User:Azhao96

Introduction

I am an undergraduate student at Rice University with a major in Cognitive Sciences and a minor in Poverty, Justice, and Human Capabilities. I believe that all of us have an obligation to learn about social conditions in the world around us and do what we can to contribute to the greater good to humanity. Wikipedia provides a medium with which we can make our contribution by acting as a purveyor of knowledge to all peoples around the world, and I hope to become an active member of this movement towards freer access to education. One thing I am particularly passionate about is the issue of international human trafficking, especially from countries in South Asia. Houston, the home of Rice University, is one of the biggest hubs for human trafficking in the country, and I am especially interested in practical solutions we can implement in the rehabilitation of victims of human trafficking.

Proposed Article Revision/ Improvement

This is an article that I feel would benefit from revisions, along with some citations for sources containing relevant information.

Human Trafficking in Texas Human trafficking is an enormous problem, particularly in Houston, which is currently one of the largest hubs for international human trafficking in the country. However, the Wikipedia article concerning Texas’ human trafficking issue is extremely lacking in many regards, and based on the almost empty talk page, nobody seems to be in the midst of revising it. The majority of the article is currently dedicated to describing a long list of Texas laws passed fight human trafficking, which is all very good information, but this extremely long section would be more readable if it were summarized. The article has very little to say concerning the regions from which trafficked humans are sourced, the types of trafficking that are predominant in Texas (labor vs. sexual), or any description of the work being done to combat human trafficking, other than a rather biased and extremely cursory description of some of the Texan anti- trafficking organizations that exist. I would also like to add a section addressing possible reasons for Texas’ human trafficking problems, including a discussion of laws or conflicts in the home countries or states from which these victims come from that enable the continuation of this practice. Another section that could be added is an analysis of major cities in Texas that are hubs of trafficking, as many of the demographics of trafficked humans and situations differ based on the city. This article also lacks a critique of the “human trafficking panic” that many people claim exist, and thus provides only a one- sided view of the debate for policy change in the realm of human trafficking. I would like to rewrite this existing article. This article already exists; I would just like to rewrite it.

Scholarly/ Peer Reviewed Sources:

1. Bernat, Frances P., and Tatyana Zhilina. "Trafficking in Humans: The TIP Report." Sociology Compass 5, no. 6 (2011): 452-62.
2. Butler, Cheryl. "Sex Slavery in the Lone Star State: Does the Texas Human Trafficking Legislation of 2011 Protect Minors?" Akron Law Review 45 (2012): 843-85.
3. Chacon, Jennifer M. "Misery and Mypoia: Understanding the Failures of U.S. Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking." Fordham Law Review 74.6 (2006): 2977-3040. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4173&context=flr>.
4. Cicero-Dominguez, Salvador. "Assessing the U.S.-Mexico Fight Against Human Trafficking and Smuggling: Unintended Results of U.S. Immigration Policy." Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights 4, no. 2 (2005): 303-30. Accessed September 24, 2015.
5. Garza, Rocio. "Addressing Human Trafficking Along the United States-Mexico Border: The Need for a Bilateral Partnership." Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law 19, no. 413 (2011): 413-52.
6. Hofmann, Susanne. "Borderline Slavery: Mexico, United States, and the Human Trade - Edited by Tiano, Susan and Murphy-Aguilar, Moira." Bulletin of Latin American Research 34, no. 2 (2015): 279-81. doi:10.1111.
7. Jani, Nairruti. "Analyzing Legal Paradoxes in Anti-trafficking Policies." Journal of Comparative Social Welfare 26, no. 1 (2010): 27-42.
8. Schaffner, Jessica. "Optimal Deterrence: A Law and Economics Assessment of Sex and Labor Trafficking Law in the United States." Houston Law Review 51, no. 5 (2014): 1519-548.
9. Servin, Argentina, Kimberly Brouwer, Leah Gordon, Teresita Rocha-Jimenez, and Hugo Staines. "Vulnerability Factors and Pathways Leading to Underage Entry into Sex Work in Two Mexican-US Border Cities." Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk 6, no. 1 (2015): 1-17.
10. Srikantiah, Jayashri. "Perfect Victims and Real Survivors: The Iconic Victim in Domestic Human Trafficking Law." Boston University Law Review 87.157 (2007): 157-211. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <https://www.bu.edu/law/central/jd/organizations/journals/bulr/volume87n1/documents/SRIKANTIAHv.2.pdf>.
11. Svitlana, Batsyukova. "Human Trafficking and Human Smuggling: Similar Nature, Different Concepts." Studies of Changing Societies: Comparative and Interdisciplinary Focus 1, no. 1 (2012): 39-49.
12. Ugarte, Marisa B., Laura Zarate, and Melissa Farley. "Prostitution and Trafficking of Women and Children from Mexico to the United States." Journal of Trauma Practice 2, no. 3/4 (2004): 147-65.

Additional Sources:

1. Swartz, Mimi. "The Lost Girls." Texas Monthly. N.p., Apr. 2010. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.texasmonthly.com/articles/the-lost-girls/>.
2. "The Victims." National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC). Polaris, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/what-human-trafficking/human-trafficking/victims>.
3. Dank, Meredith, Bilal Khan, P. Mitchell Downey, Cybele Kotonias, Deborah Mayer, Colleen Owens, Laura Pacifici, and Lilly Yu. Estimating the Size and Structure of the Underground Commercial Sex Economy in Eight Major US Cities. Rep. Urban Institute, Mar. 2014. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.urban.org/research/publication/estimating-size-and-structure-underground-commercial-sex-economy-eight-major-us-cities/view/full_report>.
4. Gozdziak, Elzbieta M. "Research on Human Trafficking in North America: A Review of Literature." Data and Research on Human Trafficking: A Global Survey (2005): 100-28. International Organization for Migration, 2005. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://publications.iom.int/bookstore/free/data_res_human[1].pdf#page=100>.
5. Kara, Siddharth. Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery. New York: Columbia UP, 2009. Web.
6. Kimball, Mandi Sheridan, Olga Sinitsyn, and Jennifer Michel Solak. The State of Human Trafficking in Texas. Rep. Ed. Robert Sanborn. Children at Risk, n.d. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://childrenatrisk.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/02_The-State-of-Human-Trafficking-in-Texas.pdf>.
7. National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC) Annual Report: 1/1/2014-12/31/2014. Rep. National Human Trafficking Resource Center, 2015. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.traffickingresourcecenter.org/sites/default/files/2014%20NHTRC%20Annual%20Report_Final.pdf>.
8. United States. Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force. Office of the Attorney General. The Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force. N.p., Dec. 2012. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/files/agency/20121912_htr_fin_3.pdf>.
9. United States. Texas Department of Public Safety. Assessing the Threat of Human Trafficking in Texas. N.p., Apr. 2014. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/director_staff/media_and_communications/2014/txHumanTraffickingAssessment.pdf>.
10. United States. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Western Region. Human Trafficking in Texas: More Resources and Resolve Needed to Stem Surge of Modern Day Slavery. By Peter Minarik. Texas Advisory Committee to the United States Commission on Civil Rights, Aug. 2011. Web. 8 Sept. 2015. <http://www.usccr.gov/pubs/TX_HT_Report--ver%2050--FINAL.pdf>.

Azhao96 (talk) 05:17, 6 October 2015 (UTC)

Training for Students complete!