Human Trafficking and Slavery: Tools For An Effective Response Presented by Kay Buck, Executive Director Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST) © Coalition to Abolish Slavery & Trafficking (CAST), 2003. All Rights Reserved.

What is CAST?

• Founded in 1998 in Los Angeles • Mission: to assist persons trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and slavery-like practices and to work toward ending all instances of such human rights violations • Dedicated exclusively to services and advocacy for trafficked and enslaved persons in the U.S.

• Utilize collaborative approach with government agencies and community organizations to respond to cases of trafficking

CAST’s Activities

• Intensive case management and comprehensive legal assistance services for trafficked persons • Opened first U.S. shelter for trafficked persons • Part of Leadership Team of the Los Angeles Metropolitan Human Trafficking Taskforce • Local, national and international policy advocacy • Training and technical assistance for NGOs and GOs • Public education, outreach and community organizing

Human Trafficking

Some rough estimates of the scope of the problem • In the U.S. 15-18,000 women, children and men trafficked annually • Two million people trafficked worldwide annually • Twenty seven million people in slavery around the world • Nine billion dollar business

Compared to Drugs or Arms, Human Trafficking:

• Is more profitable • Produces continuous profits • Involves little or no risk

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act

• A comprehensive law – Prevention – Prosecution – Protection

Human Trafficking

• “Whoever knowingly recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains by any means, any person for labor or services in peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude or forced labor. . .” US Criminal Law OR • Anyone who is being manipulated or forced to work against his/her will or provide services for the benefit of someone else (involuntary servitude)

Three Elements of Trafficking

1

PROCESS

2

MEANS

3

END Recruiting OR Harboring OR Moving OR Obtaining

by

Force OR Fraud OR Coercion

For the purposes of

Involuntary Servitude OR Debt Bondage OR Slavery OR Sex Trade

a person ,

A woman came to see Aurelia’s mother in her Mexican village to offer Aurelia a job as a cook in America. She promised that Aurelia would make $200 per month and could go to school. The woman brought Aurelia into the U.S. by car and took her to a bar in Texas. Aurelia was told she would be working in the bar and had to pay off a $7,500 debt to the owners by working as a prostitute. When Aurelia refused to do the work and asked to go back home, the owners beat her and threatened to harm her mother if she did not do the work.

Trafficking Vs. Smuggling

Trafficking

• Crime or violation against a person • Contains element of coercion (cannot consent to enslavement) • Subsequent exploitation and/or forced labor • Trafficked persons seen as victims by the law

Smuggling

• Unauthorized border crossing • No coercion • Facilitated illegal entry of person from one country to another • Smuggled persons seen as criminals by the law

Modern-Day Slavery: A Prison Without Walls

Shackles and chains have been replaced by: • Threats of deportation • Withholding documents • Threats to family members in home country • Isolation • Verbal abuse • Psychological coercion is often coupled with threatened or actual physical violence and sexual assault

Some Examples Trafficking and Slavery

• Domestic service • Prostitution • Marriage • Factories • Begging • Agriculture • Criminal activity • Restaurant work • Construction • Hotel/motel housekeeping • Other informal labor sectors

Other Examples in the U.S.

• African church choir • Pacific Islander pig farmers • South American cattle herders • Asian school teachers

•

U.S. Citizens Can Be Victimized

Michael Allen Lee recruited homeless men from the streets of Orlando or other cities to work in Florida's citrus fields with promises of good wages. However, instead of the US$35 to $50 a day that workers in the citrus industry could normally expect, Lee's workers were rarely paid more than $10 a day despite working from dawn to dusk. • Lee would deduct the cost of food, a place to sleep and other "expenses", such as charges for the sacks they used to collect the fruit, from their wages. One worker had $110 deducted from his weekly wage for food and rent alone. This despite the fact that the official charge for the bunk or mattress where they slept was $30 a week and that they only received between $5 and $10 a day for food. Those who complained or tried to escape were threatened with violence. • One worker, George E. Williams, did escape and went to the police. Williams had previously been beaten unconscious by Lee, dragged to a pick up truck and taken to another location where he was beaten again. Lee then made Williams wipe his own blood off the walls.

• Seven months after Williams' escape he and more than a dozen other workers filed a lawsuit, with the assistance of Florida Rural Legal Services, against Lee and the company that hired him, Beville II Inc.

Who Are Trafficked and Enslaved Persons?

• Women, children and men • Varying ages • Varying levels of education • Voluntary migrants – Seeking to improve their situation

Why People Decide to Migrate

• Economic • Social • Personal • Civil unrest • Political persecution • Escape from gender based discrimination • Adventure/opportunity Photo by J. Maillard, International Labour Organization

Why Migrants Are Vulnerable to Human Traffickers

• Immigration laws/policies – Demand for migrant work, but lack of safe, legal ways to migrate • Ethnic, religious, national discrimination • Dependence on third parties for information about migration

Who Are The Human Traffickers and Slaveholders?

• Organized crime • Neighbors, friends, family members, village chiefs, returnees • Agricultural operations • Owners of small or medium-sized businesses • Families (including diplomats)

How People Are Recruited

• Acquaintances or family • Newspaper ads • Fake employment agencies • Front businesses • Word of mouth • Abduction Photo by J. Maillard, International Labour Organization

A Human Rights Approach To Human Trafficking and Slavery • Focuses on situation, needs and rights of trafficked and enslaved persons • Respects individual autonomy and rights • Is empowering and non-judgmental • Connects rights of the individual to prosecution of traffickers and slaveholders

NGO and Government Cooperation

• U.S. Attorney’s office • Federal VW coordinator • Federal public defender • DHS agents & VW coordinator • FBI agents, VW coordinator & LEGATs • Pre-trial Services office • Embassy/Consulate • State Labor Agencies • Diplomatic Security Service • Office for Victims of Crime • Local law enforcement • Local district attorney • Main Department of Justice – Civil Rights Division, Criminal Section • Department of Labor • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • Internal Revenue Service • Office of Refugee Resettlement

NGOs and Government: What NGOs Can Bring To The Table • Referrals of cases from the community • Care for victim’s human service needs • Coordination between agencies and victims during criminal or civil proceedings – Work to ensure trafficked person understands legal processes – Provide cultural info and language assistance • Social and emotional support to help victim be an effective witness or plaintiff

Identifying Trafficked Persons

Identifying Trafficked Persons

• Ways that trafficked persons are discovered • Guidelines for identifying whether or not a person is “trafficked”

Finding Trafficked & Enslaved Persons

• Direct outreach CAST Sex Trafficking Outreach Program (STOP) NYC Task Force outreach tools Legal Aid Foundation of LA comic strip Coalition of Immokalee Workers community organizing • Education campaigns for general public ORR “Campaign to Rescue and Restore Victims of Trafficking” United Nations Public Service Announcements • Training Local/federal law enforcement Community organizations Government Agencies

Which Law Enforcement Agencies Might Discover A Trafficked Person?

  DHS investigations, anti-smuggling unit, work site enforcement unit, asylum office, detention center, border patrol FBI civil rights or organized crime units       Department of Labor Local police and district attorney DOJ complaint line U.S. Attorney’s Office Victim Witness Coordinator Public Defender

Countries of Origin

• Victims can be American citizens • Whatever you look for, you will find • Be aware of victim stereotypes – Race, class, gender • Language, culture and world views present significant challenges to everyone working to identify and assist victims • Consider these factors when strategizing outreach to potential victims

Victim Encounters with Law Enforcement That Were Trafficking

• Domestic Violence • Burglary • Illegal Immigration • Wage dispute • Attempted Suicide • Prostitution • Kidnapping • Informant on other criminal matter

Who Else Might Discover a Trafficked Person?

 Community organizations   Good Samaritans Consulates or embassies  Other trafficked persons  Witnesses    Clinics Private attorneys Customers/clients of the trafficked person  Mental health service providers  DV advocates

Call CAST for Help!

213-365-1906 www.castla.org

[email protected]

Providing Social Services to Survivors of Trafficking

What Range Of Services Will Need To Be Provided?

• Trafficked and enslaved persons have suffered from serious physical, psychological and possibly sexual abuse. • An extensive network of culturally and linguistically appropriate service providers is required to meet their urgent and acute needs.

• • • • • • • • • • Interpretation Housing, food & clothing Medical care (emerg. & long term) & health education Mental health care Legal & immigration services ESL training Independent living skills Safety planning Job placement & employment education Human rights education

Repatriation and Reintegration Assistance

• Steps: – Obtain identification and travel documentation – Link with NGO in country of repatriation to help assess family situation, safety, available services, accompany client through immigration, etc.

– Arrange for safe travel and re-entry • Cost of plane ticket (who will pay?) • Shipping of client personal belongings (who will pay?) – Follow-up with client as appropriate • Organizations that may be able to help – International Organization for Migration – Freedom Network Contacts – State Dept./USAID Grantees

Challenges of Assisting Trafficked and Enslaved Persons Photo by J. Maillard, International Labour Organization • Lack of resources/infrastructure • Special needs population • Diverse cultures/languages • Multiple survivors • Complex legal needs • Lack of awareness and cooperation among government and non-government agencies • New laws still being implemented • Long term clients • Lack of experience at all levels • Staff secondary trauma

Rewards of Working With Trafficked and Enslaved Persons Photo Feruzzi/Los Angeles Times El Monte Slave Shop Workers, 1999 • New field of victim services • Highly motivated clients • Assisting an “un-served” population • New laws to assist and protect survivors • Survivors’ justice • This is human rights work dedicated to protecting the most basic right to bodily integrity and freedom

“I feel that I have been reincarnated… I have gained my freedom .”

CAST client