Emily Schroeder

February 17, 2016

Human Trafficking

Human trafficking has been a problematic, conflicting subject for centuries. Fairly
recently, however, has it started to get the necessary attention and acknowledgement that is
essential for making any type of progress. Although as a society we are merely scratching the
surface of the issue, there have been some monumental policies created, but reinforcing them has
been a challenge. It wasnt until 2000 that the trafficking protocol was updated to make the laws
more efficient and suitable. The anti-trafficking laws were much vaguer and peoples views on
the matter were that it was somewhat of a victimless crime. Many people didnt, and still dont,
have a full understanding of what human trafficking consists of. Since then, many advocates
have been referring to the issue as modern day slavery. It is a prevalent issue worldwide and
growing rapidly. With technological advances, access to human trafficking as become easier than
ever before.
Some of society may view human trafficking to be an issue that exists mainly in foreign
countries, it is the United States that has been critiquing the former policy for human trafficking
since 2000. It has changed because at that time, it was more geared toward protecting women
and children. However, now the policy involves men, women and children that are passed into
any sector of the economy. In addition, it changed what human trafficking entails. Before that
policy was changed, it caused a great deal of controversy. The policy needed to be more specific.
The change and slow evolution happened during the turn of the century because of the
uncertainty that society had between what human trafficking was in comparison to prostitution.

To start with the anti-trafficking protocol changes, the Clinton administration was implemented.
From Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking Law the Clinton
administration implemented and consisted of, Prosecution, protection, and prevention
(Chuang, 610). As circumstances progressed and states were unsatisfied with what the protocol
consisted of, changes continued to be made. From 2001 to 2009, George W. Bush with the issue
of worldwide prostitution came into the mix. His attempt to eliminate it was not seen by Human
Rights activists to be correlated with human trafficking issues. This carried over into the Obama
administration. The changes that needed to continue to be made, came into play because of the
significant need to have a more separate definition to what human trafficking consisted of. With
it being associated with prostitution, it made the crime seem like a much lesser offence. It gave
society the impression that people willingly were going into this field, when that was not the
case.
To start, the term trafficking was broken down and explained in a different way. It
consisted of, All forced labor is recast, even if no one changes location at all (Chuang, 611).
This meant that human trafficking didnt just deal with people being displaced, which was an
important change to the protocol. The next change was dealing with the definition of what
modern day slavery had to do in related to human trafficking. It consisted of, All trafficking is
labeled as slavery (Chuang, 611). The way the society viewed human trafficking needed to be
addressed and changed, which these administrations worked toward doing by altering the policy.
Human trafficking involves and effects numerous people. According to National Center
for Missing and Exploited Children, Number of Registered Sex Offenders in The U.S. in 2011 by
State, In 2011 there were 739,853 registered sex offenders in the United States (2016). Not
only does there need to be more programs for the victims, but there needs to be more services for

the offenders. The likelihood for a sex offender to reoffend is not uncommon. More specifically,
Recidivism of Adult Sexual Offenders from The U.S. Department of Justice, states , Of the
4,295 child molesters, 5.1% were rearrested from new sex crimes with in the 3 years of their
release, 14.1% for violent crimes and 39.4% for any crime( Przybyiski,2015). With this
statement, only three years after being released from prison, and offenders are reoffending means
that there needs to be more programs offered to this population. They clearly are not getting the
help they need through jail and will more than likely come out with no requirements on
intentions to change. In addition, For rapists, child molesters with more than one prior arrest
had overall recidivism rate nearly doubled to 44.3% from 23.3%. Child molesters are more likely
than any other offender-sexual or nonsexual- to be arrested for sex crime against a child
following release (Przybyiski, 2015). It is required for sex offenders to be registered online, but
a lot of times people are unaware or dont think to look there. This is a responsibility of theirs,
however because the sex offenders protection is a priority that is all the information shared that
they are offenders. There are obligations, such as living a certain amount of distance away from
any school, but that does not change the fact that a family could easily move in right next door to
a sex offender, without even knowing it.
The power structures that come into play with human trafficking issues are apparent. It is
that men play a key role in the sex slavery industry. Women have been reported as being
involved, but men outnumber the women in this crime, significantly. They are clearly very
responsible for the growth in human trafficking. The fact the girls keep getting younger and
younger is something that needs to be taken into account. With sex being so readily available and
viewed as not being a big deal anymore, the child sex slavery classification has grown
significantly. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center, During 2014, 24

potential human trafficking cases were reported in Iowa, 54.2% involving minors (Johnson,
2016).These men often times claim that they were unaware of the childs age, which is
something that should not be excused. In addition, new laws have very recently been passed, but
are still working toward being incorporated into cases. One of which includes that the victim,
underage child, does not need to appear in court for the offender to be prosecuted. Before that,
these children were forced to face the person who abused them, as if the abuse wasnt traumatic
enough. It was expected and needed for the changes to be carried out by having the child at the
hearing. If they were absent, which happened quite frequently, cases were dismissed.
The laws for prostitution have drastically changed over years, however, identifying
underage prostitutes and criminalizing them is something that needs to be managed. Services for
human trafficking arent sufficient enough. The reentry rate for underage prostitution is
extremely high. Often times, vulnerable girls that are targeted go back to their pimps, even after
being rescued. It is in fact modern day slavery. Just as slave owners put fear into the minds of
their slaves to condition them into not running away, these pimps are doing the same to the
young girls. If society can start to realize and understand that slavery is still an issue,
advancements may be made. In order to start making more progress, educating people at young
ages is critical. In addition to educating society on the matter, educating those who have a high
potential of witnessing cases is vital as well. Senate File 146 Introduced A Bill For An Act
relating to human trafficking outreach, awareness, and training programs. It states, The bill
provides that the programs are intended for the general public, law enforcement agencies, first
responders, potential victims, and persons conducting or regularly dealing with businesses that
have a high statistical incidence of debt bondage or forced labor or services( Iowa Legislature).
If more people are prepared when the opportunity is presented, the possibilities of saving a

childs life increase dramatically. The Jaycee Dugard case could have been much different. She
was kidnapped in broad daylight walking to the bus stop at the age of 11. Jaycee was held
captive for 18 years by Phillip Garrido. Phillip was at the time of Jaycees kidnapping, a
registered sex offender. It is stated, All that time, Garrido was a registered sex offender. In the
1970s, he was convicted of kidnapping a 25-year-old woman and keeping her in a storage shed in
Reno, Nevada, where he repeatedly raped her(CNN, 2011). Phillip Garrido served 11 years for
this offense and eventually was allowed to live with his mother. Furthermore it is reported that,
"While records indicate that Garrido was correctly categorized as a 'high risk' offender, the
probation office failed to supervise him accordingly," the Administrative Office reported. Phillip
Garrido held Jaycee Dugard captive in a shed in his backyard for over 18 years. His previous
record of committing an almost identical crime, should have came to no surprise to anyone. Not
only had Phillip Garrido gotten away twice, with heinous acts, but the opportunity to find Jaycee,
exactly where Phillips previous victim was held, presented itself for over 18 years. Parole
officers were supposed to be doing routine checks at Phillips mothers home. Which if they had
been doing their job, Jaycee Dugard would have been found much sooner. Inspector General
David Shaw, stated We found that the department missed numerous opportunities to discover
Garrido's victims. We discovered that the department also failed to properly supervise and train
its parole agents responsible for Garrido(2011). This is just one example of a case where a
childs suffrage steamed from the lack of knowledge and preparedness of what is supposed to be
a responsible adult. In order to solve these problems, educating those who have the power to
make a difference is critical.
Under the age of 18 is what society considers a child. A child, by law, is not capable of
making the same decisions as adults. Therefore, punishing these children and treating them as if

they have had a choice, is unethical. According to, the National Association of Social Workers,
Social workers respect and promote the right of clients to self-determination and assist clients in
their efforts to identify and clarify their goals. Social workers may limit clients right to selfdetermination when, in the social workers professional judgment, clients actions or potential
actions pose a serious, foreseeable, and imminent risk to themselves or others(2016). Although
the code of ethics emphasizes the importance of self-determination, there is an exception in some
cases there have been parents who have tried to intervene when their daughters who have
willingly, or out of fear, gone back to their pimps. This is a controversial situation, because on
one side, the daughters are entitled to self-determine, but on the other hand, they are too young
and influenced to know whats best for them. The code of ethics, more importantly, is
implemented in order to protect a client. In a sense, a person has the right to end their life, but
with the code of ethics, intervening for their safety overrides the other core values. This is what
the policy is working toward implying. By stressing that there is a difference between
prostitution and sex slavery, the policy is in agreement that human trafficking is more times than
not, forced labor. Therefore, self-determination should not be recognized as the contour
argument. Even if a minor suggests that they are involved willingly, they have been influenced
and many times brain washed. It is also supported from the Iowa Code ,710A.2 Human
Trafficking, that A person who knowingly engages in human trafficking is guilty of a class "D"
felony, except that if the victim is under the age of eighteen, the person is guilty of a class "C"
felony(2006). There are exceptions depending on age, because children under the age of
eighteen may not be responsible for their involvement in human trafficking.

Works cited

Chuang, Janie. Exploitation Creep and the Unmaking of Human Trafficking Law. The American
Journal of International Law Vol. 18, NO.4. October 2014.
"Federal Report Blasts Probation Officers' Handling of Garrido Case." CNN. Cable News
Network, 11 July 2011. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
"Iowa Legislature: SF2095." Iowa Legislature: SF2095. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
"Iowa Code 710A." Iowa Code 710A. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016

Johnson, Sarah. Iowa Department of Human Rights. An Analysis of Human Trafficking in Iowa.
January 2016.
"NASW Code of Ethics." School of Social Work SDSU. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2016.
National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. "Number of Registered Sex Offenders in the
U.S. in 2011 by State." Statista - The Statistics Portal. Statista. 19 Feb 2016.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/203854/number-of-registered-sex-offenders-in-the-usby-state/
Przybyiski, Roger. Recidivism of Adult Sexual Offenders. (2015): n. page. U.S. Department of
Justice. Office of Justice Programs: Sex offenders sentencing, monitoring, appending,
registering and trafficking. Web.