Solutions to Trafficking Sought

On Tuesday, April 3, Kristen Chin and the Women and Gender Action Resource Center hosted a lecture on human trafficking in Connecticut as a follow-up to the petition they had signed and sent to the U.N. in March. The lecture was given by Natasha Pierre, a member of the Connecticut Interagency Task Force on the Trafficking in Persons. It was established in 2004 by the Connecticut General Assembly to determine the extent of human trafficking in Connecticut and what can be done about it. Human trafficking is defined as the buying, transporting, and selling of a human being for forced labor or sex and it is estimated that up to 800,000 people are trafficked globally per year, 80 percent of whom are women and nearly half of whom are children. It is hypothesized that Americans may be being trafficked abroad, primarily for the prostitution trade, but to what extent is currently unknown by the Interagency Task Force, as their work is centered in trafficking within U.S. borders. The reason for an investigation within Connecticut is because it is a state between Boston and New York City and contains three ports, two Interstate highways, and an international airport which would facilitate the transportation of trafficked humans.

The issue is important for more than just moral reasons but also because it violates human rights and jeopardizes public health and safety. Human trafficking, like prostitution, is often concealed within strip clubs and massage parlors. Often, cases of human trafficking appear as other crimes such as domestic violence or prostitution. In some cases, a girl is seduced by a particularly charismatic male who will become her "boyfriend" or "husband" when in reality, he is selling the girl's services and taking the money. These sorts of cases go largely unnoticed unless another more visible crime occurs, for example if there is beating involved.

Like domestic violence, it is only in recent years that the government has organized efforts to combat it. However, it is difficult for victims of human trafficking for prostitution, like victims of domestic violence, to come forward because they feel ashamed and they feel that they are to blame for the actions against them.

However, human trafficking for prostitution is not the only form of human trafficking; it is simply the most publicized by the media. Undocumented workers are also considered victims ofhuman trafficking and are often just as afraid to admit to what has been done to them as prostitution victims. They fear they will receive prosecution by the government rather than aid. Intimidation is often used in the case of both sexual and labor trafficking. In some places, including parts of Mexico and other Central American countries, the authorities work in collaboration with the traffickers and victims can expect no help from them. This also makes the follow-up therapy for those rescued from human traffickers difficult. "You're dealing with people thinking you're not going to help them," stated Pierre.

Pierre related one particularly chilling story in which several teenage girls on a soccer team in Guatemala were lured to American on the promise of getting jobs as athletes. Their families were promised that the girls would receive education and money to send home. Once in America, the girls were sold as prostitutes and were constantly moved from town to town to prevent suspicion. One of the girls managed to call a runaway hotline in New Hampshire to report her plight; she was given a national number to call, but whether she was able to is unknown.

The prostitution aspect of human trafficking is particularly lucrative since one girl can bring in $100,000 to $200,000 a year, most of which she will never see. In some cases it is difficult to get a conviction because of the belief that most prostitutes are working of their own free will, which also makes it rare for girls that are being trafficked to come forward because they are afraid of arrest and they are ashamed of their situation. Fortunately in the case of minors there is no confusion, as anyone under the age of 18 will be taken care of by the Department of Children's Services. They are automatically classified as being trafficked, unlike an adult who must admit to it. Measures are being taken to provide support for those who do come forward. Though Connecticut does not yet have an organized infrastructure to take care of the victims like New York does, it is in the process of creating one, starting with Interagency Task Force.

More information about the organization can be found at www.cga.ct.gov/PCSW