The BBC's Clare Arthurs looks at some of the words and phrases often used in the news and their meanings in various contexts. In this feature she talks about the word 'trafficking'. 'Traffic' is often in the news. In its most common use, it refers to the movement of vehicles: cars, bikes and aeroplanes, and the systems associated with that movement, such as traffic lights and air traffic control. There's also 'communications traffic'; we're part of it when we use the telephone. 'Traffic' can also refer to the movement of goods when people are buying and selling, or trading. In many parts of the world, trade includes human beings. In the news, we refer to this illegal trade as people trafficking or human trafficking. It refers to the illegal activity of smuggling people; women being sold as wives, children sold into prostitution, illegal migrants smuggled through customs by people traffickers or 'snakeheads', often in horrible conditions. The authorities who try to stop, or combat, trafficking are also watching for illegal drugs, stolen wildlife and counterfeit and untaxed goods. These are smuggled by people we could call traffickers. People trafficking is an interesting story for our news bulletins for several reasons including; the size of the problem, the fact that it affects many countries, and the human drama of people's experiences. Some other words you might hear in this context are 'market' or 'black market', 'commerce', 'borders', 'dealing', 'organised crime',' networks', 'migrants' and 'asylum seekers'.
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