Human Trafficking Project

Helping Victims Seek Justice

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https://www.gofundme.com/f/7rjuc7-help-end-human-trafficking?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

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What We Know About How Child Sex Trafficking Happens

What most people think they know about child sex trafficking generally involves stories – young girls and boys being kidnapped by strangers, forced into windowless vans, then driven to another city or state where they are kept drugged and chained in a brothel. While situations like these do exist, they are more of an exception than the rule. A study analyzing press releases and online media reports from over a nine year period found that fewer than 10 percent of cases involved kidnapping. The rest were far more complicated, far less “Hollywood.” The danger of these misconceptions is that while we are on high alert for windowless vans and teaching our children about stranger danger, we may well be missing out on what is really going on. There is still a tremendous amount to learn about human trafficking in the United States and far more data and research is needed. But what we do know is a great deal about how victims – particularly young people – are lured into trafficking situations. The information below summarizes some of the best available research about how trafficking actually happens, so you can help to keep your families and communities safe. Traffickers tend to prey on people who are economically or socially vulnerable such as youth who are living in poverty, or on the streets, or experience physical or sexual abuse, or addiction. They pose as a friend, offering to meals, gifts, or just a sympathetic ear. In some cases, traffickers may use another young person to befriend and recruit their victims. This recruitment can happen in public places such as malls or sporting events, as well as online, through social media sites, or through false advertisements or promises about job opportunities that might appeal to young people, such as modeling or acting. Although runaway and homeless youth are particularly vulnerable, there are also several examples of victims who were groomed and recruited while living at home and even attending school. Using these methods, over time the trafficker is no longer a stranger, but someone the victim knows and even trusts. With this trust in place, traffickers don’t need to kidnap their victims.  They can convince them to show up willingly. This perceived choice in the beginning often results in feelings of shame, guilt, or self-blame for victims and survivors who later try to leave their traffickers. It is also not uncommon for parents and family members to sell children for sex in exchange for money, drugs, or something of value. In these situations, the trafficker is already someone with proximity to the victim and knows enough about the victim to even isolate and manipulate them. Being aware of and focusing on the ways in which traffickers gradually lure their victims is critical in recognizing and even preventing situations of sex trafficking.  Below are some suggestions for ways you can help protect your child or a child you may know:

Educate yourself and your child on what human trafficking looks like and common grooming tactics.

Learn about online safety and the risks of sharing personal information with strangers who may not be who they say they are online.

Establish open lines of communication early on with your child so they feel comfortable enough to talk to you about what is going on in their lives. Discuss how they can recognize and remove themselves from uncomfortable situations before they become urgent or dangerous.

Talk to your child about human trafficking. There are different strategies for talking to children of every age.

Understand the vulnerabilities of children in your community and what makes them a high risk to human trafficking.

Support your local organizations that are working to help prevent child sex trafficking and support survivors.

References

Deshpandre, N., & Nour, N. (2013). Sex trafficking of women and girls. Reviews in Obstetrics and Gynecology, 6, pp. 22-27.

Horn, K., Woods, S. (2013). Trauma and its aftermath for commercially sexually exploited women as told by front-line service providers. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 34, pp. 75-81.

Kotrla, K. (2010). Domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States. Social Work, 55, pp. 181-187.

Kotrla, K. & Wommack, B. A. (2011). Sex trafficking of minors in the US: Implications for policy, prevention, and research. Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for Children at Risk, 2(1, 5). Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1189039.pdf.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/what-we-know-about-how-child-sex-trafficking-happens/

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Human Trafficking and Prison Labor

Most people assume that the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution wholly abolished legal slavery in the United States in any form. The reality, however, is that the Thirteenth Amendment contained one important exception: Prison labor. Those who have been “duly convicted” of a crime can still, legally, be forced to work in this country, and that exception has been a driving force for how our prison system looks today and the mass incarceration of Black Americans. Increasingly, formerly incarcerated people are speaking out about their experiences and asking the anti-trafficking movement to join the fight to improve working conditions and pay, and end forced labor in prisons and detention centers.  Beginning in 2019, Polaris began hosting listening sessions with advocates in the criminal justice reform and immigrant rights movements to deepen our own understanding and identify ways the anti-trafficking movement can support the criminal justice reform and immigrant rights movements to address exploitation in prisons and detention centers. The United States defines labor trafficking as 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. Prison labor often fits this description. All prison labor has some financial benefit to the entity – private or governmental – running the prison. The most common type of prison labor is institutional.  These are the jobs that support the operations of the prison or detention facility. They may include cooking, cleaning, laundry, landscaping, and other jobs. Most of this work is for low pay, on average $0.14-$0.63 an hour, or no pay at all. In many of these jobs, without the use of this free or heavily discounted labor, the facility would need to hire a civilian employee to do the work at market rate. This difference in pay translates into a profit for the state or private company that is incarcerating individuals, creating an incentive to continue incarcerating more and more people. The second type of labor incarcerated individuals typically perform is working for either a state or federal government correctional industry – businesses or corporations run by the government in question that operate in correctional facilities and utilize incarcerated individuals as free or cheap laborers. The type of work can include manufacturing, furniture building, agriculture, making license plates or signs, and making uniforms or apparel. Most products from correctional industries can only be sold to government agencies and non-profits within the state. The exception is for agricultural goods, which can be sold to anyone, including directly to consumers. The third type of labor incarcerated individuals perform affects only a small number of incarcerated individuals (approximately 5,000 nationwide) who work for private companies through a program called the Prison Industry Enhancement Certification Program (PIECP). This program allows private companies to contract with state governments to hire incarcerated individuals to work for them. Large companies such as Victoria’s Secret, Walmart, Microsoft, Starbucks, and Whole Foods have or had products produced with prison labor in their supply chains (typically through subcontractors’ use of incarcerated individuals’ work).

Why is prison labor a problem?

In many cases, incarcerated individuals have no choice but to participate in work programs that enrich the private prison companies or the state or local governments operating the facility. They are mandated to work unless medically unable. The average wage per hour for incarcerated individuals is typically less than a dollar an hour and in several states inmates are not paid at all but still required to work. With criminal justice fees, fines, and paycheck deductions for room, board, and medical facilities, most people who get out of prison wind up owing the government money for their incarceration, making imprisonment a revenue generator. In other cases, prison work programs are “voluntary,” meaning that incarcerated people can choose not to participate. But the choice looks a lot like coercion to people who are in dire financial need or who are threatened with physical harm if they do not perform the work. In prison, for example, a person without any outside source of income would not have the means to put money into their commissary accounts to purchase food, hygiene products, pay for medical visits, or make phone calls. Story after story has emerged from immigrant detention centers where detainees who have not been convicted of crimes have been forced to work to support the operations of the detention center.  Under the threat of solitary confinement, relocation into more violent dormitories, withholding of food or essential supplies like sanitary pads, or other coercive tactics, detainees acquiesce to “voluntary” work. Increasingly, we are learning that the ways in which prison labor is being done by for-profit prison businesses is exploitative, with little consideration given to the exploitation of the incarcerated workers themselves. A number of lawsuits against GEO Group and CoreCivic, the two largest private prison corporations, are now emerging alleging forced labor and human trafficking. In a lawsuit against GEO Group, more than 62,000 complainants have joined a class action suit alleging forced labor in the Aurora Detention Center in violation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.  In a lawsuit filed by Project South and the Southern Poverty Law Center against the Stewart Correctional Facility in Lumpkin, GA, CoreCivic is accused of similar violations. Incarcerated and detained individuals’ communication is monitored and this means that it is difficult for them to report abuses or violation of their rights. Even if they could report exploitative working conditions, many protections are unavailable for them as they are not considered “employees” in the traditional and legal sense and therefore are not protected by the Equal Pay Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the National Labor Relations Act, or the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

What can be done?

There is some hope on the horizon that things could improve. A recent court decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals held that the Trafficking Victims Protection Act covers the conduct of private contractors operating federal immigration detention facilities. This ruling is a good foundational step but a great deal more work is necessary to uphold the protections afforded by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to incarcerated individuals in prisons, jails, and immigration detention facilities. State and federal oversight agencies need to ensure that all labor programs within detention facilities, prisons or jails are truly voluntary – that is free from coercion or force. Incarcerated or detained workers should be paid adequately for their work so as to not undermine local employment markets.  Proper safety protocols and worker protections should be put into place to decrease the risk of contracting COVID-19, workplace injury, or death. The United States demonstrates its leadership by condemning regimes and nations that condone or perpetuate forced labor. The U.S. State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report considers state-sanctioned forced labor and prison labor within its grading of anti-trafficking efforts.  And the Department of Homeland Security refuses to allow the import of products into the United States that are the result of forced labor.  As we hold other countries to these standards, we should also look to our own actions, and make the changes we need to at home. To learn more about prison labor:

Fact Sheet: Human Trafficking & Forced Labor in For-Profit Detention Facilities by Human Trafficking Legal Center

Institutional Maintenance in Private Prisons: A Case of Labor Exploitation report by OL Pathy Family Foundation

Prison Labor in the United States: An Investor Perspective report by NorthStar Asset Management

The Kill Line feature by Southern Poverty Law Center on incarcerated individuals working in poultry processing facilities

Prison By Any Other Name: A Report on South Florida Detention Facilities by Southern Poverty Law Center

IMPRISONED JUSTICE: Inside Two Georgia Immigrant Detention Centers report by Project South and Penn State Law’s Center for Immigrants’ Rights Clinic

Prison Legal News: a monthly magazine that reviews prisoners’ rights, court rulings, and news on criminal justice issues. Some of the areas covered include prison labor, the private prison industry, medical and mental health care for prisoners, misconduct, and abuse by prison and jail staff, and settlements and verdicts in lawsuits against detention facilities.

American Prison: A Reporter’s Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment by Shane Bauer

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/human-trafficking-and-prison-labor/

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Barcelona Trafficking Network is Dismantled

Written by STOPP Website Staff (08/08/2020) In mid-July, police arrested 12 human traffickers and identified almost 1,000 trafficking survivors in Spain.  The Mossos d’Esquadra (the police force of the region of Catalonia, headquartered in Barcelona, in northeastern Spain) dismantled a major international human trafficking ring in Barcelona.  Most of the 12 arrested individuals were of Sub-Saharan and Moroccan nationality.   They were smuggling Africans into Europe and exploiting them for labor.

Twelve Arrested in Trafficking Network    euroweeklynews.com

Police investigated in other countries as well to break up this international ring.  There were three searches in Portugal, two in Germany, and one in the Netherlands.  Almost 1,000 victims were found including mothers, pregnant women, and children who were recruited to work.  Hundreds of thousands of dollars were also discovered, along with two kilos of marijuana.  

This investigative operation has been ongoing since 2018 when police identified a criminal gang that was transporting undocumented migrants into France.  The victims were transferred from Spain to France, Belgium, and Germany.  The traffickers charged the victims at least 500 euros ($566 U.S.) to be transported for the labor, and then often abandoned women and minors in various countries if they, including children, could not pay the full amount that the traffickers said that the victims owed them.  This two year operation located almost 1,000 victims.  

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/barcelona-trafficking-network-is-dismantled-2/

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Polaris CTO Testifies on the Role of Technology in Countering Trafficking in Persons

Technology plays a role in almost every aspect of human trafficking, including recruiting victims and carrying out trafficking operations. At the same time, technology can also be used to combat human trafficking, aiding in investigating and prosecuting traffickers and providing services and support to victims and survivors. On July 28, 2020, Polaris Chief Technology Officer Anjana Rajan had the opportunity to explore these issues with members of the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology in a hearing on The Role of Technology in Countering Trafficking in Persons. Timed to coincide with World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, the Committee hearing examined the role of existing and emerging technologies to prevent and combat human trafficking and to fill gaps in research and data, and how the U.S. government might support these efforts. In her testimony, Anjana brought together data and lessons learned from Polaris’s 13 years operating the National Human Trafficking Hotline and her professional expertise applying cryptography to human rights and national security issues. She emphasized the use of technology as one tool in a broader strategy to change the systems that make people vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking, and the opportunity to use technology to rebalance power back in the hands of victims and survivors. In order to best support, fund, and regulate technologies, members of Congress must have an accurate understanding how relevant technologies actually work – how and who they can help, and how they might harm. This understanding will allow for an innovative and nuanced application so that technologies, like encryption, can be used to protect and support victims and survivors while also being used to prosecute traffickers. Below are key points from Anjana’s testimony that Polaris hopes members of Congress will take into account as they consider how technology can be applied to prevent and combat human trafficking. Her full testimony, which looks more in-depth at these technologies, is also available.

Human trafficking is about people with power exploiting and controlling vulnerable people for their own profit. Survivors tell us that restoring their sense of control – including choosing when law enforcement intervenes – is paramount to their healing. Technology should not only enable law enforcement to identify traffickers; it should also be used to put power back in the hands of victims and survivors. To pass meaningful and effective legislation, it is imperative for legislators to fully understand how these technologies work. One of the technologies that has recently been discussed in this space is encryption. In the public debate around encryption, we often only see two sides represented: one side that says we should identify and apprehend perpetrators at all costs, even if that means we break encryption to do it, and the other side that says we should protect encryption at all costs, even if that means victims and survivors get hurt. This is a false dichotomy. There is a third way that can optimize for both virtues because encryption protects victims and survivors. In fact, we can hold perpetrators (and the platforms that enable them) accountable for their abuse and exploitation using advanced cryptography. But doing so will require innovative thinking and an accurate understanding of how these technologies work. To honor the exploratory nature of this committee hearing, I am proposing three possible ideas on how encryption could be used to help fight human trafficking and support victims and survivors. First, victims and survivors need safe, trauma-informed reporting channels. Cryptographic reporting escrows are examples of systems where they can learn about their options and have the power to take the action that is best for them. The underlying technology pinning these escrows is called secure multiparty computation. Second, human trafficking is, inherently, a commercial enterprise. Financial system intervention in human trafficking has the potential to increase the risk for traffickers and reduce a community’s vulnerability to trafficking. Homomorphic encryption could allow human trafficking researchers to run analytical functions directly on a financial institution’s encrypted data without ever seeing the sensitive plaintext. And third, since human traffickers have eagerly adopted the use of cryptocurrencies, law enforcement could leverage the fact that these transactions are permanently stored on a public, decentralized blockchain ledger. With known wallet addresses and their corresponding public transactions, law enforcement agencies can build an open-source dataset of human trafficking buyers and sellers, and ultimately map out the entire network of a human trafficking ring. In conclusion, human trafficking is a complex problem that requires nuanced solutions. It is the result of social, policy, and market failures. Technology, at its best, can help rebalance power. However, it is not a panacea. The unchecked use of advanced technologies have the potential to suppress freedom, rather than restore freedom to survivors. We need to design and deploy technology with the best interests of victims and survivors at the center.  Anjana Rajan, Chief Technology of Polaris, Excerpt from her Testimony before the House of Representatives Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/polaris-cto-testifies-on-the-role-of-technology-in-countering-trafficking-in-persons/

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How the New Supreme Court Rulings Affect Human Trafficking

In June, the U.S. Supreme Court decided two cases that together increase protections for the LGBTQ+ community and undocumented immigrant youth – aka “Dreamers.” These decisions are important, positive steps in the work to end sex and labor trafficking, both directly and indirectly. Legal protections, particularly employment protections, bolster economic empowerment which, in turn, helps keep people out of poverty – a key risk factor for being trafficked. Additionally, the rulings very directly remove certain threats that traffickers can use to control victims. In the first case, the Supreme Court decided 6-3 that the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964 bans employment discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity. This decision will dramatically expand workplace protections as more than half of states lack state-level laws protecting LGBTQ+ people from being hired or fired because of their sexual orientation or gender identity. Protections from employment discrimination for the LGBTQ+ community will help increase job stability for a vulnerable group. Transgender people in particular face immense discrimination, including in the job market. According to the National Center for Transgender Equality, more than 1 in 4 transgender people have lost a job due to bias and more than 3 in 4 have experienced some form of workplace discrimination. Twenty percent have had to turn to the informal economy for work, including selling sex and drugs. Workplace discrimination, along with many other obstacles, can make transgender individuals susceptible to exploitation as a means of survival. Legal protections, like those determined by the Supreme Court this month, help break down formal barriers to opportunity. However, workplace protections are only one step – without nondiscrimination protections for the LGBTQ+ community that extends to housing, education, credit, and more, our data shows that these communities remain disproportionately at risk of trafficking. Just three days later, the Court ruled 5-4 that the U.S. administration acted improperly in terminating the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA. Established by the Department of Homeland Security in 2012, DACA gives undocumented young people who were brought to this country as children the opportunity to work and go to school in the United States without the threat of deportation. The Court did not rule on the legality of DACA itself, and the administration does have other avenues to end the program. Permanent protections will require action by Congress. However, the decision provides additional protections to DACA recipients in the short-term. Policies within the U.S. immigration system can help protect people from potential vulnerabilities, or they can increase those vulnerabilities. For the past eight years, DACA has provided legal authorization for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrant youth, allowing them to study, work, and contribute to their communities and our country without fear of deportation. The Supreme Court’s decision has the effect, at least in the short-term, of allowing DACA recipients to continue to support themselves and their families without losing status or being deported. This is important because immigration status is a key vulnerability for human trafficking, used by traffickers to keep people under their control and deterring people from coming forward to seek help. While we don’t know exactly how these two decisions by the Supreme Court will have an impact on specific sex and labor trafficking situations, both court cases extend protections to groups who might otherwise be at high risk. Advancing legal frameworks that provide equal protections and minimize marginalization are crucial to addressing the vulnerabilities that lead to trafficking in the first place.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/how-the-new-supreme-court-rulings-affect-human-trafficking/

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Why an Increase in Victims and Survivors Contacting the Trafficking Hotline is Meaningful

In 2019, the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline saw a nearly 20 percent increase over the previous year in victims and survivors directly reaching out for support for themselves. This is a significant development for both the Trafficking Hotline and potentially, for the anti-trafficking field overall. The shift is meaningful for the Trafficking Hotline because victims and survivors of sex and labor trafficking know their own needs and wants better than anyone else, and when they call or text, the Trafficking Hotline is most likely to be able to provide critical help.  And it is meaningful for the field because it suggests there has finally begun to be critical mass in a shift of awareness messaging. The fact that survivors and victims themselves are recognizing that they need help and that help is available suggests that more messaging is being targeted toward their needs. At the same time, presumably fewer resources are likely going toward “see something, say something,” kinds of campaigns – the kinds that suggest, incorrectly, that strangers can recognize trafficking in situations they don’t understand because there will be visible signs. Even in those situations, if the victim or survivor is identified but has not chosen to make the call for support themselves, they may not be ready to be helped. Take, for example, Vanessa (not her real name). Vanessa told the Advocate on the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline that she had finally decided it was time to get out. She and several other women were being held in a home and forced to engage in prostitution. If they refused or fought, their trafficker withheld food and water and threatened them with a firearm. Their trafficker had cameras placed throughout the house and monitored them at all times. At the time of her call to the Trafficking Hotline, Vanessa was with a buyer and requested that law enforcement be sent to remove her and the other victims from their situation. The Trafficking Hotline was able to report to trusted contacts who acted quickly and extracted Vanessa and the other women. In the course of their investigation, the Trafficking Hotline’s law enforcement partners determined that Vanessa’s situation was actually part of a larger network based in another city and state. When survivors like Vanessa are able to directly reach out to the Trafficking Hotline on their own terms, Hotline Advocates are able to talk through all available options, empowering the survivor to make the best decision for themselves. Hearing directly from the person affected also provides the Trafficking Hotline with the best information to take necessary and appropriate action – whether that means collaborating on a safety plan, connecting with a lawyer, finding a safe place to stay, identifying a trauma counselor, or, in some cases, seeking law enforcement intervention. If someone close to Vanessa had contacted the Trafficking Hotline a few months earlier, they may not have had much insight into her situation or needs. However, the Trafficking Hotline could still speak with them about how to best support Vanessa and work to create a plan for safely sharing the Trafficking Hotline’s information with her. Taking action, like contacting law enforcement, without Vanessa’s knowledge or consent could have had negative consequences for her and the others who were trapped with her. Last year’s statistics show we are finally beginning to reach survivors, where they are, and offer the kind of support only they truly know they need. We continue to encourage everyone to learn more about how trafficking really works – forget the signs and learn the real story.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/why-an-increase-in-victims-and-survivors-contacting-the-trafficking-hotline-is-meaningful/

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Racial Disparities, COVID-19, and Human Trafficking

Human trafficking and the COVID-19 pandemic have something in common: Both take advantage of those most affected by the inequities prevalent in our societies. COVID-19, like human trafficking, can happen to anyone. But they are a lot more likely to happen to people who are already facing other hardships – like poverty, for one. In the case of COVID-19, people living in poverty generally have less access to healthcare and are therefore typically in poorer health. People in poor health are more vulnerable to COVID-19. In the case of trafficking, people living in poverty likely have fewer options available to them. They may have no economic option outside of their trafficking situation to support their families; or they may be more vulnerable to false promises that lure them into trafficking. On COVID-19, we now have hard numbers thanks to a recent New York Times article that shows people of color, particularly Latinos and African Americans, are becoming infected with the virus at three times the rate of their white neighbors. In human trafficking, the data is much less definitive. We have some numbers from specific jurisdictions. For example, we know that in Louisiana, Black girls account for nearly 49 percent of child sex trafficking victims, though Black girls comprise approximately 19 percent of Louisiana’s youth population and in King County, Washington, 84 percent of child sex trafficking victims are Black while Black children and adults together only comprise 7% of the general population. Similarly, we have strong evidence from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline that Latinos are disproportionately represented among human trafficking victims and survivors in general, and labor trafficking survivors in particular. But we lack credible, nationwide numbers we need to prove that while it is true that anyone can become a victim of human trafficking, people of color are disproportionately victimized by both sex and labor trafficking. The underlying system at play in both these arenas is racism and its manifestation as discrimination – particularly, but not solely, economic discrimination.  Racism has fueled policies that stunted the economic opportunity and upward mobility of people of color in the United States for generations. For example, homeownership is a primary driver of family wealth in this country, but racist “redlining,” kept Black families out of majority-white neighborhoods that might have grown in value by keeping them from getting mortgages. The resulting poverty, and the unequal protection of people of color under the law, are key risk factors in determining who gets trafficked and who gets COVID-19. Sex and labor traffickers take advantage of economic need to lure people into situations and trap them there. They promise decent jobs that wind up being nightmares, or convince people who have been cut off from other avenues of economic opportunity that selling sex is the way to a better future. As for COVID-19, while nearly half of Black and Latino workers – 43 percent – have jobs in the service or production sectors that require them to be physically present – and not always socially distant – at work during the pandemic. And few are in a position to quit those jobs out of concern for their health. As this recent CDC look at COVID-19 cases among meat and poultry workers shows, the people in these jobs are often virtually trapped by economic circumstances. By comparison, only about 25 percent of white people hold service and production jobs. That means far more white people can stay home – and stay safe -than Latinos or Blacks and still keep their jobs. While the economic fallout of racism is the most direct connection between why people of color are more likely to be trafficked, and/or get COVID-19 than their white neighbors, it is not the only reason.  Attitudes and stereotypes about Black people (particularly women and girls) make it so that they are more vulnerable to sex trafficking but less likely to be identified or seen as victims. Studies have shown how systemic racism has led to far less access to health care and far more health problems in communities of color – particularly but not only low-income communities of color. The problems – underlying conditions – appear to be among the deciding factors on whether infection by COVID-19 is fatal or not. And many jobs that are directly descendant from historical slavery and typically performed by people of color – such as domestic work – have been purposefully left out of most of the nation’s major labor protections. Similarly, stereotypes or myths about Black people that are prevalent in the healthcare field make it so they’re less likely to receive the same level of care as white people, leading to underlying conditions that make them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and perhaps less effective treatment once they come down with the virus. As the work to dismantle racist structures policies and practices continues, we have an opportunity to simultaneously bring down the systems that enable sex and labor trafficking to victimize Black and Latino people. That means access to equal economic protections – whether you are in a  job that allows you to work remotely, or are an essentially delivery worker, or legal, temporary farm worker. It also means expanded access to social services and safety nets, to educational and training opportunities, healthy food, safe homes, and more.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/racial-disparities-covid-19-and-human-trafficking/

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New Georgia Law Helps Trafficking Survivors Clear Their Records

In June, Georgia enacted a law that finally allows adult survivors to clear their criminal records of convictions that occurred because they were being trafficked. This is great news for countless sex and labor trafficking survivors, the vast majority of whom have some record of arrest or conviction as a direct result of their victimization. In March 2019, Polaris released a report grading each state on its criminal record relief laws for trafficking survivors. At that time, Georgia rated 0. That’s because before Gov. Brian Kemp signed The Debbie Vance law, only survivors who were children at the time of their arrests could have their records cleared. But we know from operating the U.S. National Human Trafficking that approximately half the identified survivors of trafficking in a given year were adults at the time their trafficking began. And many of these survivors found that despite breaking free from a trafficking situation, it was virtually impossible to get out from under a criminal record. That record affected everything, from renting an apartment to finding a job to managing trauma. Now, Georgia’s law in addition to including relief for adults, has several other important and thoughtful elements, bringing the score up to 72 and entering Georgia into a tie with Florida for third-best law in the nation. Among the other positive steps, the new Georgia law attempts to relieve some of the economic burden on survivors by:

Requiring that survivors get fines and fees they paid as a result of their criminal convictions returned once the conviction is vacated.

Barring individual agencies that have the records on file – such as the courts, law enforcement, etc. – from charging a survivor for actually removing the records once the conviction is cleared so that no one can actually go dig it up for some reason.

Polaris applauds Georgia’s leap in the right direction and urges other states, such as South Dakota whose recent law only applies to minors, to follow suit.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/new-georgia-law-helps-trafficking-survivors-clear-their-records/

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How Unproven Trafficking Stories Spread Online and Why Stopping Them Matters

Over the past week, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received hundreds of reports referencing social media posts claiming online retailer Wayfair is part of a complex child sex trafficking scheme. These reports come from concerned citizens who learn of something unspeakable and feel compelled to act. Unfortunately, the Wayfair situation in many ways echoes the Pizzagate conspiracy in 2016, which resulted in violence and barely-averted tragedy. What we learned at that time was that unsubstantiated claims and accusations about child sex trafficking can spin out of control and mislead well-meaning people into doing more harm than good. Here’s what we mean: A barrage of conspiracy-related reports from people with no direct knowledge of trafficking situations can overwhelm services meant for victims. There are only so many Hotline Advocates available at any one time to handle incoming contacts to the Trafficking Hotline. Hundreds or thousands of people sharing the same information means long wait times for victims in crisis or service providers trying to find immediate help for someone in need. These long waits may literally mean the difference between someone finding the help they need to escape or having to hang up because they can’t get through.  Survivors, victims, or even accidental bystanders may lose their privacy or be negatively impacted. The Wayfair theory has already resulted in online harassment and privacy intrusions of people mistakenly believed to be victims, as well as broad sharing of online sexual abuse material of actual victims who have not been connected in any way to Wayfair. This harm is real for survivors who want to maintain their privacy, victims who are being re-exploited by broader distribution of their abuse materials, or bystanders whose lives can be overwhelmed by the actions of potentially well-meaning online communities. Conspiracies distract from the more disturbing but simple realities of how sex trafficking actually works, and how we can prevent it. The truth of the matter is that the “villains” of sex trafficking are less likely to be members of a secretive network involved in a bizarre or convoluted scheme than they are to be some of your neighbors – a local businessman, pastor, doctor, lawyer, military officer, or government official. Sex trafficking simply would not occur if there were no customers – generally men – buying sex. Similarly, while anyone can of course become a victim of sex trafficking, it is rarely perpetrated by a total stranger who kidnaps children. People – including children – who have other vulnerabilities are far more likely to be victimized, and often the perpetrators are people the victims know and may even love or trust. We strongly encourage everyone to learn more about what human trafficking really looks like in most situations, and about how you can help prevent trafficking in our own community. The more you know, the more you can help us to protect children before they get trafficked, and help those who are truly vulnerable.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/how-unproven-trafficking-stories-spread-online-and-why-stopping-them-matters/

[humantraffickingproject]

2020 Trafficking in Persons Report Recommendations

Last week, the U.S. Department of State released the 2020 Trafficking in Persons or TIP Report. Produced annually, the TIP Report ranks every country on a series of criteria related to governments’ efforts to fight human trafficking. The criteria are defined by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), the U.S. legal framework for fighting sex and labor trafficking. It is primarily a tool of diplomacy, used to help engage foreign governments in efforts to make positive changes that protect vulnerable people and end exploitation. But it is also a good jumping-off point for the United States – which is ranked alongside other countries – to do some much needed self-examination. Even as the United States was awarded a Tier 1 ranking once again this year, we believe there are additional actions the U.S. government can take to further strengthen its response to human trafficking in our own country. The TIP Report grades on three areas of anti-trafficking work: Prevention, protection, and prosecution. There are areas of concern in each:

There is not enough work being done federally to investigate labor trafficking and hold businesses accountable for labor trafficking abuses. Indeed, data from the 2020 TIP Report shows labor trafficking comprises only approximately 5 percent of total federal convictions and prosecutions of human trafficking. 

The TVPA explicitly recognizes that immigration status can create vulnerability to human trafficking and creates a program of “T” or trafficking visas that allow immigrant victims of trafficking to stay in the country and participate in prosecuting their abusers. In recent years, the pace of processing T visas requests has slowed down considerably, leaving many survivors who lack legal status in frightening limbo, unable to find closure and move forward to rebuild their lives. While as recently as two years ago, adjudication wait times for these visas averaged 6-9 months, today the wait time is between 19.5 and 26.5 months. Additional concerns include a decrease in the number of T visas granted to survivors and their family members.

The single best way to end human trafficking is to prevent human trafficking, in part by ensuring that services and supports are available for vulnerable and at-risk populations. As the global pandemic drags on, the need for these services and supports is only increasing. It is vital that our government help ensure that vulnerable people can find safe places to live, as well as medical and behavioral health treatment, food, transportation, and other supports. 

The United States is fully capable of taking these steps, and of being a true leader in the fight to end human trafficking here and around the world. We must commit to doing so, and to maintaining the credibility of the TIP Report in the process.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report-recommendations/

[humantraffickingproject]

Human Trafficking in the News: 7/13-7/18

Here’s a round-up of news articles we’ve been reading this week about human trafficking: Mississippi woman accused of trafficking in Fort Worth; 16-year-old girl rescued MISSISSIPPI – A 20 year old woman was arrested on June 24 and faces charges of trafficking a person under 18 and compelling prostitution by force/threat, and a 16-year-old girl was rescued by authorities. Read more at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram 2 men arrested on The post Human Trafficking in the News: 7/13-7/18 appeared first on TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/human-trafficking-in-the-news-7-13-7-18/

[humantraffickingproject]

COVID-19 Impact on Trafficking: As states reopen, be on the lookout

“As states reopen be on the lookout.” In this episode of our COVID-19 video dispatch series, representatives from the Maryland Human Trafficking Task Force and the Maryland Office of the Attorney General joined TAT to discuss some of the ways that COVID-19 has affected trafficking, from a local perspective, and some of the things to be on the lookout for as states reopen. Watch the video below! Thank you to: The post COVID-19 Impact on Trafficking: As states reopen, be on the lookout appeared first on TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/covid-19-impact-on-trafficking-as-states-reopen-be-on-the-lookout/

[humantraffickingproject]

Dollars for miles to combat human trafficking

One of TAT’s staff members has decided to launch an initiative to donate dollars for miles to combat human trafficking. Louie’s goal is to run 150 miles in the month of July to raise awareness and money for Truckers Against Trafficking. In this challenging time of isolation and economic hardship, more and more people are becoming vulnerable to the deceitful tactics of traffickers. That is why this initiative is more The post Dollars for miles to combat human trafficking appeared first on TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/dollars-for-miles-to-combat-human-trafficking/

[humantraffickingproject]

Human Trafficking in the News: 7/6-7/11

Here’s a round-up of news articles we’ve been reading this week about human trafficking: California man allegedly ran sex trafficking websites CALIFORNIA – A San Francisco Bay Area man was arrested for allegedly running international sex trafficking websites that included ads featuring children and earned him $21 million. Read more at the Houston Chronicle Prostitution, Sex Trafficking Website That Took Over For Backpage Shut Down; Owner Indicted UNITED STATES – The post Human Trafficking in the News: 7/6-7/11 appeared first on TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/human-trafficking-in-the-news-7-6-7-11/

[humantraffickingproject]

Human Trafficking in the News: 6/29-7/3

Here’s a round-up of news articles we’ve been reading this week about human trafficking: New nonprofit hopes to be a weapon against human trafficking TEXAS – A new group called the Institute to Combat Trafficking hopes to be a weapon against the terrible crime of human trafficking. The nonprofit will help communities, especially in rural areas, go through evidence and investigate cases. Read more at WOAI Coweta prostitution sting nets The post Human Trafficking in the News: 6/29-7/3 appeared first on TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/human-trafficking-in-the-news-6-29-7-3/

[humantraffickingproject]

#MondayMotivation from Helen Keller

This week’s Monday Motivation quote comes from Helen Keller: “Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence.” With that in mind, we are wishing you a week full of hope and confidence in pursuit of whatever you hope to achieve! Perhaps you will include joining (or, for so many of our readers, continuing in) the fight against human trafficking on your list The post #MondayMotivation from Helen Keller appeared first on TRUCKERS AGAINST TRAFFICKING.

https://www.humantraffickingproject.com/mondaymotivation-from-helen-keller/