And their Effect on the Reduction of Human Trafficking
Introduction
Human trafficking has been defined by Clawson et al as “modern day slavery” and it is a crime that affects every nation of the world (2009). As a crime it is most commonly associated with the women folk and little children who find themselves traded for the purpose of sexual or labor intensive services. The Citizens for Community Values (n.d.) stated that human trafficking does in fact go beyond sex and labor to other forms of exploitation. Agreeing with that definition the arm of The United Nations that handle unfair treatment of human beings have described trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation or transfer of persons through forms of coercion like threat or force or the giving or receiving of payments to enable someone have control over another person in a bid to exploit”. Clawson in 2009 stated that the exploitation could be in the form of forced labor or services
The United States Congress in describing human trafficking categorized it under two headings – sex and labour. Sex acts could include pornography, prostitution, mail-order brides, live-sex shows, sex tourism or military prostitution. Labor acts include harboring, recruiting, or obtaining a person for forced labor services through slavery, peonage or debt bondage. Such services could be in domestic services, sweatshops factories, migrant agricultural work or janitorial work. The severity of these crimes have ensured that many law enforcement agencies, NGOs, various human and religious groups and individuals have put in an effort to bring human trafficking to an end.
This research proposal will look into the efforts and success of law enforcement agencies as they deal with human trafficking victims. It will also attempt to answer the following questions.
- What are the difficulties in handing human trafficking cases
- How the success of law enforcement agencies are measured
- Why the success of law enforcement agencies are not widespread
- What can be done to help with human trafficking
Literature Review
In order to understand what level of success has been accomplished by the law enforcement agencies one has to fully understand the scope and the problem they are trying to solve. Human trafficking is different from many other crimes and has to be treated as such. Gone are the days when officers of the law would disguise as customers in a bid to lure and capture prostitutes. There is a paradigm shift due to the available knowledge and information that has been received by these officials and it shows in the way human trafficking cases are now handled.
A study by Clawson et al (2009) has shown that we may never be able to get accurate figures for human trafficking victims due to a lack of properly developed data and methodologies; however the U.S. State Department has been able to give estimates of 600,000 to 800,000 people trafficked annually across international borders with about 8% of that figure trafficked domestically. Gathering statistics from these estimates have put figures to already existing facts.
Statistics also show that the victims are predominantly female with over 80% being female and 70% of that number trafficked for sexual purposes. The International Labour Organization have stated that 12.3 million people are in forced labour at any given time whether it be sexual, child or bonded labour (Siskin & Sue Wyler, 2013, p. 8).
Further study has shown that more efforts are been made to find and preserve data with regards human trafficking cases. A good example that was given was of the U.S. Department of Justice and how 238 trafficking convictions had been secured and 360 defendants prosecuted by 2007. Although these figures came about as a result of data compilation a lot still has to be done to ensure that there is always available and reliable data. Databases like the Child Sexual Exploitation Database that was created in Massachusetts to keep track of prostituted teens and other accurate data management helps the federal, state and local governments correctly allocate resources necessary to prevent human trafficking and prosecute traffickers.
Psychology and sociology also comes into play in human trafficking where we see that majority of those trafficked for sexual exploitation are girls while the boys are mostly trafficked for labor intensive roles. Girls are generally seen as been more docile than boys and not been as mentally strong hence it is easier to force a girl into letting her body be used for sexual favor as it may be for boys. Because of the complications of human trafficking, the figures and data received will always be estimates as there are many causes that make it difficult and sometimes almost impossible to find trafficked human beings. Some of the reasons are
- The covert nature of this crime makes it difficult to trace and locate
- The trafficked victims are guarded by their captors since most of them lack accurate immigration documentation
- The available data may also contain duplicate or inaccurate information
While Clawson looked at the study through the ability of the law enforcement agencies to gather relevant data in a bid to help them acquire success, Siskin and Sue Wyler (2013) did their study looking at the various ways law enforcement agencies work with other organizations to achieve success. The study showed that although victims of human trafficking may be difficult to identify, they do in fact share similar symptoms with victims of domestic violence or rape. Law enforcement agencies therefore work hand in hand with health clinics as these victims are likely to go there for treatments or the homeless shelters for board. Training is therefore been made available to people who work in these areas to enable them identify such victims and the necessary next steps to take.
Eventually the bulk of the job falls with law enforcement task force as they are the ones that could make legislations and have the power to ensure they are followed through in a bid to reduce human trafficking. One of such examples is the U.S. Department of Justice and their collaboration with the FBI’s Innocence Lost Program which was started in 2003 and they address and try to reach out to the victims of domestic sex trafficking. There are many other similar cases of law enforcement agencies putting in the work to see an end to this inhuman activity. Before the Trafficking and Violence Protection Act came into being the job fell mostly with NGOs who relied on meagre funds to bring down an enormous giant. Now the U.S. Government has designated Health and Human Services and Office for Victims of Crime through the TVPA as an agency that helps international victims eventually become eligible for benefits and services. For many of these victims who are not legal citizens; documentation is being processed for them to be eligible for a special visa or refugee benefits as they are naturally exempted from benefitting from mainstream benefits (Siskin & Sue Wyler, 2013, p. 25). However TVPA stipulates that such victims must be seen to have suffered a severe form of trafficking and willing to work alongside the authorities in the investigation of the traffickers. Working with the Homeland Security such victims are issued a T-visa that grants them temporary residency for up to 3 years after which they could decide to apply for permanent residency. While not really refugees they can receive services similar to those made available to refugees.
The study also iterates the fact that in a bid to really set victims free from the clutches of human trafficking provisions must be made to enable them live as normal a life as possible. The Department of Labour One-Stop Career System is available to these victims to help them with job searches and providing information and assistance to help them find jobs or provide education or training needed to find jobs. Support services like transportation, housing and child care are also provided to those that may be in need of such services. The U.S. Department of Justice also makes other programs that may be beneficial to these victims available. As this is a very lengthy process communities too have begun receiving service grants to help with pre-certification services. However victims who choose not to work with the authorities are not left in the cold either. Their needs are still looked at and met through alternative channels – whether it is asylum or help with filing their T-visas.
Help comes easier for victimised minors as they do not need to seek certification as the Office of Refugee Resettlement in the HHS Administration for Children and Families already covers them. In 2009, Clawson et al stated that victims younger than eighteen are given a letter from HHS that states they are eligible to receive services available to refugees. Such children without guardians or parents can benefit from culturally appropriate foster care and adoption system. In this system they are provided with skills that help them adjust as they enter adulthood and look to fend for themselves. These victims are eligible to the services available to children of the states in which they reside. They are trained on how to care for themselves and their health and help with adjustment that follows after their victimization is ended. In looking at the above, this study clearly shows that while the law enforcement agencies have been making success in dealing with human trafficking they do not achieve this success by themselves but rather through working with other organizations and agencies.
Theoretical Framework
While the police department and other law enforcement agencies are well versed in the solving of crimes and capturing of criminals, there are a couple of theories that are relevant to this proposal and how these agencies achieve success with regards to the human trafficking crime. Some of the most relevant theories have to do with who these victims are and then the barriers to providing services. Understanding this will not only give the reader some insight into the roadblocks faced by law enforcers as they stop this crime but will also help them identify victims in the future.
Victims of Human Trafficking
The most common victims of human trafficking are young innocent girls forced into the sex industry when they are taken from their own countries. However sometimes people desperate to make a living to support themselves and their families may become trafficked for sexual favors. Traffickers look for victims who lack economic opportunities and are struggling to meet their basic needs. They also pick on females in suffering countries where unequal status exists between men and women. According to Clawson et al traffickers looking for such people find orphaned or homeless or throwaway victims and people living in vulnerable areas (2009). Many such victims are trying to get away from their own unsatisfactory living conditions. Traffickers promise these victims economic opportunities in affluent countries like America. Once here their documents are usually seized or their families threatened. Some traffickers go as far as producing an impossible debt that the victim will be unable to pay. Hence these victims see themselves to be stuck in the rut of force labor or sexual services.
Minors are usually the most vulnerable in the trafficking business. They are usually the easiest to deceive and coerce into prostitution daily. Girls as young as eleven have been forced into this trade. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) agreed with the research that says that girls that run away from home are more likely to be targeted by pimps for sexual trafficking and in most cases they are approached as soon as a day after running away from home, a shelter or treatment centre.
Barriers to Providing Services
With all the apparent good been put in place to help out victims of human trafficking, one would find it shocking to realise that there are indeed setbacks and challenges with getting these services up and running. One of the most common challenges is the stigma attached to this victimization and the fact that some trafficking victims do not want to be seen as identifying with that tag of victims. Through their research, The International Organization for Migration claimed that there is also a lack of information and research regarding human trafficking and this lack of generous information also affects the available knowledge in our society on this topic and how to deal with and identify the symptoms (2008, p. 182). Most of these victims also have a history of distrusting law enforcement authorities from their countries of origin and they carry that same mind-set into America and as a result would rather live with the abuse than go to the authorities who may very well abuse them and return them to their pimps as must have been done in their countries. They would rather live with the stigma in private than make their shame seen to all and majority of them have been threatened by their traffickers about the worst happening to them and their families if their stories ever see the light of day. These threats keep the victimized quiet. In 2009, Bales and Soodalter claimed that cultural and language differences also created a barrier towards the success (p. 23). Most cultures have the younger person not look directly in the eyes of the elder person as a sign of respect. However this could be construed by the case worker that the victim may be hiding some facts or even lying and as a result is not willing to look up for fear of been called out on the lie. While getting an interpreter could very well solve the problem of communication barrier. What it also does is destroy the opportunity of the case worker to build a relationship with the victim due to the presence of a third party.
There are many teams that work together to help children that are sexually assaulted and the Sexual Assault and Exploitation Felony Enforcement (SAFE) is formed of federal, state and local prosecutors and investigators who put their expertise to track and protect victims of human trafficking. They then work with runaways and the homeless in a bid to attract and apprehend customers, pimps and exploiters of youth. While they do achieve some level of success unfortunately there is not sufficient statistics to prove this as they have not been assessed formally. Due to the fact that most of the victims of human trafficking are from cultures different from the American culture, appropriate provision needs to be culturally capable. They need to take into account culture, religion, race and gender. These agencies need to know how to deal with trauma because though they may be expressed differently every victim of human trafficking has undergone trauma. Having a comprehensive plan that deals with a service that addresses trauma would go a long way. Trauma recovery therefore acknowledges the realities of the act of prostitution without leading to shaming the victims.
While America is putting in the effort and work to see an end to human trafficking other countries around the world are not left behind. Countries like Columbia and even Ecuador are beginning to rely on their entertainment industry and their celebrities to pass the word on the dangers of human trafficking. It is a fact that there is immense power wielded by the entertainment industry and these countries have utilized on that power to send their message through. A popular soap opera called Everybody loves Marilyn once incorporated a storyline tied to the dangers and inhumanity of human trafficking. For a television series that is widely broadcasted in South America and the USA, its message is not only going to reach a wide populace but it will also reach some potential victims who have just been educated via the media on steps to take in such a situation.
Data and Method
This study implemented a group of methods including interviews by key stakeholders, telephone surveys, discussion forums of task forces nationwide and reviews of legal cases. Applying these various data and methodology enabled me answer the questions that this proposal set out to answer at the beginning and paint a snapshot of the work and success of law enforcement agencies with regards to human trafficking.
Study Sample
Just as with any other survey this proposal attempted to survey stakeholders in the case of human trafficking. Telephone surveys were had with law enforcement agencies in federal, state and local governments in the major American cities. To better shed some light on the category of people that took part in this survey I will define law enforcement agencies. The Congress describe them as people who have been given the power to investigate, detain or apprehend people suspected of committing offenses against the laws of the United States. These employees could be
- Police officers who provide patrol and ensures the peace is met. These people in most cases could be the first responders in human trafficking cases.
- Federal agents could seize evidence or make arrests and the FBI civil rights units ensure the enforcement of the laws and regulations of the TVPA.
- Victim-witness coordinators help to ensure the well-being of the victims.
These are the four major stakeholders that were sampled through the telephone surveys. While all the sectors were willing to help the approval process for the federal agents ensured that they could not really participate in the telephone survey. Once the participants had been chosen the location was also chosen. This choice was based off cities with high human trafficking crimes and cities that had task force established to fight the crime. Hence cities like Miami, Los Angeles and New York formed part of the locations that these surveys came from. Legal case reviews consisted of case information and law review articles. The forums were chosen as a bid to see best practices being discussed on a semi-formal method as well as discussions on lessons learned.
Data Collection
The telephone survey collected information from stake holders. Working with a sample size of 300 officials, less than a hundred had no relevant information to give as they claimed not to have dealt with live human trafficking cases. Of the remaining 40% could not be reached and the end of the survey saw a positive score of 58% success. Legal cases were reviewed in a bid to understand the role law enforcement officials played in the human trafficking cases. The facts were identified and the solutions were studied before a conclusion was made. The discussion forums were used to identify what they did, why they did it and if they felt they were successful. These data were then analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods. A cross section of the results from these data can be seen below.
Telephone Surveys – over a hundred people were surveyed over the phone and they were spread almost evenly within the American terrain with more than half of them claiming to have worked on trafficking cases. 48% of those surveyed learned about human trafficking while they received training on the job. However 27% gained their knowledge through federal government sponsored events while more than half of those surveyed admitted they felt they were knowledgeable on the subject of human trafficking. 44% were familiar with TVPA while the majority of them saw human trafficking as slavery that occurs in our modern day. Law enforcement agencies depend on legislation to help with their battle against human trafficking. While most cases of human trafficking victims are women there are also men who suffer as victims of human trafficking. Although law enforcement agencies carry out covert and overt operations in dealing with human trafficking, there have been some red flags like people been evasive about how they came into the United States or their halting English or even nervousness in the presence of authority figures.
Legal Case Reviews – an assortment of files were reviewed to identify common instances in response and involvement of law enforcement agencies. This review showed that sometimes they received their information from community members. There was also a necessary collaboration between all involved as they all had to work together to ensure that the prosecutor’s cases went to trial.
Discussion Forums – forums in Texas and California that were affiliated with nationwide task force were used to glean information on the goals and response to human trafficking by law enforcement agencies. These discussions showed that while task forces are different in their make and model, their objectives with regards human trafficking was one of the things they shared in common – the desire to persecute perpetrators and protect victims was top of their duty. While the different components of the task forces worked on different aspects, their ability to trust that everyone was doing their best created a propellant to do better.
Conclusion
While attention has been given to the human trafficking problem, a lot still needs to be done to increase our understanding of the issue. Research does however exist on reviewing policies and estimating on the scale of the problem. More research needs to be done on its prevalence, best practices and the effectiveness of anti-trafficking programs amongst others. It was stated by Farrell, McDevitt &| Fahy that other important information that is missing or insufficient is the level of success achieved by these law enforcement agencies and the many other organizations that work with victims of human trafficking (2008, p. 15). There seems to be more information available for human trafficking victims that enter America from other countries than there is of domestic victims of human trafficking. There are challenges that affect the success rate of those who combat human trafficking but they can be managed. Human trafficking should not just be tackled from a legislative view but also via social, protection of rights and prevention of crime. All the concerned parties need to come together in a bid to produce as well a rounded person as they can of the human trafficking victim. This is the motto and desire of the many law enforcement agencies that strive to put an end to the inhumanity of human trafficking.
Works Cited
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