Newsletter: January 2003: Stopping Traffic

Virtually every country in the world participates in the buying and selling of human beings, as a country of origin, transit or destination. Victims are trafficked into domestic, agricultural, entertainment and other industries. They work as prostitutes or in sweatshops, as hotel maids or peddlers. The United Nations expects that trafficking in human beings will soon surpass trafficking in drugs and guns as the world’s leading illegal industry.

The United Nations Development Programme estimates that trafficking in women and girls for sexual purposes is a $7 billion a year business. Women and children trafficked into the United States’ sex industry may be moved around from city to city in a circuit including New York, Miami, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and other major cities. Traffickers move victims around to disorient them, making it harder for them to establish roots in a community, contact law enforcement or seek other services.

As a major American port and an international city by all standards, New York is no stranger to the industry of human trafficking. The US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement has funded two new efforts to fight human trafficking in New York City. The International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA) and End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking (ECPAT-USA) have collaborated to create the Community Response to Trafficking (CRT). In addition, Safe Horizon has established an Anti-Trafficking Initiative. Both projects will coordinate direct services (including shelter, counseling and legal assistance), train service providers, leverage resources and outreach to community organizations and professional groups. CRT began by holding a free citywide training this December for service providers and law enforcement. The Safe Horizon Anti-Trafficking Initiative has created the NYC Service Network for Trafficked Persons, where programs can learn more about local projects and how to become involved.

The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) made a number of changes to the government response to human trafficking and added some new protections. Under the TVPA, victims of trafficking who are certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services are eligible for the same benefits as refugees. TVPA also created the T Visa for victims of “a severe form of trafficking.” A victim of severe trafficking is identified by the details of how the victims arrived in the U.S., if relevant, but also by their treatment during employment. This can include confiscation of the victim’s passport, inadequate food, physical and psychological abuse, sexual abuse, threats to the victim or his/her family, lack of pay, rising debt and more. The victim can also qualify with a Law Enforcement Agency (LEA) Certification from INS, or an INS grant of “continued presence.” For each, there is an arduous process to go through, and many things to prove before a victim can receive certification.

Despite the new law, there are still some barriers to coming forward. Victims must comply with law enforcement agencies in order to receive benefits or asylum. Many victims fear retribution from their traffickers, some of whom are connected to organized crime networks and have been known to abuse or torture their victims’ families back home if the victims press charges.

Minors who can prove that they are 15 years old or younger do not have to assist law enforcement, but many young victims do not have documentation of their age. Proving a victim’s age is sometimes impossible.

For victims trafficked into prostitution, the illegal nature of the work can bind victims to their traffickers. The Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project, whose clients are both trafficked and non-trafficked workers in both illegal and legal sex work, addressed this problem at the CRT training. Globalization and migration have made some women in developing countries willing to do most anything to get to the U.S., and the false pretenses of their traffickers may only become evident once they get here. Victims may be held captive, threatened or subjected to violence from their traffickers. These victims may also be forced to move from city to city after entering the country, to provide “fresh faces” for their clients.

Some victims willingly enter the United States illegally, with the intention of working in the sex industry. But they may still be considered victims of severe trafficking, and therefore eligible for benefits, depending on the conditions they are subjected to once they arrive.

A new report by ECPAT-USA estimates that 15,000 children are trafficked into the U.S. every year, while few have been found. The average age of victims when they are discovered in the U.S. is 20 years old, but they may have arrived at a much younger age. Boys and girls are trafficked for both sexual and other purposes, and little is known about their whereabouts and what conditions they suffer. Many of the girls are pregnant, have had abortions or have children of their own, making service provision to this population both more critical and more challenging.

Mia Spangenberg of ECPAT-USA, the author of the report, said at the CRT training that trafficking of women and children for prostitution will continue as long as there are limited opportunities for women, a strong demand from clients, and profits for organized crime.

Much remains to be discovered regarding the extent and dynamics of human trafficking. A national study by the Center for the Study of Youth Poverty at the University of Pennsylvania found that up to 325,000 American children and youth are victimized by sexual exploitation each year, including significant numbers of both foreign children trafficked into the U.S., and American youth trafficked across the U.S. and to other countries.

We look forward to hearing more about the new initiatives to address this devastating problem. Perhaps there is a role rape crisis programs can play in identifying, counseling and advocating for this vulnerable population. Programs interested in getting involved in the initiatives discussed in this article, and other efforts to fight trafficking and sexual exploitation, should contact the Alliance for more information.

Kate Woodrow is the Outreach and Education Associate at The New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault. [[2] more]

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[1]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_1.html
[2]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_author_1.html
[3]: http://www.nycagainstrape.org/home/nycaasa/stage.nycagainstrape.org/newsletter_article_118.html

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