The motive of traffickers is to force consent. They render individual(s) incapable of making informed decisions. They use alcohol or drugs to force an individuals' consent or stifle their ability for expression. In current times, biometric surveillance is used to force a person’s consent. Research has shown that constant surveillance can stifle a person's ability to express themselves.^1 The ability to express oneself is necessary to indicate consent and report harassment. For instance, surveillance at schools can stifle students' ability to express themselves, which prevents them from reporting bullying, identifying who they are, or participating in activities.^2 Studies have indicated that stifling expression can result in cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension and heart disease.^3
Constant surveillance has also been used to deprive individuals of sleep. By monitoring a person's sleeping pattern, traffickers can identify how people sleep, what wakes them up, and the amount of rest they need. With this biometric information, they can disrupt a person's sleep throughout the night, forcing them to wake up multiple times, and cause sleep deprivation for several days. Sleep deprivation is used by traffickers to impair an individual’s capacity to make decisions and convey consent. They also use an individual under fatigue and "coach" them on what they should say. They presume that the consent of an individual under fatigue and sleep deprivation is more easier to force. They therefore rely on depriving an individual of sleep until their willpower is broken. In this way, forcing consent harms overall health.
Lack of sleep is attributed to a range of illnesses. Studies have shown that sleep deprivation of one night can increase the risk of injury.^4 An anecdote has been given when an individual has been under surveillance for days. Every time that individual is about to fall asleep, the individual would hear tapping on the wall. The tapping would perturbed the individual and wake the individual up. The individual would be so tired that the person would drowse off only to be waken again by consecutive tapping. The individual would waken and be kept up by occasional tapping on the wall until the sun light filled the room.
In addition to the daily violence upon their person's, chronic surveillance and sleep deprivation have been associated with increased stress levels. Studies have found that chronic stress causes heart disease, cancer, and premature aging.^5 Chronic stress leads to diseases that are associated with aging such as "cardiovascular, neuro-degenerative, and autoimmune disorders".^6 Biometric surveillance triggers stress response that are meant only to arise during immediate threats and makes these stress response chronic. Elevated and chronic stress results in headaches, muscle tension, digestive problems, and sleep disturbances.^7 The use of biometric surveillance in forcing consent can increase the likelihood of premature mortality due to the invasive nature of monitoring and manipulating an individual’s behavior. Forcing an individual's consent through the use of biometrics is a health concern. Communities need to be aware of the increasing use of surveillance in trafficking. An individual gave an account that "I was sleep deprived for so many days that I became ill. When I was ill, they still wouldn't let me sleep.”
1. https://cdt.org/insights/the-chilling-effect-of-student-monitoring-disproportionate-impacts-and-mental-health-risks/
2 Ibid.
3. https://cliniclesalpes.com/blog/effects-of-emotional-suppression/
4. https://www.jabfm.org/content/20/1/16.short
5. Supra 3
6. Ibid.
7. Ibid.