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Human Trafficking

“The ladies saw hell's slavery pit.” --Rick Casey

Human Trafficking – or

Laura Blackburn & Ann HerbageLeague of Women Voters of the Houston Area

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Defining Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is modern day slavery.It involves force; fraud; or coercionto provide labor, services, or commercialsex acts against their will.

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HUMAN TRAFFICKING DOES NOT

• necessarily mean movement or transportation

but rather

• the buying and selling of people.

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SMUGGLING

• The person smuggled is cooperating.

• There is no actual or implied coercion.

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HOW PREVALENT IS IT?

Today, trafficking of humans is believed to occur on every continent, and it’s believed that more people are enslaved now than in any other time in human history. (Bales, 1999.)

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WHY?

• BECAUSE it is a $9 to $32 billion dollar industry.– Human trafficking is illegal in every country

but it is happening in every country.– Cases have been investigated in 48 states in

the U.S. – It is the second largest criminal industry in

the world today and the fastest growing.

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HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE INVOLVED INTERNATIONALLY?

• 12.3 million people are in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude and involuntary servitude.

(International Labor Organization).

• Some estimates are as high as 27 million. (U.S. Department of State, 2006, 2007)

Approximately 14,500 - 17,500 individuals are trafficked annually into the United States.

(Trafficking In Persons Report, 2009)

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Why Is Trafficking So Prevalent?

• Economics.• Political instability.• Culture.• Consumer demand.• Victims seem invisible.

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WHO IS TRAFFICKED?

• Women and children.

• Men.

• Both domestic and international.

• For labor & sex.

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Why People Are Trafficked• Prostitution• Exotic dancing• Agricultural work• Landscape work• Domestic work and

child care (domestic servitude)

• Factory work

• Personal sexual exploitation

• Begging/street peddling• Restaurant work• Construction work• Carnival work• Hotel housekeeping• Criminal activities• Day labor

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Victim Issues to Consider

May not understand that they are victims.May fear for their own and/or their family’s

safety.Likely to lie or use a rehearsed story initially.May be behaviorally dependent on trafficker.May feel shame in telling their story and what

they have been through.

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Domestic Victims of Human Trafficking

• Domestic victims are U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents.

• Most domestic victims are children exploited for the commercial sex industry.

• Estimated 199,000 incidents of sexual exploitation of minors occur each year in the U.S. (Estes & Weiner, 2001.)

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Domestic Trafficking – Continued

• The typical age of entry into prostitution is age 12. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.)

• May be younger.

• 1 out of every 3 teens on the street will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway, and

Throwaway Children.)

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Trafficking in and through Texas

• Texas is hub of the U.S. trafficking• Houston is the hub of the hub.

– Major airport.– Major port.– Near the border with Mexico.– 20 percent of U.S. trafficking occurs on I-10

between El Paso and Houston.

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Scope of the Problem

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Prosecuting Trafficking Cases – A Look at the Legal Tools

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INTERNATIONAL LAW

• UNITED NATIONS– 1948 – Declaration of Human Rights

prohibited slavery and servitude.– 2000 – Convention Against Transnational

Organized Crime.

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INTERNATIONAL LAW --

First protocol – Palermo Protocol:–Against trafficking in persons.–First global legally binding definition

of human trafficking.–U.S. signed in December 2000.–Ratified in November 2005.

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Federal Law – 13th Amendment to the Constitution (1865)

“…neither slavery nor involuntary servitude (except as punishment for a duly convicted crime) shall exist within the United States or any place subject to their jurisdiction….”

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Federal Law (continued) – Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)

• TVPA of 2000, Pub. Law 106-386– Prevention

• Economic assistance for vulnerable populations, micro lending funding for NGOs and international public education programs and mandates U.S. State Department's annual TIP report.

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TVPA --

– Protection and Victims Assistance• Victims assistance programs and

decriminalization of victims.– Prosecution

• Increase in sentence ranges, distinct crime for passport confiscation, defined coercion as physical and psychological.

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The TVPA Is a Victim-centered Law

• Trafficking victims, even if they are in the U.S. illegally, are to be viewed as victims of crime.

• Programs are created to assist victims, including immigration remedies.

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TVPA--

Benefits afforded refugees are given to human trafficking victims willing to assist in the prosecution of their traffickers.

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Federal Human Trafficking - Offenses

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State Law – Trafficking of Persons

• Texas Penal Code, Section 20A.02 (Passed in 2003—just after Washington State)

– A person commits this offense if:• The person knowingly trafficks another

person ...

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State Law -- (continued)

… with the intent that the trafficked person engage in

forced labor or services; conduct that constitutes an offense under

Chapter 43 (public indecency/prostitution).

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State Law – (continued)

– Trafficking of persons is a felony of the second degree; it is raised to a first degree felony if:

• the person who is trafficked is younger than 14 years of age at the time of the offense.

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Identifying Trafficking Cases

International

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Trafficking Hot Spots

• Places of prostitution– brothels– spas– bars and cantinas– strip clubs– residences

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Mi Cabaña Sports Bar

El Cuco Restaurant

El Huetamo Night Club

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Trafficking Hot Spots (continued)

• Labor camps and sweatshops:– Security intended to keep victims confined.– Only allowed to shop at “company store.”

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Potential Trafficking Indicators

• Living/working conditions of victim:– live on or near work premises.– restricted or controlled communication.– frequently moved by traffickers.– large number in a living space.

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Potential Trafficking Indicators (continued)

• Victims may lack

– personal items or possessions.

– knowledge about how to get around in a community.

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Potential Trafficking Indicators (continued)

• Personal and physical indicators:– injuries from beatings or weapons.– signs of torture (e.g., cigarette burns).– brands or scarring indicating ownership.– signs of malnourishment.

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Potential Trafficking Indicators (continued)

• Behaviors of potential victims:– signs of emotional distress or trauma.– Averted gaze.– Cowering.

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Identifying Trafficking Cases

Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking

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Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) Defined By Federal Law

• Domestic minor sex trafficking occurs when a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident who has not attained 18 years of age is engaged in a commercial sex act.

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DOMESTIC MINOR SEX TRAFFICKING--

• “Commercial sex act” means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person.

• This includes:- prostitution.- exotic dancing or stripping- pornography.

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Victims

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Who Are the Victims of DMST?• Youth of any ethnicity, race, or religion.• Youth of any socio-economic class.• Female, male, and transgender youth.• Youth of all ages, including teenagers.• Vulnerable youth.

• Victims do not “just happen” – they are MADE

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Path to Victimization

What is the main reason a child enters into prostitution?

Love, Affection, and Attention

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Why Is It Hard to Identify DMST Victims?

• Victims do not self-identify.• Victims are physically and/or psychologically

controlled by pimps.• Victims are trained by pimps to tell lies and false

stories.

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• The only close social and emotional tie victims have is with the trafficker or pimp.

• Victims distrust service providers and law enforcement.

• Victims are frequently moved from place to place.• Technology can help disguise the real age of the

victim.• It is easy to obtain fake I.D.s

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The Pimp: Methods of Control and Coercion

• Masters of the art of seduction.

• Able to identify the vulnerabilities of a specific child and exploit them.

• Use torture tactics to control their victims after seduction, which– leads to complete obedience and a breakdown

of personal autonomy.– includes both physical and psychological

torture.

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When Excuses Do Not Work

• Beatings• Verbal abuse• Humiliations• Threats to harm victim’s children, parents, or

other family members• Restriction of movement (other than work-

related).

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Future For the Victim• Victims have a limited useful life:

– Poor physical health; disease, infection, or injury; emotional collapse; addiction

St. Petersburg, FL Police Department

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Future For the Victim• Victims are also murdered.

Tiffany Mason , San Francisco, murdered by “john” at age 15 (August 2001)

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LAW ENFORCEMENT IN HOUSTON

• There are 2 Federal task forces:

– Houston Trafficking Rescue Alliance (HTRA).

– Houston Innocence Lost Task Force (HILTF).

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Houston Trafficking Rescue Alliance

• Members:

1.U.S Attorney’s Office.2. ICE.3. FBI.4. U.S. Department of State Diplomatic

Security.5. U.S. Coast Guard.

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HTRA - Continued

6. Texas Attorney General’s Office.7. Harris County District Attorney’s Office.8. Harris County Sheriff’s Office.9. IRS.10.U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.11.Customs & Border Protection.12.U.S. Department of Labor Inspector General and

Wage & Hour Division.

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13. Houston Police Department.14.Texas Alcohol & Beverage Commission.15. Texas Department of Public Safety.

NGO’s16. YMCA International.17. Catholic Charities.18. Houston Rescue & Restore Coalition.

HTRA - Continued

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Whom They Work With:

• HTRA– International trafficking of adults & minors.– Adult & minor domestic labor.

HILTF– Adult and children domestic sex trafficking.

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LOCAL EFFORTS:

• Harris County Sheriff’s Department– 5 deputies for HTRA.

Houston Police Department– 4 officers for HILTF.– 4 FBI agents.

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Harris County Attorney

files cases under nuisance laws. can prosecute and close down owners of

cantinas, brothels, massage parlors, etc. does not prevent “business” from opening

afresh down the street. closed down 18 facilities (in 2 years). can only file civil cases.

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Harris County DA’s Office

• Not called often.• 3 cases in 3 years.• Note that sheriff’s and police office are working

with federal officials.

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U.S. Attorney Cases:• Rescued 177 victims.• Investigated more than 67 cases.• Charged 37 defendants federally in 15

indictments.• Charged 9 defendants under state law in 2 cases.• Task force formed in 2004.• Task force considered one of the 3 top task forces

in the country.

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What Can Be Done?

• Involve the public.• Become knowledgeable.• Train all law enforcement personnel.• Bring state law up to standards of federal law.• Greater enforcement.• Provide “safe houses” for minors.

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From this…

In the early hours of July 17, 2005, she was arrested in a Houston brothel, after sexually servicing more than 20 males.

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To this….

A year later, defendants were prosecuted. The victim was restored and reunited with her mother.

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Human Trafficking

To report human trafficking:

National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline

1-888 -3737-8881-888 -3737-888

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For more information:

www.lwvhouston.org