Semester Project

Human Trafficking

For my semester project I focused on the topic of human trafficking. Human trafficking is an increasing problem that involves labor and sexual exploitation. It occurs in all regions and the majority of countries around the world. Victims of human trafficking can occur with both men and women. However, the primary victims of human trafficking are usually women and girls. Women and girls are primarily trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women are primarily targeted because they are affected by poverty and discrimination. Traffickers may use violence to intimidate the victims. Once they are recruited, women are found into situations where they are mentally and physically abused. These victims become isolated and lose all connections with their former families and lives.

 Throughout the semester, the main topic was focused on the male gaze and human trafficking immediately comes to my mind when thinking about the women’s participation in the male gaze. Women are trafficked into slavery where they make a living by pleasing the male gaze and sometimes the male body. There are more than 27 million boys and girls who are currently in slavery worldwide. 80% of the human beings that are trafficked are women and 50% are children.  There are many names for human trafficking such as modern slavery, sex trade, and debt bondage. The one way to fighting and ending injustice of human trafficking is by raising awareness. One can raise awareness of what modern slavery, find out who is at risk, and figure out a way to decrease it.

For my project, my inspiration is Elizabeth A. Sackler who made an exhibition dedicated to feminist art. The art is based on the past, present and future where art is served as an education purpose. Over the last forty years, the role of art in the world has been prominent. Elizabeth Sackler’s Center is to educate future generations about the meaning of feminist art raise awareness. She had a women called Sonia Ossorio discuss the sexual exploitation of women and girls in New York City. Even though many people are unaware of the existence of human trafficking in the world, there are many people who are fighting for abolition. Below is a video of Elizabeth A. Sackler introducing Sonia.

Elizabeth Sackler

Another inspiration for my project is when I learned that human trafficking can happen anywhere and anytime, even in the Newark, NJ community. There was an informational at Rutgers – Newark about how human trafficking occurs in our community. This had me interested because it focused on the male gaze. I've learned that when a male sees a female sad or looking upset walking in the street, a male knows that she is his victim. The male gaze can be found everywhere. 

Also, to get people aware of the Human Trafficking, I created another blog which describes what human trafficking is and videos about it.

Human Trafficking

Works cited:

 "Art Against Human Trafficking." Tiffani Amo. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

 "Awareness." Awareness. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2015.

 "Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art: About the Center." Brooklyn Museum:. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.

 "Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art." Elizabeth A. Sackler Center for Feminist Art. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2015.