Description
The United States has long supported the global establishment of norms to protect freedom. However, not everyone around the globe shares this philosophy. Criminal minds trample the notion of basic freedoms and human rights for personal economic gain, using coercive techniques in order to achieve this goal. Every year millions of individuals are victims of human trafficking, a modern form of slavery. Research indicates that each year between 800,000 and six million people are trafficked, and up to 17,500 people are trafficked across the US border, making border communities especially vulnerable to trafficking business. This research seeks to answer the question as to whether human (sex) trafficking can be categorized as a health security threat. To address this question, the study objectives are: (1) to evaluate the association between human trafficking and communicable diseases as a global health security threat, (2) to analyze and document the current challenges that the San Diego-Tijuana region faces due to inadequate binational efforts to combat this illicit but lucrative business, and (3) to support the need for binational cooperation, research, and information sharing in the San Diego/Tijuana regions regarding human trafficking prevention. Published books, journals, reliable news reports, and government documents were reviewed. San Diego/Tijuana health data from government sources were analyzed, and census data provided regional demographic trends. The findings demonstrate that the San Diego/Tijuana, BC, Mexico border is not only a hub of human trafficking, but also a hub of communicable disease because of human (sex) trafficking. The research also suggests that more in-depth epidemiological studies need to be performed in the marginalized, trafficked communities of persons in Tijuana, BC. Moreover, there is a lack of awareness and communication sharing among organizations working on human trafficking prevention and control. The conclusions add knowledge to current research linking anti-trafficking measures with global health efforts to stop the spread of communicable disease and improve global health security. These results call for additional binational academic, private, and governmental research on intervention and cooperation in order to implement programs to effectively respond to human trafficking in the San Diego/Tijuana border communities.
