N-4-26

Modern-day Slavery

Kolab is a teenager in Cambodia, she was born into a poor family with a father who

failed to find enough work to provide for his family. Kolab looked for a job to help support her

family. Her friend referred her to a local coffee shop that was hiring. She started working for

the shop and soon discovered it wasn't a shop where people go for coffee. Actually, it was a

brothel. They told her to work for them and that her family would be provided for. She knew

her family needed the money so she borrowed from the brothel, paying them back by prostituting

herself. Later after she was rescued by an international non-profit organization, she was asked

about how she felt about her circumstance. She said she was devastated, she lost all self-respect,

she was suicidal and believed that her life held no value. Kolab was fortunate and today she is

working in a legitimate beauty salon in South East Asia and one day hopes to own her own shop

(Reinhardt)

A victim of coerced enslavement like Kolab is often times given false hopes and

promises of freedom during her captivity. Her experience usually leads to some type of

long-term trauma for the individual and creates numerous issues for the community in general.

Human trafficking, that is, using people against their will for sex and/or labor is currently

affecting our community. California, my home state, is one of the three worst states in America

for human trafficking (Lillie). Many of the cases within California occur in the Bay Area. My

community has one of the highest demand for sex-trafficking and labor trafficking. This prompts

me to ask a question, are legislative solutions to human trafficking currently enough to affect

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change? And more importantly what more should we as a community be doing to identify and

assist victims of human trafficking?

When most Americans hear the term slavery, they usually think of the American South

before the Civil war. Slavery has existed throughout human history. In 1865, President Abraham

Lincoln's emancipation proclamation ended slavery in the US. After slavery had been put to an

end in the United States and many other European countries, criminal networks emerged to take

over what had been a state-sponsored activity. Human trafficking is a broad term used to

describe the trade of humans for the purpose of labor, sexual slavery, or commercial or sexual

exploitation. It can be broken down into two categories, sex trafficking, and labor trafficking.

Human trafficking can happen in one country, but it can also occur trans-nationally. According

to US Department of Health and Human Services and the International Labor Organization, it

has been one of the fastest growing enterprises for organized criminal rings, second only to the

drug industry. Daniel Cummings published an article that made an unfortunate economic

realization about the two criminal enterprises, "you can sell a package of cocaine once. You can

sell a girl or a boy over and over again" (Cummings). Human Trafficking is an extremely

profitable criminal activity. According to the International Labor Organization, "the criminal

network [of human traffickers] generates $150.2 billion in illegal profits annually. One-third of

the profits from labor exploitation and two-thirds from sexual exploitation" (Human trafficking

Center). Traffickers have no bias when scouting for victims. They target foreign nationals

young kids, teens, adults, males, females, and members of the LGBTQ community. They prefer

people who seem disjointed from society or those who seem weak and in need of help or support

financially or mentally. Kidnapping is a tactic exploiters will use. Frequently, for older victims,

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the exploiter will identify an individual's weaknesses by gaining some sort of trust. After earning

trust they end up gaining leverage on the person by using violence, threats, lies, debt bondage, or

other forms of coercion to force people to work against their will.

Labor trafficking is less common than sex trafficking, but it is a significant problem,

especially in the Bay Area. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines labor

trafficking as, "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for

labor or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of subjection to

involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery" (Department of State). Labor

traffickers are usually owners of businesses like contractors, textile workers, hospitality

providers or other employers who want to save money running their business and do so by hiring

illegal labor. Ms. Alex Madsen, a professional human trafficking trainer for the Contra Costa

County Health Department who I conducted both my interview and my place visit with, told me

a story that I later investigated on my own: The story first started in 2002 when Bill Kavicky, the

co-owner of Transbay Steel Company, needed more welders for building the Bay Bridge,

Kavicky had a recruiter bring nine workers from Thailand. Transbay would pay for these expert

welders' wages and housing. Four years later it was discovered the recruiter actually brought in

thirty-nine people, all of whom were distributed through the Los Angeles area. The workers

were under the impression they would have well-paying jobs with a steel company when they

got to America. Instead, they worked six days a week at low-end restaurants and hotels for little

or no pay. Outside of work, they were confined to sub-par sleeping quarters. And they were in

debt: They had paid the recruiter thousands of dollars in fees for their passage to America and

they had to work to pay off their exploiter. Details of the story are provided by Stacy Khadaroo

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(Khadaroo). Situations like this are currently happening under the noses of the Federal and State

government. Victims of labor trafficking are usually people who seek job opportunities and are

given false hopes of better lives for the victim and his or her family. According to Polaris, a

nonprofit organization that deals directly with human trafficking, a recent study by San Diego

State University, revealed that 31% of undocumented, Spanish-speaking migrant workers

interviewed in San Diego County had experienced labor trafficking (Polaris). Labor trafficking

is usually caused by business owners who want to save money illegally and sex trafficking is

caused by human lust but the root cause of both is really the same - exploiting people for greed.

For any case of human trafficking whether dealing with labor or sex, a court must find

evidence of how the act was committed and whether the explorer used "force, fraud or coercion"

to get their victims to cooperate. The human trafficking awareness course that I attended helped

me understand those three tactics exploiters use to control their victims. An exploiter can use

force: force can involve the use of physical restraint or serious physical harm. Physical violence,

including rape, beatings, and physical confinement, is often employed as a means to control

victims. Abuse is especially common during the early stages of victimization when the trafficker

breaks down the victim's resistance. The form of fraud involves false promises regarding

employment, wages, working conditions, or other matters. A person might travel to another

country under the promise of well-paying work at farm or factory only to find themselves

manipulated into forced labor. And in other cases, victims may reply to advertisements

promising modeling, nanny, or service industry jobs overseas, but be forced into prostitution

once they arrive at their destination. Coercion is the last form of controlling victims. It involves

threats of serious harm or physical restraint against a person. Coercion can be a scheme, plan or

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pattern intended to cause a victim to believe that failure to perform an act would result in serious

harm or physical restraint to them, or be threatened with legal action. Ms. Madson, our class

instructor told the class she has experience assisting victims with all three means of trafficking

numerous times and said that they can all inflict severe trauma on an individual.

Sex trafficking is the more common of the two kinds of human trafficking and is

extremely common in the Bay Area. According to an East Bay Times article by Harry Harris. In

September of 2017, the Oakland police discovered a woman who was being sexually exploited.

The woman stated that she first met her exploiter in Texas a year prior to being victimized. They

reportedly exchanged personal and social network information. He returned to Oakland and they

stayed in touch. She said that after a year he convinced her to come to Oakland with a promise

of a new life and paid her bus fare. She arrived in Oakland and began living with him but within

days he began trying to make her become a prostitute to earn her keep. She said she refused even

though she was threatened at gunpoint, choked so badly on occasion that she lost consciousness,

and was beaten repeatedly. She was sexually assaulted several times. And when the man finally

realized she wasn't going to work for him, he dropped her off at the Oakland Greyhound Bus

Station took her money and drove away. He was formally charged (Harris). Until 2000, cases

like this one were difficult to prosecute. The exploiter, in this case, might be charged with

battery or assault or theft, but it was nearly impossible to punish the actual crime of trafficking

another human being. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines sex trafficking as,

"the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of

a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is introduced by force, fraud, or coercion

or in which the person introduced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age"

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(Department of State). It is important to note that according to The Trafficking Victims

Protection Act of 2000, anyone under the age of 18 that was induced to perform a commercial

sex act is automatically identified as a Commercially Sexually Exploited Child, a CSEC.

Regardless of whether force, fraud or coercion can be proven, the trafficker will be charged. Ark

of Hope states that in the United States, "when internal trafficking victims are added to the

estimates [of international trafficking victims], the number of victims annually is in the range of

2 to 4 million. 50% of those victims are estimated to be children" (Ark of Hope). The demand

for sexual exploitation is high and is often times ignored by community citizens. Many people

believe that prostitutes, porn stars etc. Give consent making it legal but often times that is not the

case at all and this lack of community awareness is the reason demand for these sexually

exploited victims continues to increase.

In an interview with a student attending college at Azusa Pacific University, Kyle Hearn,

said, "police are limited to what they can do in a uniform." Kyle is a Northgate High School

Alum, he did his senior project on human trafficking and is currently involved in a non-profit

organization run by a club at his school called, Traffick Free Azusa. The project is a faith-based

non-profit that is deeply passionate about preventing human trafficking and rehabilitating

victims. During an on the phone interview, he told me he was just boarding a plane to Cambodia

sponsored by the organization that assisted him with his senior project. In Cambodia he along

with others from the organization would be going to a city where they would work as

surveillance for authorities, helping identify possible brothels. Kyle told me that in Los Angeles

“ the FBI calls [his schools organization]to help identify possible brothels downtown as well.”

Recently before I interviewed him he had just worked on a case involving girls in a salon parlor

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in LA where the owners would force immigrant girls to work at the parlor for little to no pay.

Partnerships between The Traffick Free Azusa Project and law enforcement agencies are helping

to effectively combat human traffickers. Police cannot be everyone and civilians cannot go into

a dangerous situation to arrest exploiters but working together, non-profit groups greatly expand

law enforcement surveillance capabilities. When I asked him how he developed a passion for

combating human trafficking stated, "my faith." While most everyone feels that human

trafficking is a terrible crime, Kyle's faith motivated him to dedicate his life to prevent it.

Federal laws are in place to help combat human trafficking. According to Polaris, the

most consequential federal law on human trafficking is the Trafficking Victims Protection Act

[TVPA]. It was originally passed in 2000 and reauthorized four times since then. The TVPA

provides not just the legal foundation to combat trafficking, but also the comprehensive

framework dictating the federal government's response to the crime. This framework is referred

to as the "3 P's"- protection, prosecution, and prevention. In addition, the TVPA contains the

authorizations for the federal funds used to fight trafficking and assist victims and survivors

(Protection Act). The "Preventing Sex Trafficking and Strengthening Families Act of 2014" was

a bill signed by President Obama in 2014. The Act was to provide various changes to existing

law regarding child welfare. The Act also required certain data collecting and reporting by

States regarding sex trafficking, including the identification of children who may be at high-risk

of becoming sex trafficking victims, particularly the current and former foster children. Its

purpose is to reduce the incidence of sex trafficking among youth involved in the foster care

system. The "Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act [JVTA] of 2015". The JVTA is a Bill that

was also signed by President Obama in 2015. Its purpose was to improve the United States

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response to human trafficking. It contains a number of important amendments that have

strengthened services for victims. The most important amendment of the bill was the one that

created the Department of Health and Human Services’ national human trafficking hotline,

which Polaris had operated since 2007.

At the State level, in 2012 Prop 35 was voted for by 80% of Californians. This

proposition tightened State laws related to human trafficking making them much more similar to

the federal laws. Before that time it was the federal law, that a convicted sex trafficker received

a sentence of 15 years to life. But the rules were different under California law, the same crime

receives a sentence ranging from 3–8 years. In California, the burden of proof for sex trafficking

of minors was the same as it was for adults, which was inconsistent with federal legislation. Ms.

Madsen stated that the federal government is currently trying to raise the age limit of identifying

as a commercially sexually exploited child from eighteen to twenty-one. This is a good example

of how a community can create better legislation to help prevent human trafficking. Ms. Madsen

said, "a community can help in many different ways, voting on legislation is one of them."

During the research process, I participated in a two-day course focusing on trauma

sensitivity and human trafficking at the Family Justice Center in Concord CA. There were

roughly 20 adults taking the course with me whose jobs varied from government organizations to

nonprofits. Mrs. Kathryn Burroughs was the instructor on the first day and she talked about

trauma, the different types and the impact it has on everyone. Mrs. Burroughs had the class do an

activity, she gave everyone a rock to put in their shoe, she had us walk around the courtyard

outside while she proceeded to rush us and put us under duress. I thought at first this activity

would be a waste of time but understanding that everyone had a different rock, some hard, some

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pointy, showed me that it's not necessarily about what event happened to an individual but

instead how that individual reacts. After the activity, she explained to the class that everyone has

trauma, some more than others and for most people you can't see their trauma because they hide

it. This activity led to a discussion on the trauma that victims of human trafficking experience

and the signs that we as a community can look for to help identify victims.

The second day our instructor was Ms. Madson. “Human trafficking is not all black and

white, ” Ms. Madsen made it clear to the class. She stated, "more often than not the exploiters are

people that have experienced severe trauma in their past and was either never recognized or

mistreated." Human trafficking like most other crimes is a result of poor community awareness.

Unfortunately, as the trafficking network is becoming greater, community awareness has not

improved, very few people know how to identify "red flags" and what to do when they see

something suspicious. In order to make a difference, you must recognize the signs, many victims

are "fearful or submissive, have untreated medical problems such as bruising and broken bones

poor hygiene, malnutrition, and dehydration. Sometimes they are wearing ‘gifts' of expensive

jewelry or clothing. The victims will never be alone and no one will know where they live. Ms.

Madsen ended class by telling us she doesn't expect us to go knocking on the doors of people we

think are traffickers, but she expects us to have concrete knowledge on how to identify victims,

care for victims and ultimately know who we call when we do identify a trafficking situation.

California and the Bay Area community have made progress in combating the human

trafficking network but more can be done. California has worked to tighten their laws while

being mindful of the complexity of human trafficking issues. We have made it easier to

prosecute exploiters. We have also mandated sex-ed classes in elementary and middle school.

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This educates our children about human sexuality and issues of sexual identity and gender

neutrality but we have done little to educate and raise awareness of the dangers of human

trafficking. We should be educating children on the methods of human trafficking, the dangers

of unhealthy relationships and the signs of trafficking victims. Contra Costa County (and many

other municipalities) provide such a course for adults but this should be extended to at least the

high school level. Legislation is not enough to combat human trafficking. It is important that in

combating human trafficking communities must come together and educate our youth. As a

community we must recognize signs of trauma, instead of asking "what is wrong with you?" ask

"what happened to you?" It is vital that communities give people with trauma the proper care and

therapy they need. This type of community awareness and progress begins at home. Parents can

have family discussions, telling each other who they talked to that day, or what they saw. Even

if something they saw was a false alarm, there are organizations that go out and investigate

possible trafficking scenes. Communities are made of people and families, and as communities,

they are supposed to love, help, and support each other. The Bay Area is my community and I

intend to help raise awareness of human trafficking and help combat this form of modern-day

slavery.

Human trafficking is as bad as it gets when it comes to criminal enterprise. It is a

multi-billion dollar network that literally puts a price-tag on human's lives while completely

devaluing the victim’s worth. I have developed a passion for fighting this evil because I believe

everyone was put into this world with equal rights and everyone should have equal opportunity

to succeed. I have plans to someday work either in law enforcement or with an organization to

fight trafficking and help rescue the lives of the innocent. I'm going to attend college at

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California State University Maritime Academy, there I will study in Maritime Affairs and Global

Studies. I'm currently very involved with my church which supports organizations that help

at-risk youth and want to continue to grow in my faith and help others do the same.

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 Works Cited

Harris, Harry. "Man Charged in Oakland Sex Assault, Human Trafficking Case." East Bay

Times, East Bay Times, 18 Sept. 2017,

www.eastbaytimes.com/2017/09/15/man-charged-in-oakland-sex-assault-human-traffickin

g-case

Khadaroo, Stacy Teicher. "Human Trafficking: California Keeps a Closer Eye on

Recruiters."The Christian Science Monitor, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 Jan. 2016,

projects.csmonitor.com/human-trafficking-california-keeps-a-closer-eye-on-recruiters.

"Labor Trafficking." Polaris, Charity Navigator, 26 Oct. 2017,

polarisproject.org/human-trafficking/labor-trafficking.

Lillie, Michelle. "Top 3 States for Human Trafficking." Human Trafficking Search, 2013,

humantraffickingsearch.org/top-3-states-for-human-trafficking/.

Meceola Human Trafficking Task Force. "Sex Trafficking-Is It Here?" Slide Player, Daniel

Cummings, 2018, slideplayer.com/slide/8659225/.

"Reauthorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act." Polaris, Charity Navigator, 26 Oct.

2017, polarisproject.org/blog/2017/06/29/reauthorizing-trafficking-victims-protection-act.

Reinhardt, Laura. "Child Trafficking Survivor Begins New Life at Trauma Recovery

Center."World Vision, 22 Dec. 2016,

www.worldvision.org/child-protection-news-stories/child-trafficking-survivor-begins-new

-life-trauma-recovery-center.

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"Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000." U.S. Department of State, U.S.

Department of State, 28 Oct. 2000, www.state.gov/j/tip/laws/61124.htm.

"What Are the Statistics on Human Trafficking of Children?" Ark of Hope for Children, 30 July

2017, 23:37, arkofhopeforchildren.org/child-trafficking/child-trafficking-statistics.

Works Consulted

"About the Problem ." Human Trafficking Center, 2016, humantraffickingcenter.org/problem/.

"California Proposition 35, Ban on Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery (2012)." Ballotpedia,

2012,

ballotpedia.org/California_Proposition_35,_Ban_on_Human_Trafficking_and_Sex_Slaver

y_(2012).

"Current Laws Against Human Trafficking." Prop 35 Is Law. Use It., 2012,

www.caseact.org/learn/law/.

Katz, Jackson. "Violence against Women -- It's a Men's Issue." TED: Ideas Worth Spreading,

Nov. 2012,

www.ted.com/talks/jackson_katz_violence_against_women_it_s_a_men_s_issue#t-10449

43.

"Reauthorizing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act." Polaris, Charity Navigator, 26 Oct.

2017, polarisproject.org/blog/2017/06/29/reauthorizing-trafficking-victims-protection-act.

"Sex Trafficking | Human Trafficking for Sex." End Slavery Now, Underground Railroad

Freedom Center, 2018, www.endslaverynow.org/learn/slavery-today/sex-trafficking.

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"The Crime of Human Trafficking in California Penal Code 236.1 PC." SHOUSE

CALIFORNIA LAW GROUP, 2018,

humantraffickingsearch.org/top-3-states-for-human-trafficking/.

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