The case study illustrates a lifeline of a young lady by the name of Veronica, who is a 13-year-old lady but already a heterosexual and Hispanic. Her parents parted ways while she was still young, and she was left with her mother to raise her. Her exposure began when her mother moved to the United States, leaving her behind with her maternal aunt, who occasionally made her engage in prostitution. This can be considered underage to engage in such sexual activities and was against the law, but there was no other option or person to help since Veronica’s father was not living with her and the two did not have a close connection, and she could only visit her but could not have all the time with him.
Despite her efforts to stop her aunt from engaging her in such immoral practices, the aunt went to the extent of using an unknown substance on Veronica so that she could have sex with several males just for money. Eventually, Veronica’s mother was able to rescue her from this harm through a coyote, who landed her in another mystery of sex as she has been crossed from Mexico to the U.S. Her safety was guaranteed when the United States immigration officers intervened and securely followed up until she reunited with her biological mother. Although all the humiliations were now a thing of the past, Veronica still suffered from weird flashbacks and panic of having such experiences again, and she had been discovered to have post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
The case study put into practice and also neglects some of the core values, which according to the Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW), are termed the standards or principles that direct social workers’ professional behaviors. Among the values that were merely considered in the case study was respect for the values and dignity of an individual. This principle means that one has to comprehend that no matter who another person is, they all have a sense of dignity as human beings and it does not matter the situation of a person, but they have to be always respected. Veronica’s maternal aunt and the coyote did not have respect for Veronica’s worth and dignity. Another value that was not properly enhanced in the case study was the pursuit of social justice suggests that all individuals ought to have equal opportunities and access. The United States immigration officers enhanced the value of service for humanity when they secured and safely reunited Veronica with her mother. They ensured that she was safe and that no more sexual harassment happened to her.
The case study is of great essence such that it enlightens the audience of the various challenges young children, especially the female gender, experience when they are not in the right parental care. It serves as a warning for parents and guardians to always be concerned about their young ones despite their financial or work conditions to avoid and reduce cases of sexual harassment and trafficking. A major improvement that should be implemented to curb human or sexual trafficking and harassment is creating massive awareness of the impacts of such evil deeds since the majority of the people might not be precisely aware of such activities.
One of the ethical theories applied in the case study is the theory of virtue ethics, which suggest that individual get to acquire virtues or upright skills by exercising them. It is through the day-to-day practicing of honesty, confidence, kindness, generosity, justice, and other virtues that an individual is able to develop these moral characters. In the case study, the practice of immorality makes Veronica’s maternal aunt persist in forcing her into unethical and harmful sexual practices despite her age. Also, the continued exposure to sexual harassment and the continued immorality of men who slept with her affects Veronica’s perception of men and she hates interacting with them. In addition to that, the approach advocates for practices that result in happiness or contentment and go against those that result in unhappiness or fatal outcomes. Utilitarianism considers an action to be right when outcomes in the happiness of the most significant number of people in a society or a group (Ellis, 2019). Therefore, the case study is against this theory since the acts of sexual harassment and sex trafficking did not result in pleasant outcomes but instead brought sorrow and even health difficulties.
The primary lesson of the case study is responsible parenting and the fatal impacts of sexual harassment or trafficking. The case study passes an essential lesson to guardians to ensure that they properly take care of their young ones despite their various life statuses. If only Veronica’s mother could have properly monitored her, all the evils could not have occurred. Although Veronica is rescued and reconnected to her mother, she still suffers from all the deeds that happened to her.
One of the ethical guidelines that should be considered in this case study is justice. There was no justice for Veronica from her maternal aunt, who continuously forced her to engage in sexual practice just for money. Engaging in such sexual activities was against Veronica’s will, and she did not do it intentionally but instead was being forced, which denied her justice. Furthermore, Veronica was just a young girl who, according to the law, was not supposed to be exposed to such activities.
In resolving the dilemma, I ensured that I reviewed the Federal and country laws to make sure that the decisions I came up with were effective and sound, not just ethically upright but making sure they were also legal and acceptable in the state. I ensured that Veronica was consistent in all the recovery activities we had set for her and took note of her consistent change.
References
The Canadian Association of Social Workers (CASW). Web.
Ellis, P. (2019). Ethical concepts: The meaning of consequentialism. Journal of Kidney Care, 4(5), 274-276.
National Human Trafficking Hotline (2020). Web.
