Human Trafficking: Global and Local Perspectives Donna M. Bickford, Ph.D., Director Carolina Women‘s Center The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill June 17, 2010
The Legal Definition
VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING AND VIOLENCE PROTECTION ACT
2000, 2003, 2005, 2008
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.
UN Protocol – Palermo Protocol
(a) ‗Trafficking in persons‘ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, or abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments of benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.
(c) The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purposes of exploitation shall be considered ‗trafficking in persons‘ even if this does not involve any of the means set fort in subparagraph (a) of this article [child = 18].
A Closer Look: Process Recruiting Or Harboring Or Moving Or Obtaining Or Maintaining a person
Means
By Force Or Fraud Or Coercion
End For a Commercial Sex Act Or Involuntary Servitude Or Peonage Or Debt Bondage Or Slavery
Trafficking vs. Smuggling
Trafficking: Must contain an element of force, fraud or coercion (unless under 18 years of age) Persons trafficked are victims Need not involve the actual movement of the victim No requirement to cross an international border Key criterion is compelled service, not movement Trafficking is a human rights violation
Smuggling: Person being smuggled is generally cooperating – some level of consent Persons smuggled are complicit in smuggling crime Facilitates the illegal/undocumented entry of persons from one country into another Smuggling always crosses an international border Smuggling is a violation of national boundaries
Magnitude of the Problem 600,000 to 800,000 individuals trafficked across international borders each year 80% are women and children 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the U.S. each year. Domestic trafficking not included in these figures; 100,000-300,000 children in the US are at risk of commercial sexual exploitation.
US Department of State TIP 2007; Estes, University of Pennsylvania.
Profit
$32 billion profit annually in human trafficking. $75,000 to $250,000 per victim, per year. Top 3 criminal industries in the world: Drugs, arms and . . . human trafficking. Human trafficking is the fastest growing, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
From: UN Office on Drugs & Crime and ILO; HHS; Dr. Donna Hughes; Dorchen Leidholdt, CATW.
Where are the victims? Trafficking victims can be found in virtually any environment: Commercial Sex Industry Domestic servitude Restaurant/food industry Construction industry Factories/manufacturing Agricultural work Domestic work – cleaning, nanny, etc. Begging, military conscription, ―mail-order‖ bride, etc. According to the UN ODC, commercial sexual exploitation makes up 80% of human trafficking cases.
How Does Trafficking Happen?
Deceptive or fraudulent job offers. Pretense of romantic interest; ―lover boy.‖ Smuggling turns into trafficking. Kidnapping/Abduction. Family action.
Congresswoman Deborah Pryce unveils the "End Demand for Sex Trafficking" Act at the U.S. Capitol.
Possible Indicators of Trafficking
Visible security measures (bodyguards, barred windows, barbed wire) Isolation/Restriction of movement (physical barriers, isolation from others, monitoring of any outside contacts) Confiscation of identity documents No access to money Lack of local knowledge Excessive hours of work; no time off Physical or psychological abuse or coercion Threats Fear, anxiety, submissiveness
Key Questions for Victims of Trafficking
How did you get here? Where do you live, eat, and sleep? Do you owe someone money? Have your identification documents been taken from you? Have you been threatened? Has your family been threatened? Have you been physically abused? Can you come and go as you please? Are you afraid of someone? Who?
Trafficking and Prostitution
Studies find that the majority of prostituted women and girls experienced childhood physical and/or sexual abuse. More than 80% of prostituted women and girls want to leave prostitution. The majority of prostituted girls and women have been ―coerced or forced to engage in prostitution by pimps or traffickers.‖ The average age of entry into prostitution is between 12-16 – i.e. victims of trafficking. Countries with legalized prostitution have seen an increase in sex trafficking.
Shively, et al. (2008)
Sporting Events Olympic Games 2012, BBC:
“The 2012 London Olympics could become a magnet for human traffickers bringing in prostitutes and illegal workers, the government has said.”
World Cup 2010, ESPN:
“Concerns raised about illegal sex trade: World Cup in South Africa heightens awareness about human trafficking”
Super Bowl 2010, CNN:
“[W]henever there's a convention, a concert or a large event, traffickers will bring girls to the area to serve the influx of visitors," Regina Bernadin, Statewide Human Trafficking Coordinator for the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Transit Routes
2010 TIP Report
Tiered rating system 2010 report includes US ranking More US citizens in sex trafficking More international victims in labor trafficking
China -- Tier 2 watch list India -- Tier 2 watch list
Trafficking in the Southeast U.S.
19-23 % of those trafficked into the U.S. are in the Southeast, according to FBI analysts in Charlotte. According to FBI Special Agent John Price, trafficking victims identified in NC come primarily from: the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Mexico, Venezuela, and Colombia. Contributing factors: I-95/I-85 corridor, agricultural and meat processing industries, military bases and immigration.
From News 14 Carolina, 25 January, 2006; ABC News Primetime 9 February, 2006; Price presentation, Human Trafficking, 19 September 2007
Examples of NC cases: 2005, Sanchez -- sex trafficking/minor and adult 2007, Thai farmworkers 2008, Evans -- US men, farm labor 2009, Flores – sex trafficking/minor and adult
Barriers to Identifying & Stopping Trafficking
Stereotypes about undocumented workers and women who have been prostituted Psychological challenges (normalization of exploitation, hopelessness and resignation, trauma, ―Stockholm syndrome‖—traumatic bonding to attacker) Language barriers Fear Shame and self-blame Lack of awareness (of available resources, of status as victim)
Factors That Contribute to Trafficking
Demand for cheap labor and access to the bodies of women and children Cultural and legal subordination and marginalization of women Conditions in home country: Economic conditions Poverty Economic hardship Lack of jobs and opportunities Political conditions Civil unrest Conflict/displacement Political instability Inadequacy of law enforcement in countries of origin, transit and destination
Education UN General Assembly, Human Rights Council, 5/4/2010
Report submitted by the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children includes this recommendation: ―Promote the inclusion of human trafficking information into school curricula at all levels of education.‖
Curricular Resources
http://www.freetheslaves.net
http://www.antislavery.org/english/
http://www.stopthetraffik.org/resources/ schools.aspx
Progress in North Carolina humantrafficking.unc.edu
Legislation: Session Law 2006-247 (HB1896) Session Law 2007-547 (SB1079/HB974) SB353 - pending RIPPLE: The North Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force Manual Training
LOCAL RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS: LOCATIONS
North Carolina Stop Human Trafficking
NC Stop Human Trafficking [http://ncstophumantrafficking.wordpress.com]
Carolina Women’s Center
Conferences: Combating Sex Trafficking: Prevention and Intervention in North Carolina and Worldwide. 2008. Sexual Trafficking: Breaking the Crisis of Silence. 2006. For more information about these conferences, visit: http://womenscenter.unc.edu CAST: Coalition Against Sex Trafficking (Facebook Group) Sex Trafficking Working Research Group
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-888-3737-888
