking the necessities of life makes people open to trafficking and child labour.
  • Parents may give up their children to work as house helps in cities.
  • Some parents sell their children into slavery.
  • Some people travel to cities or abroad to engage in prostitution to make money.
• Greed: people who are not contented, or who want to get rich quickly, may become traffickers.
• Low self-esteem: people who have lost their sense of worth and self-confidence may trust traffickers who promise help but exploit them instead.
• Corruption: traffickers bribe government officials with money and gifts.
  • The bribes help them carry on without being caught.
  • Government agencies are hindered from doing their work.
• Ignorance: vulnerable people are deceived by promises of a better life in the cities or abroad.
  • Everybody wants a better life, so victims follow traffickers innocently.
  • They later find out that they are to be exploited to make money for others.
  • Some are forced to swear oaths not to reveal the traffickers’ secrets or try to escape.
• War: during a prolonged war, children are forced to join the army and are trained to carry guns.
  • This may not be done for money, but it is still a form of human trafficking.
  • For example, during the Second World War, some Africans were taken to Europe to fight.

What are the effects and consequences of human trafficking?

Human trafficking harms the victim’s body, mind, education, health and standing in society, and it can end in death.

• Physical or psychological abuse: victims suffer rape, beating and torture.
  • Child house helps are often beaten.
  • Girls are sometimes raped and starved of food and other basic needs.
  • This damages the psychological growth of the children.
• Abuse of fundamental human rights: victims are denied their right to free thought, conscience and decision.
• Delay in education and human capacity development: trafficked children are denied education.
  • Education would have made them useful to themselves in future.
• Vulnerability to sexually transmitted diseases: girls in prostitution can contract syphilis, gonorrhoea and HIV/AIDS.
  • These diseases can cut their lives short.
  • They reduce the victim’s contribution to society.
  • They increase medical expenses.
• Unwanted pregnancy: victims mostly face unprotected sex.
  • Some girls abandon the child after birth.
  • Others leave the child with their parents without proper care.
• Stigmatisation: trafficked people are often looked down on, especially when deported back home from abroad.
• Death: some child house helps are beaten to death, and others die of ill health through neglect.

Who fights human trafficking in Nigeria?

The National Agency for the Prohibition of Traffic in Persons (NAPTIP) is the Nigerian government agency set up to fight human trafficking.

• Investigation: it looks into cases of trafficking.
• Prosecution: it takes traffickers to court.
• Victim support: it helps rescued victims.

Evaluation

1. Define human trafficking.
2. Differentiate between domestic and international trafficking.
3. State four causes of human trafficking.
4. Explain how human trafficking affects the education and health of victims.

Assignment

Write a short note that defines human trafficking, explains three of its causes and states three of its effects on victims.