Fight Against Human Trafficking Loses Ground in 11 Nations

From Bloomberg:

By Victoria Pelham

The international fight against human trafficking, from abuses of migrant workers to organized prostitution networks, lost ground in the past year, the U.S. State Department reported.

The number of countries failing to comply with international standards to prevent human trafficking almost doubled to 23, according to U.S. State Department’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons report released today.

“The problem of modern trafficking may be entrenched, and it may seem like there is no end in sight,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement accompanying the report. “But if we act on the laws that have been passed and the commitments that have been made, it is solvable.”

As many as 27 million men, women, and children are “living in a state of modern slavery,” she said.

Since many countries have adopted anti-trafficking laws, the issue increasingly is one of enforcement, Clinton said at a State Department ceremony honoring 10 “heroes” in the fight against such abuses. Clinton, while citing advances in countries such as Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates, said that the overall number of prosecutions worldwide “has remained relatively static.” 

Read the full article

Anti-Trafficking Specialist Position with ABA ROLI

From the American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative:

Anti-Trafficking Specialist, Mongolia

Location: Mongolia
Organization: American Bar Association Rule of Law Initiative
Reference Number: None given
Job Level: Volunteer
Contact: Email jobs@staff.abanet.org

Description:
In support of ABA ROLI’s program to strengthen strategic litigation with respect to human trafficking, the anti-trafficking specialist will share strategic litigation expertise with ABA ROLI partner NGOs representing trafficking victims. The specialist will participate in case-based meetings with Mongolian advocates; assist with developing resources on international and domestic anti-trafficking laws; and will assist in developing guidelines and methodologies for researching trafficking crimes in border areas. He or she will also participate in strategic litigation trainings for advocates in border areas and in the capital of Ulan Bator, and will help to develop and conduct a training on assessing and seeking civil damages in trafficking cases (with a focus on damages related to psychological trauma).

Requirements:
Law degree from an accredited university, minimum of 5 years of professional experience including work as a practicing attorney working on human trafficking cases in both criminal and civil contexts or similar type of legal assistance work. Candidate should have experience with all stages of a trafficking case, from reporting of a crime through trial, as well as assessing and seeking civil damages. Previous training experience, including development of training materials such as handbooks and manuals, is required. Work experience in international settings and familiarity with civil law (German) system strongly preferred, in addition to excellent communication skills.

Please click here to apply.

You can also sign up via LinkedIn and their website to receive monthly updates on jobs openings at ROLI.

2010 Year in Review

2010 was an exciting year for anti-trafficking work, from the inclusion of the U.S. for the first time in the Trafficking in Persons Report, to the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the TVPA, to the European Union passing a new directive aimed at addressing trafficking. The year also saw a number of high profile cases and challenges. As we look forward to increased action in 2011, here are some of 2010's milestones:

Jennifer: In September, a federal grand jury in Hawaii brought an indictment against the president, three executives, and two labor contractors with Global Horizons "on charges that they imposed forced labor on some 400 Thai farm workers, in what justice officials called the biggest human-trafficking case ever brought by federal authorities," according to the New York Times. The workers were recruited from Thailand, and in 2007 they told reporters for the Seattle Weekly about their situation, which involved exorbitant debts, poor working conditions, little to no pay, threats, and document confiscation as a means to compel them to work. According to the indictment, Global Horizons attempted "to compel the workers’ labor and service through threats to have them arrested, deported or sent back to Thailand, knowing the workers could not pay off their debts if sent home." This case is noteworthy both for the size of the case and number of potential victims, as well as for exposing the ways that workers under the H-2A visa program may be exploited and for the ways that force, fraud, and coercion can operate in labor trafficking situations.

Bia: In late December 2010, The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) called for member states to ratify the Trafficking In Persons Protocol, which supplements the UN Convention against Organized Crime. One of the hugely important elements of this protocol is its focus on the rights of the victims and survivors of human trafficking. As much focus and energy goes into preventing the crime from even taking place, we have to deal with the current realities as well.The reality is that people are trafficked. The reality is also that those who escape exploitation are more often than not treated as if they were the criminals rather than the victims. That is unacceptable and it is up to us - as advocates or diplomats or simply empathetic individuals - to ensure that the correct infrastructure and systems are in place to aid the physical, psychological and emotional recoveries of those who survive being trafficked.

Elise: The United States was included in the tier rankings for the first time since the State Department began releasing the annual Trafficking In Persons Report. Previously, the TIP Report relied exclusively on data provided by the DOJ's report to Congress when adding information about the US's anti-trafficking effort. This year, however, Secretary Clinton stated that, "“We have to ensure that our policies live up to our ideals, and that is why we have for the first time included the United States.” The US gave itself a Tier 1 ranking, the highest out of the four rankings a country may receive. The country report mentions that the standardization of data collection in the US has yet to develop, which is why, still to this day, we do not have an accurate representation of what trafficking looks like in the US. What will also be more helpful to understanding trafficking is data collection that reflects the nuances of cases that involve both sex and labor trafficking. Forty-two states have enacted specific anti-trafficking statutes using varying definitions and a range of penalties. Such statutes are only gradually coming into use; during the reporting period, two states obtained their first convictions under anti-trafficking statutes passed in 2003 and 2007. The report also mentions the disparities between states on public benefits that are available to survivors. While there has been a 210 percent increase in certifications of foreign victims over the past five years, there has been no corresponding increase in funding for services. The report goes into further detail about the complications and burden the funding delivery structure also places on service providers; a problem that most directly affects survivors.The report also made a lengthy list of general recommendations that the US should engage in order to improve its response: improve data collection, increase law enforcement training, increase funding to service providers, improve cooperation among stakeholders, make immigrant and migrant workers more aware of their rights.

Jennifer: In October, the U.S. celebrated the Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The TVPA and its subsequent re-authorizations are the main federal legislation addressing human trafficking in the US. The law aims to be comprehensive and address "prevention, protection, and prosecution," and is responsible for everything from authorizing the T visa for trafficking victims to making human trafficking a federal crime. A DOJ report on states "The Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) gives us occasion to reflect upon the remarkable strides our nation has made in combating human trafficking in the decade since the TVPA’s landmark provisions took effect on October 28, 2000. The enactment of the TVPA sparked a decade of progress toward eradicating modern-day slavery, a national endeavor that traces back to the Thirteenth Amendment’s command. . . Over the last ten years, we have recognized more than ever before that the fight to deliver on the promise of freedom can only be won through broad-based, collaborative efforts to address all dimensions of human trafficking. Among all the advances since passage of the TVPA, perhaps the most notable is the evolution of the strong partnerships between federal, state, local, and international law enforcement, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who assist victims of human trafficking and advocate to bring an end to modern-day slavery." The act was most recently re-authorized in 2008, and will be up for re-authorization in 2011, making this an important time for anti-trafficking advocates in the US to not only reflect but to also look forward.

Laura: The human trafficking landscape in the European Union took a step towards abolition on December 14, 2010 with the European Union’s passing of a new anti-human trafficking directive. Member states, excluding Denmark and the UK, will have two years to adopt and implement the new directive, which replaces the current 2002 Framework Decision on combating human trafficking. Tougher penalties for traffickers include a minimum five year sentence, rising to ten years if child exploitation, threat to life, and/or organized crime are involved. The harsher penalties and improved victim assistance measures were outlined as key measures of the directive however a proactive stance is also being developed. Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Anna Hedh (S&D, Sweden) said, "We also have to work on the roots of human trafficking, such as the demand for services. The human body is not a commodity that can be used and sold for money.” The EU is adopting a multi-pronged strategy to address human trafficking, with a proactive focus on identifying the root cause of the problem. The shift from a reactive to proactive stance is crucial if we are to change the systemic inequalities helping perpetuate the cycle of abuse. The global community’s recognition of the severity of the problem through legislative mandates is a key aspect in the fight to move beyond a culture of ignorance to a culture of action. The new legislation is complemented by the recent launch of the EU’s Anti-Trafficking Website. With each passage of anti-human trafficking legislation we spring forth from the silence and stop the complicity inherent in avoidance of the issue.

Elise: Although the California law SB 657 is directed toward U.S. companies, the bill will undoubtedly have international effects through the thousands of businesses with global supply chains, which will now be required to disclose measures they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from those supply chains. As Governor Schwarzenegger stated during the signing event, "This legislation will increase transparency, allow consumers to make better, more informed choices and motivate businesses to ensure humane practices throughout the supply chain." Representative Carolyn Maloney is considering introducing a similar bill on the federal level. While consumers do have the power to demand accountability through purchasing power, these laws can help ensure we have the information we need to make those decisions. I am certain 2011 will see more of these types of bills progress and hopefully have the desired effect of preventing some forms of trafficking.

A Woman. A Prostitute. A Slave

Originally published November 27, 2010 by Nicholas D. Kristof in the New York Times

Americans tend to associate “modern slavery” with illiterate girls in India or Cambodia. Yet there I was the other day, interviewing a college graduate who says she spent three years terrorized by pimps in a brothel in Midtown Manhattan.

Those who think that commercial sex in this country is invariably voluntary — and especially men who pay for sex — should listen to her story. The men buying her services all mistakenly assumed that she was working of her own volition, she says.

Yumi Li (a nickname) grew up in a Korean area of northeastern China. After university, she became an accountant, but, restless and ambitious, she yearned to go abroad.

So she accepted an offer from a female jobs agent to be smuggled to New York and take up a job using her accounting skills and paying $5,000 a month. Yumi’s relatives had to sign documents pledging their homes as collateral if she did not pay back the $50,000 smugglers’ fee from her earnings.

Yumi set off for America with a fake South Korean passport. On arrival in New York, however, Yumi was ordered to work in a brothel.

“When they first mentioned prostitution, I thought I would go crazy,” Yumi told me. “I was thinking, ‘how can this happen to someone like me who is college-educated?’ ” Her voice trailed off, and she added: “I wanted to die.”

She says that the four men who ran the smuggling operation — all Chinese or South Koreans — took her into their office on 36th Street in Midtown Manhattan. They beat her with their fists (but did not hit her in the face, for that might damage her commercial value), gang-raped her and videotaped her naked in humiliating poses. For extra intimidation, they held a gun to her head.

If she continued to resist working as a prostitute, she says they told her, the video would be sent to her relatives and acquaintances back home. Relatives would be told that Yumi was a prostitute, and several of them would lose their homes as well.

Yumi caved. For the next three years, she says, she was one of about 20 Asian prostitutes working out of the office on 36th Street. Some of them worked voluntarily, she says, but others were forced and received no share in the money.

Yumi played her role robotically. On one occasion, Yumi was arrested for prostitution, and she says the police asked her if she had been trafficked.

“I said no,” she recalled. “I was really afraid that if I hinted that I was a victim, the gang would send the video to my family." . . .

No one has a clear idea of the scale of the problem, and estimates vary hugely. Some think the problem is getting worse; others believe that Internet services reduce the role of pimps and lead to commercial sex that is more consensual. What is clear is that forced prostitution should be a national scandal. Just this month, authorities indicted 29 people, mostly people of Somali origin from the Minneapolis area, on charges of running a human trafficking ring that allegedly sold many girls into prostitution — one at the age of 12.

There are no silver bullets, but the critical step is for the police and prosecutors to focus more on customers (to reduce demand) and, above all, on pimps. Prostitutes tend to be arrested because they are easy to catch, while pimping is a far harder crime to prosecute. That’s one reason thugs become pimps: It’s hugely profitable and carries less risk than selling drugs or stealing cars. But that can change as state and federal authorities target traffickers rather than their victims. . .

Read the full article here.

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Nicholas Kristof rightly points out the common misconception that human trafficking occurs only outside the U.S. borders. Awareness of the global nature of human trafficking merits great emphasis in the fight for abolition. The stories told by countless survivors demonstrates the strength of the human spirit and creates new impetus for addressing the demand side of this profitable trade.

Canada's First Case of Forced Labor (If the Charges Remain)

Human trafficking charge laid
By TAMARA CHERRY, TORONTO SUN
Last Updated: October 11, 2010 6:25pm

The alleged head of a crime family wanted in a massive human trafficking investigation was slapped with police bracelets over the weekend.

Ferenc Domotor, 48, was arrested in the Hamilton area Saturday, a day after police announced arrest warrants for him and nine members of his family.

They’re wanted in connection with Canada’s biggest human trafficking investigation since the Criminal Code charge came into effect five years ago.

As of Monday, police had identified 19 victims, alleging they were trafficked from a small Hungarian town to Hamilton and forced to work for the Domotor family’s construction company without pay.

According to investigators, men brought from Hungary were coached on how to claim refugee status.

They also alleged traffickers made the victims file for social assistance and stole their payments.

The victims were kept in basements, restricted in where they could go or speak with and had threats made against them and their families in Hungary, police alleged.

Domotor is charged with human trafficking and fraud.

“We believe they are in the Hamilton area but we fear some may have left the country,” a police source said Monday of the outstanding family members.

Explaining why the investigation took 10 months before the arrest warrants were announced for human trafficking charges, the source said: “It’s not an investigation of a bag of coke. It’s an investigation of human beings. And these people have fears, they have families and they have threats. And you really as a police officer have to ensure these people that they’re safe or else they’re not going to come forward...

“We need our justice system on board, that’s huge. The justice system needs to learn what human trafficking’s about.”

Also wanted on charges of trafficking in persons and fraud are: Ferenc Domotor Jr., 20, Gyongyi Kolompar, 40, Gizella Kolompar, 41, Lajos Domotor, 42, Ferenc Karadi, 47, Gizella Domotor, 42, Attila Kolompar, 35, and Gyula Domotor, 32.

Zsanett Karadi, 24, is wanted for theft.

Not only is this the biggest human trafficking bust in Canada, but if the charges stick, they will be Canada’s first involving forced labour. The country has seen several human trafficking cases involving sex trafficking, mostly of Canadian women and girls.

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This could be the first case brought to the courts on forced labor in Canada and it is the largest human trafficking case to date in the country. Ten people are being charged in the case and at this point, 19 victims have been identified. They came from a small village in Hungary and were forced to work in the family's construction firm. They were restricted in who they were allowed to talk to, they were kept in basements and the Social Service money they received from the state was confiscated by the traffickers. The victims families were also threatened should the victims not comply. The investigation took 10 months and it seems that unfortunately some of the family members may have already fled the country. Despite these setbacks, this case is sure to be monumental in the fight against human trafficking and forced labor in Canada.

Michigan Law School to open Sex Trafficking Clinic in Mexico

From Spero News
By Jared Wadley

The Law School's Human Trafficking Clinic, of the University of Michigan, has received a $300,000 federal grant to open a similar clinic in Mexico in 2011.

This U.S. Department of State grant means the new clinic in Zacatecas, Mexico, will help victims of human trafficking, also known as modern-day slavery. This crime involves the recruitment, transportation, harboring or receipt of people for the purposes of slavery, forced labor and servitude.

Human trafficking exists nationwide and across the world. It can be found in many industries: agriculture, spas and massage parlors, hotel work and domestic service, as well as prostitution.

“By awarding us the grant, the State Department acknowledged that the success of our clinic could be replicated elsewhere,” says clinic director Bridgette Carr, a visiting clinical assistant professor of law. “We’re excited about this new venture and look forward to helping victims in Mexico.”

Read the full article here.

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I was excited to see this announcement. Bridette Carr has led amazing work in the U.S. to use the law to protect victims and punish traffickers; she also helped start a similar clinic in Egypt. This collaboration with Mexico will be an important step to assisting victims and building multinational efforts to address slavery. Just as traffickers do not pay attention to borders, efforts to end trafficking need to cross borders and build partnerships across borders.

From the Economist

Trial trails
An American court blocks human-rights suits against businesses

Oct 7th 2010

WHEN lawyers for a group of Burmese villagers used an obscure American law in 1996 to sue Unocal, an oil company, for using forced labour and other abuses while constructing a pipeline in Myanmar, human-rights campaigners saw a new way of attacking companies (as opposed to their executives in person) for misdeeds abroad. A flurry of headline-grabbing suits followed. Nine Nigerians, including relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa, a playwright, accused Shell of complicity in human-rights abuses. Vietnamese villagers sued Dow Chemical and others for injuries caused by the Agent Orange herbicide.

This avenue was abruptly closed recently when the second circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled on September 17th that corporations could not be held liable under the Alien Tort Claims Act for breaches of international law abroad. Businesses had long argued this, but no American court had ruled clearly on the issue before. Both companies and their accusers reckoned that the courts treated the principle of liability as a given.

The decision, if upheld, will bring new clarity and an end to such lawsuits. But until all avenues of appeal are exhausted, the precedent will not be firmly set. The Supreme Court declined on October 4th to rule immediately on the specific question of whether corporations could be held liable under international law. It had been asked to do so by Talisman Energy of Canada, which won a case brought by Sudanese plaintiffs who accused it of conspiring with their government to commit genocide.

Read the full article here.

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If this decision is upheld, it will be a blow to efforts to hold corporations accountable for profiting from slavery, forced labor, and child labor. I find the ruling particularly ironic, given that the Supreme Court recently rule that the government cannot restrict an individual's free speech rights for being incorporated; like Judge Pierre Leval who wrote the dissent for this New York case, I wonder why individuals are exempt from civil liability for slave trading if they are incorporated. As The Economist points out, regardless of the US' decision, other countries may continue to hold corporations accountable. However, if the US wishes to address the root causes of slavery and other human rights abuses, it must also hold corporations accountable.

Admitted Human Traffickers Got Federal Aid

Picture from KGMB News

From KITV News:

Nonprofit Aloun Foundation Got $2 Million Fed Loan
Keoki Kerr

The owners Kapolei's Aloun Farms -- who've already pleaded guilty to human trafficking some of their farm workers -- received a multimillion dollar federal loan to buy an apartment in which to house their farm employees.

Brothers Mike and Alec Sou have already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit human trafficking for mistreating workers brought in from Thailand to work on one of Oahu's largest fruit and vegetable operations, Aloun Farms. They await sentencing in September.

Now, KITV4 News has learned a nonprofit corporation set up by the Sou brothers, the Aloun Foundation, received $2.1 million in low-interest loans from the U.S. Agriculture Department to buy a four-story Wahiawa apartment complex to house low-income farm workers.

The mortgage for 104 Lakeview Circle shows the loan deal was signed in July 2008, just before the FBI began its federal human trafficking investigation.

Tax returns filed by the nonprofit Aloun Foundation list Alec Sou as president, and his brother Mike and their mother and father as directors. The nonprofit “supports cultural and historic agricultural activities in Hawaii through providing low cost living assistance to employees working in those organizations,” according to its 2008 tax return.

"It's a real straight up deal, and it really is serving a public purpose," said Craig Watase of Mark Development, property manager for the apartment house.

All of the rental units house at least one resident who works at Aloun Farms, he said. Residents at the complex confirmed that to a reporter Monday and said most of them were Micronesian, with two families from Hawaii.

Watase said the residents here must meet federal low-income levels to qualify for subsidized rentals, paying 30 percent of their income in rent and the U.S. Department of Agriculture picking up the rest. “It’s a good thing, and it’s on the up and up. It’s federally audited and monitored,” he said.

The Sous pursued the federal loan through their nonprofit instead of their for-profit farm because non-profits have a "better chance" of winning help from the federal government, Watase said.

He said in the nearly two years he has managed the property, only employees from Aloun Farms have been tenants there, but they’ve “tried to reach out to employees of other farms.”

"I think it's interesting and a little troubling how the Sou brothers know how to work the system," said Clare Hanusz, the attorney representing 27 former Aloun Farm workers who are trafficking victims in the federal criminal case and did not live at the Wahiawa apartment complex.

"Why this would fall under the guise of a nonprofit foundation as opposed to their for-profit enterprise is potentially concerning," she said. "I don't know hy Aloun Farms wouldn't just pay a living wage so that its workers wouldn't have to use subsidized, basically federal government subsidized housing."

Sources told KITV4 News the state attorney general's office is investigating to determine whether the Sous are using the apartment owned by their nonprofit organization as an extension of their for-profit farm.

We've covered parts of this story out of Hawaii, that actually operated all over the US, in the past. The sentencing in this trial started in June, however is set to continue in September after an agreement could not be reached. I find this particular finding interesting because I think it highlights that although traffickers make efforts to prevent their abusive practices from being discovered and punished, they can also operate in general quite publicly. Traffickers can be active community members, producing goods for major grocery chains, or, in this case, federal grantees. We can never assume that just because an agricultural employer is providing goods or services to major companies or works with grant monitors of the federal government, they are not capable of being traffickers.

Civil Litigation on Behalf of Trafficking Survivors

Once a trafficker has been identified and caught, criminal prosecution is one avenue to bring justice. While pursuing a criminal case may be the most obvious way to make a trafficker answer for her or his crime, civil litigation is another option that, depending on the circumstances, might be appropriate in addition to or instead of pursuing a criminal case. A booklet published by the Immigrant Justice Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center "Civil Litigation on Behalf of Victims of Human Trafficking," authored by Daniel Werner and Kathleen Kim, provides an overview of the role of civil litigation in combating trafficking and aiding survivors.

There are many reasons to pursue a civil case on behalf of a trafficking victim. Werner and Kim suggest that "Civil litigation gives power to the powerless and is a critical tool to correct deep and pervasive wrongs" (xvii). In a presentation entitled "Civil Remedies for Victims of Human Trafficking," Kim suggests that such cases can be empowering for survivors, since they have more control over these cases than criminal cases. While survivors sometimes may receive restitution in criminal cases, Kim also points out that sometimes the damages exceed the amount they are awarded; moreover, civil cases require a lesser burden of proof than criminal cases, meaning that they can be successful even when a criminal case was not. In their booklet, Kim and Werner suggest that "[l]itigation also discourages would-be-traffickers and employers hiring trafficked persons from engaging in these practices" (1).Thus, civil cases can be another source of deterrence, since they are another way to punish traffickers where it hurts the most: in the pocketbook.

Civil cases on behalf of trafficking survivors are certainly not easy. Though they can be empowering for survivors, they can also be painful and difficult. Werner and Kim point out that such cases require cultural competence and an ability to work closely with the client as an equal and collaborator. These cases can also require a great deal of resources in terms of time, energy, and money (Werner and Kim 1).

Depending on the type of human trafficking, civil cases may face certain limitations. For a variety of reasons, sex trafficking cases have not lead to many civil cases. As Werner and Kim point out, testifying can be traumatic and re-victimizing for survivors of sex trafficking (11). Participating in a civil case, far from being empowering, may be extremely harmful and hinder rehabilitation. Moreover, given that commercial sex work is often "not recognized as legal work"(11), many of the laws used for civil cases on behalf of labor trafficking victims will not apply to victims of sex trafficking; locating defendants can also be difficult. Since criminal sex trafficking cases have been more successful than criminal prosecution in labor cases, pursuing the criminal angle may be more effective.

Civil suit on behalf of domestic workers who are trafficked also poses challenges, albeit for different reasons. Many of the United State's labor laws do not apply to domestic workers (Werner and Kim 10). This lack of protection makes people more vulnerable to exploitation as domestic slaves, and makes it harder to seek restitution on behalf of victims. Moreover, foreign diplomats have been identified as perpetrators in these cases, and they are immune from civil and criminal liability in the United States. As an aside, this problem is certainly not confined to the United States (indeed, according to the 2009 Trafficking in Person's Report, Belgium and France also face problems with foreign diplomats using domestic slaves).

Civil action can be brought against traffickers under a number of different causes of action. The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 amended the 2000 TVPA to include a private right of action. As of the 2008 booklet by Werner and Kim, over 20 civil lawsuits have been filed under this law; for cases under the TVPRA, plaintiffs must have been victims of forced labor, sex trafficking, or trafficking into servitude (Werner and Kim 29). Though many states have enacted anti-trafficking legislation, only California has adopted state level private right of action legislation for victims of trafficking (Werner and Kim 38).

Cases can also be brought under other laws that are not specific to trafficking. For example, successful cases have been brought under the Federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Cases brought under this act "must be based on a 'pattern' of 'racketeering activity'" (45); under the TVPRA, human trafficking crimes is considered racketeering activity. Cases can also be brought under various labor laws, such as the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Claims can be brought under many other acts relating to discrimination and torts. Depending on the situation, defendants may be liable for a variety of damages, including back pay, over-time pay, punitive damages, compensatory damages, treble damages, restitution, and attorney's fees.

In May, the Human Trafficking Project reported on a successful case on behalf of farm workers in Denver who were victims of trafficking; each of the five workers received $1.5 million in compensation. As noted earlier, many cases are at various stages under the TVPRA. Civil litigation on behalf of survivors of human trafficking can be a powerful tool to empower survivors, provide some payment of damages that can help survivors rebuild their lives, and deter would-be traffickers; nonetheless, such cases are difficult and can be costly, and depending on the type of trafficking may actually be harmful.

Why is it so hard to catch men who sell teen girls for sex?

By Julia Dahl for The Crime Report.

Like a lot of 14-year-old girls, all Shaquana wanted was a boyfriend. The skinny Brooklyn, N.Y. eighth-grader was on the honor roll at school, but unhappy at home. She hadn’t seen her father in years, and endured constant teasing about her looks from her siblings and verbal abuse from her strict, religious mother.

“I used to pray every night that God would make me prettier and give me a boyfriend,” says Shaquna, now 20, who asked that her last name not be used for this story.

In the spring of 2004, her prayers were answered – or so she thought. Every day after school, as Shaquana walked to her job at a local farmers’ market, she’d pass a guy who tried to get her attention. You’re so cute, he’d tell her. Come here and talk to me. Shaquana ignored him for a while, but after a couple of weeks, she relented. The two exchanged numbers and started talking on the phone. She told him she was 15; she thought he was probably about 17.

“He made me feel really comfortable,” she remembers. Soon, they were meeting at the local park, then hanging out at his apartment, where he started to pressure her for sex. “I told him it was a sin, but he was like, ‘I like you a lot, and if you like me you’re gonna do it.’ I thought that meant we would be together forever.”

She was wrong. After they had sex a few times, he stopped calling, and told her to stop coming around. She was devastated, and finally went to his place to beg him to take her back. That’s when he told her the truth: he was 26 years old ―and a pimp.

“He said, ‘I don’t have time for little girls,’” she says. “He told me if I wanted to be with him I had to work for him, or just get lost. I was so focused on being with him that I said I would.” Soon, Shaquana was going on “dates” he set up for her. He taught her how to perform oral sex, and strung her along, being nice one minute, manipulative the next. Shaquana says she felt completely trapped. “It was so degrading, and I felt like I was the only one my age who could possibly be doing this.”

She wasn’t. By some estimates, there may be as many as 100,000 minors involved in the sex trade in the United States. . .

Oakland’s Jim Saleda is one of five city officers assigned to a unit focused specifically on under-age prostitution and internet crimes against children – a unit that Saleda fears may not survive upcoming budget cuts. (Last year, California cut $80 million from the state’s Child Welfare Services budget, according to the non-profit California Budget Project.)

Saleda says that even as recently as 15 years ago, pimping was “a gentleman’s game,” a family business, of sorts, often passed down from father or uncle to son.

His observation matches research done by Prof. Jody Raphael of DePaul University Law School. Raphael conducted in-depth interviews of five former Chicago-area pimps and found that all but one had been introduced to the sex trade by family members.

Now, says Saleda, gangs and drug dealers have gotten involved, making the profession more violent and ruthless. Just this year, Saleda found one 16-year-old sex worker “savagely” murdered. Her killer is still at large.

“Pimping young girls is a lot less risk and a lot less overhead than dealing dope,” Saleda says. “The girl is the one that gets arrested, and she won’t talk because it’s built into them never to roll on their pimp. And it doesn’t cost anything but maybe a couple fast food meals a day and maybe getting their nails done.”

Slowly, law enforcement authorities and prosecutors at both state and federal levels have recognized they need to address the problem more seriously. Since 2003, the federally funded Innocence Lost National Initiative, has marshaled the efforts of 38 task forces and working groups around the country that focus on combating domestic child sex trafficking. . .

Some states, however, are doing more. In Washington State, for instance, a new law mandates longer sentences for both johns and pimps who exploit underage prostitutes. As of June 10, the punishment for paying for sex with someone under 18 went from a slap on the wrist to 21 to 27 months in prison, a $5,000 fine and 15 years of sex offender registration. . .

Still, concedes FBI Agent Michael Langeman, such efforts may not necessarily lead to more prosecutions.

“Prosecutors have a history of shying away from these cases because [the girls] don’t always make great witnesses,” explains Langeman, who has been with Innocence Lost for five years. “It can be (difficult) to portray them as victims when they’ve become so hard.”

The legal system wasn’t much help to Shaquana. She never testified against any of the men who turned her out, raped her, and even beat her so savagely she ended up in the hospital. But, with the help of advocacy group GEMS, she constructed a better future for herself. She was valedictorian at her high school graduation and while she attends college she works for GEMS, speaking at juvenile detention centers and group homes about her experiences.

“It was so easy for him to manipulate me,” says Shaquana of her first pimp. “He was twice my age. And all those guys I slept with, they’d ask me how old I was; when I’d say 19, they’d say, ‘No you’re not, you look 13.’ They knew, and they went on and did their thing anyway.”

Read the full article here.

Even as the US formally acknowledges its own trafficking problem for the first time in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, it is important to consider the challenges that exist in the US for ending all forms of trafficking. I appreciate that this article details the insidious forms that recruitment and control can take, particularly in the commercial sexual exploitation of children, while also pointing to both policy and law enforcement innovation, as well as policy and law enforcement challenges. At the same time, issues with victim services and after care that this article draws our attention to bear out the US assessment in the TIP report that "government services for trafficked U.S. citizen children were not well coordinated; they were dispersed through existing child protection and juvenile justice structures. The government made grants to NGOs for victim services, though there are reports that the system is cumbersome and some NGOs have opted out of participating. Victim identification, given the amount of resources put into the effort, is considered to be low and law enforcement officials are sometimes untrained or unwilling to undertake victim protection measures."

Landmark as first human trafficking case goes ahead in Ireland

From Irish Central:

The first human trafficking court case will go ahead in Ireland after a slew of allegations.
Some 66 allegations of sex trafficking were made in 2009 alone.

Catherine Dunne, of the Labour Party’s women section said, "In June 2008, the 'US Trafficking in Persons Report' classified Ireland for the first time as a destination country for women, men, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour.”

No one in Ireland has ever been charged with the crime of human trafficking even though 2008 saw the introduction of Criminal Law (Human Trafficking) Act 2008.

Out of the 66 allegations in 2009 only 13 were found not to involve human trafficking. Dunne commented on the lack of convictions, thus far, despite the introduction of the law.

She said “In the two years since this law has existed there have been no convictions…Ten prosecution cases have been initiated but we wait for a conviction. While this is not a criticism, we do want to note the fact that this is the case.

"We know from studies that trafficked girls and women have been identified in Ireland.
She added “We do not want this piece of legislation to be like the law against marital rape, which was enacted in 1990 but only secured the first conviction in 2002.”

At a Stormont Public Accounts Committee meeting last month assistant chief constable of the Police Service in Northern Ireland, Drew Harris, said “Girls in their early teens are being trafficked to Northern Ireland and forced into prostitution and servitude right under our noses.”

The conference brought to light chilling stories about various cases of trafficking discovered throughout Ireland.

Harris told the story of a young orphaned girl who had been trafficked through four countries. She was just one of 20 people the Police Service in Northern Ireland had discovered in 2006.

New York's New Domestic Worker Law

Last week, the New York State Senate approved the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. According to the bill summary, the legislation "Enacts provisions relating to labor standards for domestic workers; includes provisions for a living wage, overtime pay, vacation, sick and personal time, advance notice of termination and severance pay; also prohibits trafficking in domestic workers; requires record keeping and notice; includes domestic workers under provisions of the labor law; includes penalties for violations thereof."

Currently, domestic workers are not covered under the Fair Labor Standards Act and are excluded from the National Labor Relations Act, making them particularly vulnerable to exploitation, including human trafficking. Advocacy groups believe that this could be an important step to redressing these inequalities, particularly if the New York law sets precedence in other states.

As Tyler has reported in relation to Kuwait and Qatar, the US is not alone in excluding domestic workers from basic labor protection. Often domestic labor is performed by immigrant populations, particularly women of color, who have historically been denied other basic rights and protections. This creates a vicious cycle where people who are already vulnerable to exploitation due to denial of other rights, poverty, racism, and gender discrimination, are made even more vulnerable by laws that are inacted because of racism and gender discrimination.

Human trafficking involving forced domestic servitude/domestic slavery has been identified in the US. The anti-trafficking organization Break the Chain Campaign began due to "an expose in the Washington City Paper by IPS Fellow Martha Honey (entitled "Capital Slaves"), which chronicled the lives of women living in virtual slavery while working as domestic servants for officials of the World Bank and other international agencies." In 2006, two Egyptian nationals "to federal charges for enslaving a 10-year-old girl for two years and forcing her to work as a domestic servant for their family of seven at their Irvine residence." A Wisconsin couple were sentenced in 2009 for forcing a woman to work as their domestic slave for 19 years.

In order for the New York Domestic Workers Bill of Rights to become law, New York Governor David Paterson must sign a reconcilled of the bill; according to New York Business, last year Governor Paterson pledged to sign the legislation.

Photo from the New York Independent Media Center.

State Trafficking Laws

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 was the first piece of federal legislation to address modern-day slavery specifically. It has been reauthorized multiple times, most recently in 2008. Since its enactment, states have implemented their own anti-trafficking legislation, that has been varied in timeliness, scope, and focus; some states have implemented innovative anti-trafficking laws; others have yet to take any concrete action. This month, the writers of HTP report on their own state's legislative efforts.

Meg: Oregon has two different trafficking-related offenses: involuntary servitude and trafficking in persons. "Involuntary servitude" involves forcing another to perform services by means of some kind of threat, and "trafficking" involves involuntary servitude with the addition of financial or other gain by the trafficker as a result of the forced services. Trafficking in persons is a Class B felony, and involuntary servitude can either be a Class B or Class C felony, depending on the severity of the threat or coercion by the offender. Victims of trafficking or involuntary servitude may claim the defense of duress if they are prosecuted for acts performed as a result of the coercion (presumably this refers to prostitution), but apparently they are not immune from prosecution altogether. Engaging in prostitution is a lesser crime (a misdemeanor) than inducing prostitution (a felony). It does not appear that there is an exception for minors. One interesting fact: Oregon passed a law this year that requires the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to distribute information on human trafficking (provided by the Polaris Project) to the establishments it licenses, including stickers with a hotline number that owners will be encouraged to post in a prominent location.

Jenn: Despite being the headquarters of federal government anti-trafficking efforts and numerous national and international anti-trafficking NGOs, the District of Columbia currently lacks an anti-trafficking law. Today, June 1st 2010, though, legislation will go before the City Council of D.C. to address this deficiency. According to Polaris Project, if passed the proposed legislation would "create the crime of human trafficking, covering both labor and sex trafficking, with appropriately severe penalties. It would provide crucial assistance to victims, including access to a victim advocate to develop a safety plan and it would allow civil cases to be brought by a victim against his/her trafficker." Such legislation is an important first step to additional anti-trafficking policy in D.C. to address the realities of slavery in the Nation's Capital.

Anti-Trafficking Legislation 2010

As many state legislative sessions come to a close, it is useful to take stock of anti-trafficking legislation that has passed this year. A number of states have passed bills that address different aspects of trafficking or that take creative approaches to combating trafficking.

Alabama and Vermont both passed laws making trafficking in persons a state crime for the first time. While this is exciting progress, several states still do not have laws criminalizing trafficking, such as West Virginia and South Dakota.

Other states that already had anti-trafficking legislation moved forward on efforts to increase penalties for traffickers. Maryland legislation that passed this session will increase penalties for traffickers, and create penalties for people that knowingly benefit from trafficking.

Beyond criminal provisions, some states passed legislation that will help people report potential cases and help victims connect with services. Maryland and Oregon both passed bills that will mandate or encourage certain establishments to post the human trafficking hotline number for the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. In Maryland, hotels that have been the location of arrests for prostitution, solicitation of a minor, and/or human trafficking will have to post the number; in Oregon, establishments that sell alcohol will be provided with free materials with the hotline number. Washington state also passed legislation that will allow for the hotline number to be posted in rest stops in the state.

Following New York's example, Connecticut and Washington also have become leaders in addressing commercial sexual exploitation of children/sex trafficking of minors through so-called Safe Harbor Legislation. Such laws aim to divert minor victims of sex trafficking, who in the past may have been arrested for prostitution and treated like criminals, from the criminal justice system. Instead, minors will be directed towards service for trafficking victims/survivors. Other states, such as Illinois, are considering similar legislation.

While this session has seen the passage of a number of important pieces of anti-trafficking legislation, much remains to be done, and constituents play a vital role in pushing legislators to take action. Please encourage your representatives to address trafficking in your state.

Additional Thought to Arizona's Immigration Bill and Human Trafficking

Earlier today, Jennifer wrote about the effects of Arizona's new immigration bill on the ability of trafficking victims to come forward and the likelihood that victims will simply be arrested and deported if they lack status.

Another consideration that hasn't been talked about yet is that undocumented survivors who have already been identified by service agencies and law enforcement could also be arrested and/or deported under a law like Arizona's. Survivors of human trafficking go through various stages of immigration relief and the amount of time between them also varies. A survivor could go months without status while a law enforcement agency applies for continued presence (a temporary status, typically one year, that allows a survivor to stay in the US during an on-going investigation), federal certification or while a legal service provider applies for a T Visa (a more long-term immigration status set up through the TVPA).

During this time, service providers work to assist survivors to gain English skills, temporary housing, in addition to providing for other personal needs, but they are free to explore and walk around their community. While service providers can safety plan with survivors, the idea of explaining a law like that to an undocumented survivor who is waiting for immigration relief seems extremely challenging and, I would safely guess, add to the fear of law enforcement that survivors often already have.

Simply because a survivor is working with a law enforcement or service agency does not prevent another law enforcement agency from arresting and deporting them under this law because other law enforcement agencies would not have access necessarily to that individual's case. And, again, even though a person has been identified as a pre-certified victim of trafficking, they may still be considered undocumented and be without any form of government ID until the paperwork has gone through on any status application. If survivors are arrested or worse, deported, that negative experience could be extremely traumatic to that survivor (or worse) and damage any investigation or prosecution; all of which would be serious injustice for survivors.

Arizona's Immigration Bill and Human Trafficking

Arizona's recent immigration bill has been widely debated, garnering intense criticism from many circles as well as intense support. A number of entities and organizations are threatening or bringing legal challenges and suits, and many believe the bill will be found unconstitutional. If the law is not overturned, though, it will have a strong impact on human trafficking victims. Regardless of the law's future, it raises questions for anti-trafficking work.

The law will be one of the strictest in the nation. According to the New York Times, the bill "would make the failure to carry immigration documents a crime and give the police broad power to detain anyone suspected of being in the country illegally."

While some of the bill's defenders have invoked human trafficking and crime reduction as a justification for the bill, the bill has the potential to hurt trafficking victims. Traffickers use people's immigration status to control victims, and the Arizona law is likely to make people more vulnerable to this type of control. Additionally, many people who are in the United States without documents or are out of status will be even more afraid to come to the police when they know about human trafficking or other crimes, or are victims of trafficking or other crimes.

Amanda Kloer argues that the Arizona law "will probably mean imprisoning victims of human trafficking and other crimes. . . The fact is that this law is going to up the chances that undocumented trafficking victims end up detained or deported and documented traffickers walk free." Moreover, in focusing efforts on people in the US without documents, finite resources will be diverted from efforts to address violent criminals, such as traffickers (including US citizen traffickers and traffickers with documents). Former Arizona Governor Napolitano vetoed similar bills for this reason.

A recent Human Trafficking Project piece on a failed Alaska bill pointed out that immigration laws frequently impact trafficking victims, though trafficking victims' needs may not be considered in the crafting of this legislation. While the author's hope that "other legislators give survivors this kind of consideration in similar bills" has not been the case with the Arizona bill, hopefully the broader immigration reform debate this bill has sparked will give serious consideration to the needs of trafficking victims and survivors.

Staff Attorney Position Open at CAST

Staff Attorney Position Open at CAST LA.

Summary of Position

Under the supervision of the Policy and Legal Services Director, the Staff Attorney will be responsible for providing comprehensive legal services to survivors of human trafficking including assisting clients seek immigration, criminal and civil relief with an emphasis on immigration assistance. The Staff Attorney will also be responsible for coordinating the legal program’s emergency response to breaking cases and developing and providing training on the issue of human trafficking to partner organizations, law firms, and law enforcement. This is a full- time, exempt position.

Essential Duties

• Assume caseload of trafficked clients;
• Develop and implement creative, alternate legal strategies to assist trafficked persons;
• Work collaboratively with social services and shelter staff
• Support advocacy work for policy reform that emphasizes the human rights of trafficked persons, migrants and low wage workers;
• Provide outreach and training to legal aid organizations, law firms, and law enforcement to assist trafficked clients;
• Recruit, supervise and train pro bono attorneys to assist trafficked clients;
• Recruit and supervise legal fellows or interns;
• Participate in LAPD task force for human trafficking victims;
• Coordinate legal emergency response efforts.

Requirements

• Active membership in the California State Bar required
• Fluency in Spanish required
• Experience in the practice of law, including two years immigration experience and competence in federal and/or state criminal law and procedure
• Commitment to serving the needs of trafficked persons, migrants and low wage workers
• Ability to develop cooperative relationships with other legal service providers in areas relevant to trafficked persons (includes immigration law and labor law)
• Ability to work effectively and cooperatively with trafficked persons, legal organizations, community based organizations, volunteer lawyers, and government agencies
• Ability to develop and implement effective systems for managing own case load, as well as supervising and monitoring legal caseloads handled by volunteer attorneys or other legal organizations
• Experience developing and providing trainings to diverse groups

Desirable Qualifications

• Knowledge of trafficking and the issues affecting trafficked persons
• Experience in working with trafficked persons, migrants and low wage workers in the areas of immigration, labor and civil litigation
• Experience with criminal issues and experience in a legal services program
• Familiarity with the rights of victims of crime and resources
• Experience advocating for trafficked persons human rights in governmental and non-governmental contexts, preferably in California or at the federal level.

Compensation:

Salary is commensurate with experience. Benefits package includes medical, life, sick/vacation leave, and a 403(b) plan.

To Apply:
Email cover letter, resume, writing sample, law school transcript and list of references to info@castla.org. Due to the high volume of resumes received only qualified candidates will be contacted.

NO PHONE CALLS PLEASE. CAST is an equal opportunity employer.

To learn more about CAST, please click here.

Alaskan Bill Had Raised Concerns About Effects on Trafficking Victims

From Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: JUNEAU — The state House rejected a bill Monday that aimed to let Alaska tailor drivers’ licenses for visa holders and other international visitors to last only as long as they can legally stay in the United States. State regulations require state-issued driver licenses to be valid for five years, regardless of whether a holder’s immigration papers expire sooner than that, state Division of Motor Vehicles director Whitney Brewster said.

The bill, introduced more than a year ago, had been quiet for almost a year. It drew plenty of attention Monday, with supporters saying it would appropriately help ensure illegal aliens can’t hold a state driver’s license. Opponents said it would saddle Alaska with the responsibility of helping oversee immigration laws and worried it could could complicate the license application process for victims of human sex trafficking. The House rejected the bill 23-17 but sponsor Rep. Bob Lynn, R-Anchorage, said he’d seek another vote under legislative reconsideration rules. Six other Republicans co-sponsored the bill, including Fairbanks Rep. Jay Ramras.

It bounced through the House committee process last winter, drawing questions along the way, before falling dormant. But Brewster followed revived debate last week by writing to Lynn Thursday explicitly supporting the bill. Brewster said the bill would let the state issue drivers licenses that expire when the holder’s legal stay in the United States expires. He said the bill is not about immigration: It would leave the Division of Motor Vehicles simply checking drivers’ qualifications and legal documents. The bill would change nothing for license holders who need to renew their licenses every five years, he said. “Immigration is a problem but it’s a federal problem and we need to keep it that way,” he said. He said Alaska is one of four states that lack such a measure.

Opponents said the plan could be a back door to compliance with part of the 5-year-old federal REAL ID Act. Some also said the change would make it difficult for victims of human trafficking to gain licenses. It was unclear from the debate Monday how the bill would affect that population, which Rep. Anna Fairclough, R-Eagle River and one of a handful of Republicans to vote against the bill, estimated at roughly 200 in Alaska. A clause in the bill would have let the division issue licenses to a sex or human trafficking victim while he or she applied for permanent or conditional resident status. Fairclough and Rep. Beth Kerttula, D-Juneau, said they remained unconvinced the bill would protect that population. Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, called the bill “well-intentioned” but opposed what she said would saddle state workers with a responsibility — overseeing citizenship — appropriately left to the federal government.

Various clauses in the bill explicitly forbid the state from issuing identification cards “solely to bring the state into compliance” with the 2005 REAL ID Act, which sought to homogenize the process used to issue state-level drivers licenses across the country. One line reads that the bill “may not be construed as support for, or compliance with, the federal REAL ID Act.” The Legislature has also passed other bills in recent years barring the state from taking similar steps from complying with the federal law. The bill is House Bill 3.

This is a really interesting news piece, and I am pleasantly surprised to see that consideration for the way this bill would have affected victims of human trafficking by its passage was given as much weight as it received. A lot of the issues that are debated concerning immigration affect victims of human trafficking, particularly those who are undocumented. Most people don't realize the amount of time it takes for non-governmental organizations, legal service providers and law enforcement agencies to assist survivors in adjusting their immigration status if they are undocumented - it could take many months or even years before they have the documentation to be able to become more self-sufficient while they are restarting their life outside of their trafficking situation. That time in limbo can be extremely difficult and frustrating for the survivor to deal with, and this is in part due to the kind of restrictions that are placed on them by their lack of status. I hope other legislators give survivors this kind of consideration in similar bills.