Human Trafficking: A Look into One of the Fastest Growing Crimes in the World

By Elizabeth Singer

The Story of Madison he stood shivering on the corner near the market and pool hall. It was not the best part of town, but this is where she got her business. Dressed in only a short, red dress with sandals, Madison was obviously not out for an evening stroll on this cold December evening. She stood there waiting for a proposition, and every second that went by, she regretted the moment she got into

ests and likes on Facebook. She felt like Shane understood her. She was only 14, but running away with him felt like the best option. When she was dragged into the van, tied up and gagged, her fantasy life on the road with Shane quickly ripped apart. Shane was actually a 37-year-old man with dark eyes who did not care about the young girls he raped, tortured and sold.

the car with Shane. Her life in the suburbs was not so bad. Sure, high school was not as fun as she thought it would be, but anything was better than this. She even thought death would be better than this. As the memories flooded her mind, she remembered the first contact with Shane online. He said he was 17, and that he lived near her in Washington, D.C. They talked about all the things they had in common with their teenage lives. They exchanged pictures and had similar inter26
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Madison was one of six girls that he and his partner had living in a small motel room just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. The girls were far from home. Getting help or escaping wasnt something they could manage. They were repeatedly raped, threatened and told that if one did not come home from a night on the streets, the others would be tortured or killed. All they had was each other. The thought of one of them being hurt worse than they already were was unbearable.

prostitution, pornography, the illegal drug trade, the illegal arms trade and other illicit activities around the world. The International Labor Organization estimates worldwide that there are 246 million exploited children ages 5 through 17. Human trafficking is not limited to Third World countries. Its perpetrators take advantage of people from anywhere in the world and all walks 600,000 - 800,000 people are bought and of life. The federal definition of human trafficking includes both sold across international borders each year. U.S. citizens and foreign nationals both are protected under the federal trafficking law and have been since the Trafficking Alexandria, Virginia. Feeling something was not right with Victims Protection Act of 2000. her situation, officers talked with her. They promised that Anyone can become a victim, but it is more likely that she would be safe and they could help her. Eventually, she people who are vulnerable or in crisis will become the prey led them to the place that had been her home and prison. of human traffickers. Victims can include undocumented Madison is not a real person. However, her story is or illegal immigrants, runaway youth, and oppressed or based on countless others taking place across the U.S. evmarginalized groups. eryday. Madisons story was that of a runaway who trusted There are more individuals enslaved today than at the the wrong person, but this modern form of slavery can height of the Atlantic slave trade. It is important to learn play out in a multitude of scenarios. about this crime, and understand that victims may be livHuman Trafficking Overview ing or working in your community. Human trafficking is one of the fastest growing crimes As Madison stands near the pool hall listening to the sounds of loud music escaping the walls, a man stumbles out, and yells to her: how much for an hour? The price was cheap, but no money could heal her broken spirit. After several months on the street, Madison was arrested while propositioning an undercover police officer. During booking her fingerprints came up as a runaway from Law Enforcement Involvement in the world and is estimated to be more than a $30 bilSeveral years ago, the FBI, Detroit (MI) Police Departlion industry. It can take many forms and exploit people ment, Chicago (IL) Police Department and several other who are looking for jobs, better opportunities or may law enforcement agencies collaborated to break up a large have been kidnapped. Definitions of types of human trafsex trafficking ring that spanned over five states. ficking include: It was a story similar to Madisons. Several girls who Bonded Labor or Debt Bondage - A victim is bonded sold costume jewelry on the street would befriend a runand needs to repay someone for a service like transport to away, and invite the girl to join them and sell jewelry. the U.S. from abroad. Victims are forced to work to repay Once the runaway girl became comfortable, she would be their debts, but often their labor conditions are loosely demoved to an unfamiliar large city, where she was forced fined and their debt is not easily repayable. This is the most into prostitution. widely used form of enslaving people across the country. It was a complex operation, said Gerald Cliff, NW3C Forced Labor - Victims are forced to work against their Research Director and former Commanding Officer of own will, under the threat of violence or some other form the Special Investigations Section for the Detroit Police. of punishment. Their freedom is restricted and a degree of ownership is exerted. Forms of forced labor can include domes- 50% of victims are children and most are fetic servitude; agricultural labor; male. The majority of these victims are forced sweatshop factory labor; janitorial, food service and other service in- into the commercial sex trade. dustry labor; and begging. One man was the mastermind of the ring, and he develSex Trafficking - Victims are generally found in dire oped locations in major cities where he moved his girls circumstances and easily targeted by traffickers. Individuand sometimes boys to sell costume jewelry and serve in als vulnerable to traffickers include the homeless, runaway underground sex clubs. teens, displaced homemakers, refugees, job seekers, tourIt is important for law enforcement to be aware of posists, kidnap victims and drug addicts. sible situations like this. A prostitute on the street may Child Labor- This form of human trafficking includes have a deeper tale to tell. When law enforcement sees a debt bondage, forced recruitment for armed conflict,
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hooker on the street, they often dont see a potential victim of human trafficking, Cliff said. Another case that Cliff discussed was a 15-year-old boy who was selling bootleg CDs on the street. A 15-year-old boy is not cloning 5,000 CDs on his own. It was a surface crime and we didnt look deeper or acknowledge that there was a deeper issue. They are often treated as perpetrators when they are actually victims.

is much easier due to Internet and mobile device advances. Traffickers can easily communicate with each other and buyers. Customers can find what they want through websites like Backpage. Potential victims can be coerced and found through social media. A recent study by the University of Southern California titled Technology & Human Trafficking discussed how online labor trafficking can be hard to uncover, as traffickers advertise legitimate-sounding An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nation- jobs and subsequently engage in bait and switch tactics. als are trafficked into the U.S. each year. The report stated: the evidence gathered for this report suggests that a specific subsection of adult and escort ads on online clasAccording to the National Center for Missing and Exsified sites such as Backpage have the potential to be covert ploited Children, as many as 2.8 million children run away advertisements for sex trafficking. each year in the U.S. and within 48 hours of hitting the The study also discussed the significance of language streets, one-third of these children become victims of huor images in an ad. Youthful characteristics, like young, man trafficking in the sex and pornography trade. could indicate a potential trafficking case involving a miWe need to open our minds to understand the severnor. Mainstream sites, such as Craigslist, Facebook, Twitity of the problem, Cliff said. ter or the numerous explicit sites for the commercial sex NW3C is developing training on human trafficking for industry, may not have evidence of human trafficking in law enforcement and there are resources available for law their ads, but the report stated that it is reasonable to asenforcement and legal officials to better understand the issume that all of these sites have the potential to facilitate sue. For example, the Polaris Project has a website with intrafficking. It is also reasonable to assume that these sites formation for service and law enforcement officials (www. will be used more frequently to further the growth of this polarisproject.org/resources/tools-for-service-providersindustry. and-law-enforcement). Some of the resources include an Human trafficking is a serious issue that the FBI, Deoutline of state and federal laws, task force maps, training partment of Homeland Security and other government and case examples. and national groups are dedicated to ending. Law enforceThe Department of Homeland Security also offers ment officers on the street are the front lines of defense resources and training (www.fletc.gov/training/proand have the ability to spot this crime in their hometowns grams/human-trafficking-training-program). High-Tech Trafficking According to Stop Child Traf- The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within ficking Now, Trafficking simultathe country is even higher, with an estimated neously exploits both the best and the worst aspects of globalization. 200,000 American children at risk for trafVirtual enterprises can operate ficking into the sex industry. everywhere and nowhere, making themselves known only when and and help stop the modern slave trade. where they choose. We would break up rave parties that were a cover for A club owner in Houston can email a connection and selling stolen property. It was common for there to be sex mail-order young girls from South America. A few show performers at these parties, Cliff said. In retroweeks later the girls arrive at the club to dance and provide spect, we should have realized that human trafficking was prostitution services. Many traffickers may have been inalso at cases like this. volved in the trade and moving of the girls, but the process

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