The Fight
Against Human Trafficking
Robert
M. O’Boyle
The
Child Victims of Human Trafficking
Human trafficking is a modern-day form of
slavery. Victims include young children, teenagers, men
and women. Victims of human trafficking are subjected
to force, fraud, or coercion to compel them to engage in commercial sex or involuntary labor.
Approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims are trafficked across international borders
annually, and between 18,000 and 20,000 of those victims are trafficked into the United States each
year.ii More than half of these victims
worldwide are children.iii
Child victims of trafficking are often exploited for commercial sex, including
prostitution, pornography and sex tourism. They are also exploited for labor, including domestic servitude, migrant farming,
landscaping and hotel or restaurant work – to name just a few potential trafficking situations.iv
The reasons for coming to the United States vary, though often children succumb to
exploitation under the guise of opportunity – children believe they are coming to the United
States to be united with family, to work in a legitimate job or to attend school.
Additionally, children may be subject to psychological intimidation or threats of physical
harm to self or family members.v
Techniques
of Human Traffickers
Traffickers frequently confiscate their
victims’ immigration and identification documents. Traffickers
frequently instill in their victims a fear of government officials – particularly, law enforcement
and immigration officers. These are two of the
challenges in identifying victims of trafficking. But
whether you are a law enforcement officer, health care professional, social service provider, or
simply a concerned citizen, there are physical and mental clues that can alert you to a victim:
Child victims of labor trafficking are often hungry or malnourished to the extent that they
may never reach their full height, may have poorly formed or rotting teeth and later may experience
reproductive problems.
The psychological effects of torture are helplessness, shame and humiliation, shock, denial
and disbelief, disorientation and confusion, and anxiety disorders including post-traumatic stress
disorder, phobias, panic attacks and depression.
Environmental factors can also aid in identifying child victims of trafficking, including
whether the child is living at the work place or with the employer, living with multiple people in a
cramped space, and attending school sporadically or not at all.
Victims may experience traumatic bonding (“Stockholm Syndrome”) – a form of coercive
control in which the perpetrator instills in the victim fear, as well as gratitude for being allowed
to live or for any other perceived favors, however small.
Traffickers of children are sometimes family members or sometimes condition their victims
to refer to them by familial titles (e.g.,
uncle, aunt, cousin).vi
Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
2000 (“TVPA”) called for the creation of the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking in Persons to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts among various U.S. federal
government agencies. The U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services (“HHS”) is designated as the agency responsible for helping victims of human
trafficking become eligible to receive benefits and services critical to helping them regain their
dignity and to become self-sufficient.vii
HHS is responsible for certifying victims of human trafficking once they are identified.
This certification allows victims to receive federally funded benefits and services to the
same extent as refugees.viii
Victims of human trafficking in the United States who are non-US citizens are eligible to
receive a special visa and benefits and services through the TVPA to the same extent as refugees. Victims who are U.S. citizens do not need to be certified by HHS to receive
benefits. As U.S. citizens, they may already be
eligible for many benefits.ix
Only adult victims need to receive certification letters from HHS in order to be eligible
to access benefits and services. Children under the age of 18 do not have to be certified by HHS to receive
benefits.
Through HHS, victims can access benefits and services including food, health care and
employment assistance. Certified victims of trafficking
can obtain access to services that provide English language instruction and skills training for job
placement. Since many victims are reluctant to come
forward for fear of being deported, one of HHS’ most important roles is to connect victims with
non-profit organizations prepared to assist them and address their specific needs.
These organizations can provide counseling, case management and benefit coordination.x
Other federal agencies playing a critical role in assisting victims in human trafficking
include:
U.S. Department of
Justice: Investigates cases of trafficking
and prosecutes the traffickers.
U.S. Department of
Labor: Offers programs such as job-search,
job-placement assistance, and job-counseling services, as well as educational and training services
and referrals to supportive services, such as transportation, child care, and housing.
U.S. Department of
State: Is responsible for coordinating
international anti-trafficking programs and efforts.
U.S. Department of
Homeland Security: Through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and the Bureau of
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Homeland Security investigates cases of
trafficking and is an important partner in victim identification.xi
The “T Visa” was established under the TVPA to allow victims of severe forms of
trafficking to become temporary residents of the United States.
The Act recognizes that returning victims to their country of origin is often not in the best
interest of victims and that victims need the opportunity to rebuild their lives without facing the
threat of deportation. A recipient of a T Visa, after
three years, may be eligible for permanent resident status if he/she meets the following conditions:
They are a person of good, moral character;
They have complied with any reasonable request for assistance
in the investigation during the three-year period; and
They will suffer extreme hardship if they are removed from this
country.
The T Visa signifies a shift in the immigration law policy,
which previously treated victims of trafficking as illegal aliens subject to deportation.xii
Trafficking
in Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003
In December 2003, President Bush signed
important legislation that authorized more than $200 million across the federal government to combat
the practice of human trafficking – including children forced into prostitution.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (“TVPRA”) renews the U.S.
government’s commitment to identify and assist victims exploited for labor and sex in the United
States and worldwide.xiii
The TVPRA augments the legal tools which can be used against traffickers by empowering
victims to bring federal civil suits against traffickers for actual and punitive damages, and by
including sex trafficking and forced labor as offenses under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt
Organizations Act (“RICO”). It also encourages the
nation’s 21,000 state and local law enforcement agencies to participate in the detection and
investigation of human trafficking cases.
HHS has, in 2004, broadened its role in implementing the law’s victim-centered,
compassionate approach to finding and aiding the victims of this modern-day slave trade.
HHS has launched a major public awareness campaign targeted at local officials and service
providers most likely to encounter victims, to find, rescue and restore victims to a humane
condition of life.
On March 11, 2004, HHS’ Secretary, Tommy G. Thompson, announced “four tools to help
crack down on the evil practice of human trafficking, as well as assist those who have been
victimized.” Those tools include:
1. A toll free number (888-373-7888) run by the Covenant House, sponsored by HHS in
collaboration with the Department of Justice, to allow victims of trafficking to be instantly
referred to a pre-screened aid organization in the victim’s area.
2. A website (www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking) that serves as a clearing house on helping
victims of human trafficking.
3. Initially, a three-city public awareness effort (Philadelphia, Atlanta and Phoenix)
to education Americans on the problem of human trafficking and how they can help victims in their
community.
4. A public services television announcement shared by HHS and the United Nations to
educate the public on a national level about human trafficking.xiv
Conclusion
President Bush, in a recent speech to the
United Nations, said that: “The victims of sex trade
see little of life before they see the very worst of life – an underground of brutality and lonely
fear. Those who create these victims and profit from
their suffering must be severely punished. Those who
patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others.
And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery.”
Human trafficking is a hidden evil that results in enormous human misery.
The foregoing information is provided to assist the reader in recognizing and providing
crucial information to child victims of human trafficking, as well as their friends and family.
Bob is a trial
partner with Strasburger and Price, LLP in its Austin office. His
areas of practice include trials and appeals in intellectual property, securities, professional
liability, insurance coverage and banking/asset based lender litigation, as well as business
litigation generally.
Mr. O’Boyle
currently serves as chair of Lawyer Referral Service, as a director of Volunteer Legal Services of
Central Texas, and as a director of the Austin Bar Association.
i Partner,
Litigation, Strasburger and Price LLP, Austin, Texas.
ii U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, Press Release dated March 11, 2004.
iii U.S.
Dept. HHS Fact Sheet: Child Victims of Human
Trafficking.
iv Id.
v Id.
vi Id.
vii U.S.
Dept. HHS Fact Sheet: Federal Efforts to Assist Victims
of Human Trafficking.
viii U.S.
Dept. HHS Fact Sheet: Certification for Victims of
Trafficking.
ix Id.
x U.S.
Dept. HHS Fact Sheet: Federal Efforts to Assist Victims
of Human Trafficking.
xi Id.
xii U.S.
Dept. HHS Fact Sheet: Certification for Victims of
Trafficking.
xiii U.S.
Dept. HHS Press Release dated December 22, 2003.
xiv U.S.
Dept. HHS Press Release dated March 11, 2004.
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