Human Trafficking

1. Human Trafficking Class Session Three

2. Housekeeping Items • Trip this weekend—ordering hotel so put on sign in sheet a definite yes • Leaving at 3pm Friday. Please meet here at Carver, unless you are on route to Cincinnati and put on sign in sheet “to be picked up” and we will schedule a pick up spot • Assignments • Forum

3. Disclaimer “Fields of Mudan” Due to the graphic nature of this film you may chose not to watch and may be excused until the film is over.

4. Child Sex Trafficking • UNICEF reports that across the world, there are over one million children entering the sex trade every year • Approximately 30 million children have lost their childhood through sexual exploitation over the past 30 years. http://www.iast.net/thefacts.htm

5. Child Sex Trafficking • http://www.nbclosangeles.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Riverside-Girl-Trapped-in-Tijuana-Child-Sex-Trade/133197603 • From Thursday, Nov. 3rd

6. Child Sex Tourism • "On this trip, I've had sex with a 14 year-old girl in Mexico and a 15 year-old in Colombia. I'm helping them financially. If they don't have sex with me, they may not have enough food. If someone has a problem with me doing this, let UNICEF feed them." -Retired U.S. Schoolteacher

7. Child Sex Tourism • "Maria is . . . prostituted by her aunt. Maria is obliged to sell her body exclusively to foreign tourists in Costa Rica, she only works mornings as she has to attend school in the afternoon. Maria is in fifth grade."

8. Child Sex Tourism: History • The international tourism industry is booming. • Since the 1960's, international travel has increased seven-fold. • As tourists eagerly travel to distant lands to enjoy new landscapes and cultures, economically developing countries have welcomed the expansion of the international tourism industry as a much-needed source of income within their own nations. • With the exponential rise in this industry, however, comes the growth of a darker, more clandestine phenomenon: child sex tourism.

9. Child Sex Tourism: Background • Sex tourism is a very lucrative industry that spans the globe. • In 1998, the International Labour Organization reported its calculations that 2-14% of the gross domestic product of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Phillipines, and Thailand derives from sex tourism. • In addition, while Asian countries, including Thailand, India, and the Phillipines, have long been prime destinations for child-sex tourists, in recent years, tourists have increasingly traveled to Mexico and Central America for their sexual exploits as well. • Child sex tourists are individuals that travel to foreign countries to engage in sexual activity with children. • The non-profit organization End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and the Trafficking of Children (ECPAT) estimates that more than one million children worldwide are drawn into the sex trade each year.

10. Factors Supporting the Child Sex Trade • The most significant societal factor that pushes children into prostitution is poverty. • Many nations with thriving sex tourism industries are nations that suffer from widespread poverty resulting from turbulent politics and unstable economies. • Poverty often correlates with illiteracy, limited employment opportunities, and bleak financial circumstances for families. • Children in these families become easy targets for procurement agents in search of young children.

11. Factors Supporting the Child Sex Trade • They are lured away from broken homes by "recruiters" who promise them jobs in a city and then force the children into prostitution. • Some poor families themselves prostitute their children or sell their children into the sex trade to obtain desperately needed money. • Gender discrimination also works in tandem with poverty; in many countries, female children have fewer educational opportunities or prospects for substantial employment. • Consequently, they must find other means of earning a living.

12. The Role of the Internet • The Internet has also facilitated the recent rise in child sex tourism by providing a convenient marketing channel. • Websites provide potential child sex tourists with pornographic accounts written by other child sex tourists. • These websites detail sexual exploits with children and supply information on sex establishments and prices in various destinations, including information on how to specifically procure child prostitutes.

13. Child Sex Tourism • Finally, actions by foreign governments may directly or indirectly encourage child sex tourism. • National governments in countries which are struggling economically have become increasingly tourist-oriented in their search for profitable sources of income. • These governments sometimes turn a blind eye to the sex tourism industry, thus allowing the industry to perpetuate sexual exploitation upon children in order to encourage tourism in their country in general.

14. The Role of the Internet • Additionally, sex tour travel agents may publish brochures and guides on the Internet that cater to child sex tourists. • In 1995, there were over twenty-five businesses in the United States that offered and arranged sex tours. • One particular website promised nights of sex "with two young Thai girls for the price of a tank of gas." • The easy availability of this information on the Internet generates interest in child sex tourism and facilitates child sex abusers in making their travel plans.

15. Victims • The lives of child prostitutes are almost too appalling to confront. • Studies indicate that child prostitutes serve between two and thirty clients per week, leading to a shocking estimated base of anywhere between 100 to 1500 clients per year, per child. • Younger children, many below the age of 10, have been increasingly drawn into serving tourists.

16. Victims • Child prostitutes live in constant fear; they live in fear of sadistic acts by clients, fear of being beaten by pimps who control the sex trade, and fear of being apprehended by the police. • It comes as no surprise that victims often suffer from depression, low self-esteem, and feelings of hopelessness.

17. Victims • Many victims of child sexual exploitation also suffer from physical ailments, including tuberculosis, exhaustion, infections, and physical injuries resulting from violence inflicted upon them. • Venereal diseases run rampant among these children and they rarely receive medical treatment until they are seriously or terminally ill. • Living conditions are poor and meals are inadequate and irregular. • Many children that fail to earn enough money are punished severely, often through beatings and starvation. • Sadly, drug use and suicide are all too common for victims of child sexual exploitation.

18. Perpetrators • Perpetrators are found across all socio and economic classes.  • They may live alone or be in relationships.  They may be heterosexual or homosexual.  • The majority are adults with no sexual boundaries (namely, child sex offenders).  • The minority have a sexual preference for children. • Child sex exploiters are overwhelmingly male. http://www.stopdemand.org/wawcs016179/the_problem.html

19. Perpetrators • The demand for child sex within prostitution and sex tourism comes from individuals within a wide range of professions including - • Travelling businessmen • Tourists • Expatriates • The military/UN peacekeepers • Aid workers • Employers of domestic workers • Migrant workers • Seamen & truckers • Local prostitute users • (Source:  Sex Exploiter theme paper, First World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, Aug 1996

20. Child Sex Tourists • Child sex tourists are typically males and come from all income brackets. • Perpetrators usually hail from nations in Western European nations and North America. • While some tourists are pedophiles that preferentially seek out children for sexual relationships, many child sex tourists are "situational abusers." • These are individuals who do not consistently seek out children as sexual partners, but who do occasionally engage in sexual acts with children when the opportunity presents itself.

21. Child Sex Tourists • The distorted and disheartening rationales for child sex tourism are numerous. • Some perpetrators rationalize their sexual encounters with children with the idea that they are helping the children financially better themselves and their families. • Paying a child for his or her services allows a tourist to avoid guilt by convincing himself he is helping the child and the child's family to escape economic hardship. • Others try to justify their behavior by believing that children in foreign countries are less "sexually inhibited" and by believing their destination country does not have the same social taboos against having sex with children.

22. Child Sex Tourists • Still other perpetrators are drawn towards child sex while abroad because they enjoy the anonymity that comes with being in a foreign land. T • his anonymity provides the child sex tourist with freedom from the moral restraints that govern behavior in his home country. • Consequently, some tourists feel that they can discard their moral values when traveling and avoid accountability for their behavior and its consequences. • Finally, some sex tourists are fueled by racism and view the welfare of children of third world countries as unimportant.

23. International Response to Child Sex Tourism • Although many of these countries have passed legislation that criminalizes sexual exploitation of children, these laws often remain unenforced against tourists. • Efforts to combat child sexual exploitation often run into conflict with foreign governments' efforts to promote the international tourism industry. • Police corruption is common. • In Thailand and the Philippines, police have been known to guard brothels and even procure children for prostitution. • Some police in destination countries directly exploit children themselves. • Thus far, the international community has not been able to rely on destination countries to adequately protect the rights and well-being of child victims.

24. U.S. Response to Child Sex Tourism • The United States has risen to take legislative action against the growing evils of child sex tourism. • In 1994, Congress established 18 U.S.C. § 2423(b), which is aimed towards prosecution of child sex tourists. • Section 2423(b) criminalizes traveling abroad for the purpose of engaging in illegal sexual activity with a minor. • Currently, successful prosecution under § 2423(b) requires the government to prove that an alleged child sex tourist from the United States formed the intent to engage in sexual activity with a child prior to meeting the child and initiating sexual contact. • In other words, a defendant is only punishable under § 2423(b) if he has the intent, while traveling, to engage in sexual activity with minors. • The federal government has successfully utilized § 2423(b) to target several child sex tourists. • Current proposals to eliminate the intent requirement may broaden the government's prosecutorial power by allowing the government to prosecute United States citizens who engage in sexual acts with children while abroad, regardless of when they formed the intent to do so.

25. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Defined By Federal Law • Domestic minor sex trafficking occurs when a U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident who has not attained 18 years of age is engaged in a commercial sex act.2 • “Commercial sex act” means any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person. This includes: • Prostitution • Exotic dancing/stripping • Pornography 2 This definition is from the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005

26. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the U.S. • According to Ernie Allen, Executive Director of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), data shows 100,000 to 293,000 children have become sexual commodities. • Nationally 450,000 children run away from home each year. 1 out of every 3 teens on the street will be lured toward prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home. Statistically, this means at least 150,000 children lured into prostitution each year.3 • 12 is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution in the U.S.4 3 NISMART (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children) 4 From U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/prostitution.html

27. Case Study: Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in Nevada • Nevada has become a hotspot for domestic minor sex trafficking.5 • 181 cases of juvenile prostitution were brought before Hon. William O. Voy between 8/24/05-12/31/06. • 69 cases were trafficked within Nevada; 112 were trafficked from out-of-state. • Ages ranged from 12 to 17 years old. • 181 cases before ONE judge in ONE court in ONE state. 5 2004 USDOJ Annual Report

29. Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Victims • Any minor engaged in commercial sex acts is a victim of sex trafficking. • As victims of a violent crime, the Federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA 2000) allows trafficking victims to be protected rather than punished, even if they participated in illegal activities, such as prostitution. • “I never met a juvenile in prostitution who didn’t have a pimp.” – Sharon Marcus-Kurn, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia

30. Who are the victims of domestic minor sex trafficking? • Youth of any ethnicity, race, or religion • Youth of any socio-economic class • Female, male, and transgender youth • Youth of all ages, including teenagers • Vulnerable youth

31. Who are especially vulnerable to domestic minor sex trafficking? • Youth with histories of abuse • 59% of minors arrested for prostitution in Las Vegas from 1994 to 2005 had been victims of sexual assault and/or familial molestation.6 • 74% had run away from home prior to arrest.7 • WestCare Nevada treated 46 minors involved in prostitution from 2004-2005; 45 of them had a history of physical and/or sexual abuse. 6,7 From Las Vegas Metro Police STOP Program, Las Vegas. 2005.

32. Who are especially vulnerable to domestic minor sex trafficking? • Homeless, runaway or “throwaway” youth - As many as 2.8 million children live on the streets, a third of whom are lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home.8 • Youth within the foster care system & child protective services - Over 500,000 children in the U.S. currently reside in some form of foster care.9 8 From The National Runaway Switchboard 9 From The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

33. Case Study: Rhonda, Sex Trafficking Victim • “I have a history of sexual abuse, a long history of it… The first time that it happened it was from my mother’s boyfriend. I remember his name was Phillip. He was going into the room with me and my sister ‘to read bedtime stories’. And my mother was unaware of what was going on. And it happened for a long time, a long time. The second time was while we were going to court for the first one. My mother had a friend who was a sheriff…and while we were going through the court process for the molestation charges for Phillip, Ken took me and my sister to his cabin in Lake Tahoe and he sexually abused me there.”

34. Case Studies: Toledo and Kansas City • Toledo: A pimp tricked two cousins, 14 and 15, into his car, kidnapped them, and forced them into prostitution. He gave them clothes and fake IDs, and monitored them as they performed sex acts in Toledo hotels. He prevented their escape by beating one girl when the other would misbehave. The girls were rescued in a sting operation and the pimp and his accomplices arrested. 10 • Kansas City: Two 13-year-old girls and their 15-year-old sister ran away from home in Kansas City, MO. They were recruited by a pimp who sold them in exchange for food, clothing and shelter. The pimp kept 100% of the money the girls earned from performing sex acts and never provided them with condoms. He was arrested during an undercover police operation and brought to justice by the Kansas City human trafficking task force. 11 10 From The Toledo Blade. 2006-01-09. 11 From The Kansas City Star. 2006-06-24. Page: B1

35. Why is it hard to identify domestic minor sex trafficking victims? • Physically and/or psychologically controlled by pimps • Trained by pimps to tell lies and false stories • Victims’ distrust of service providers & law enforcement • Frequently moved from place to place • Technology can help disguise the real age of the victim • Easy to obtain fake I.D.s

36. Debate • Toddlers vs. Tiaras http://youtu.be/QAxEt5YL8w4

37. There's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of [the] 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."- Former President Bush, addressing the U.N. General Assembly, September 23, 2003

38. Awareness Groups • “Learning is a continuum; it starts with awareness, builds to training, and evolves into education.” http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistpubs/800-50/NIST-SP800-50.pdf

39. References • http://www.justice.gov/criminal/ceos/sextour.html

40. Resources • Regional Victim Services Program www.rvspky.org 606-679-4782 ext. 279 Crisis Line: 1-800-656-4673 • General Web Resources and Campaigns • - Freedom Network: Freedomnetworkusa.org • - Free the Slaves: Freetheslaves.net • - humantrafficking.org • - Fair Fund: www.fairfund.org • NGO’s and Victim’s Service Organizations • - Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition: http://www.bsccoalition.org/ • - Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST): www.castla.org • - Polaris Project: www.polarisproject.org. • - Project REACH • - Shared Hope International: www.sharedhope.org

41. Resources Legal Resources • - National Immigration Law Center : http://www.nilc.org/immlawpolicy/trafficking/index.htm • Government Resources • - Association for Children and Families: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking/ • - Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons: • http://www.state.gov/g/tip/ • - Immigration and Customs Enforcement: http://www.ice.gov/pi/investigations/publicsafety/humantrafficking.htm • - US Department of Justice: http://www.usdoj.gov/olp/human_trafficking.html