HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Story

• An 11-year old girl was recruited to work as a waitress at a restaurant in the U.S. so she could send money back to her desperately poor family in Mexico.

• Sadly, the promised job never materialized. She instead found herself imprisoned in a trailer serving as a portable brothel. This is human trafficking—literally modern day slavery

600,000-800,000

• Victims trafficked annually across international borders worldwide

• After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with illegal arms industry as the 2nd most lucrative criminal enterprise in the world today

• Fastest growing enterprise

U.S. State Department Statistics

• 14,500-17,500 victims trafficked to this country each year

• Exploited for labor or commercial sex

• From Southeast Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe, & Africa

• No American community is immune from having such victims

Victims forced to:

• Prostitution; pornography

• Migrant farm labor

• Domestic servitude as nannies & maids

• Hotel & restaurant work

• Factory sweatshops

• Etc.

For example:

• One girl was forced to work long hours in the tomato fields during the day & then at night raped by her captor at night

Victims:

• Physical & emotional torture

• Beaten, raped, threatened, denied food, human contact, health care

• Often experience PTSD & traumatic bonding syndrome which holds them in place

• Half of all victims are children

Ways of luring victims to U.S.

• Told: will be united with family

• Work at a legitimate job

• Attend school

• Get adopted

• Get married

• Some victims are brought here illegally, others legally; the latter can be held “captive” through “debt bondage”

• Other victims are born in the U.S., example, runaways

The Criminals

• Can be sophisticated, organized criminals both national & international networks

• Can be organized crime syndicates

• Can be small groups, amateurs

Can Be:

• Neighbors• Friends• “boyfriends”• Family members• Village chiefs• Former victims/returnees• Women who have same ethnicity as victims

Behaviors of Captors

• Keep victims hidden from public eye• Threaten to harm victims’ families• Threaten victims with deportation• Instill fear in victims of law enforcement• Victims who do not speak English,

further isolated• Victims moved a lot; don’t know where

they are

Consequences for Children

• Children malnourished; may not grow to normal height

• Have mental & physical health issues

• Have untreated broken bones, hearing loss, etc.

• May develop chronic back, visual, & respiratory problems

• May have sexually transmitted diseases inlcuding AIDS

• Untreated urinary tract infections

• Kidney problems

• Future problems with reproduction

• Mental health issues: PTSD, sleeping & eating disorders, phobias, panic attacks, depression

• Substance abuse problems: sometimes hooked on drugs by captor for power & control purposes

• May experience trauma bonding: Stockholm Syndrome

• Get children to accept captors as family: children accept abuse in exchange for familiar bonding

HELP FOR CHILDREN

• Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) October 2000– Increases prosecution of traffickers– Protects victims– Provides benefits & services to victims– Allows for T Visa to remain in U.S.

• Through U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) unaccompanied trafficked children eligible for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors (URM) program– Placed in foster care or independent living

situations– May receive intensive case management

• Assists in family reunification• Assists in repatriation services

HHS’s Rescue & Restore Victims of Human Trafficking Public Awareness Campaign

• Focuses on educating individuals who may encounter victims such as CPS workers, teachers, medical personnel, law enforcement, etc.

• Any minor involved in commercial sex is a trafficking victim

• Must be identified to receive needed services

• HHS has created a program to help local governments identify victims

• There are posters, training videos, etc. to educate individuals to spot & identify victims

• Go to: www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking

CLUES TO IDENTIFY VICTIMS

• Attends school sporadically, not at all; or significant gap in schooling

• Often hungry or malnourished

• Wearing the same clothing day after day; clothes are dirty & torn

• Poor hygiene

• Bruises or other signs of physical abuse

• Living with multiple people in a cramped space

• Lives & works in the same place or with employer

• Depression, fear, overly submissive

• No passport or other forms of identification