Transcript Florida State University Center for the Advancement of

Human Trafficking
Information for ESOL Teachers
Robin Thompson, JD, MA, Program Director
Vania Llovera, M.S., Assistant Director
Florida State University
Center for the Advancement of Human Rights
Presentation Overview
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Understanding Human Trafficking
Who Are Traffickers?
The Trafficking Victim Protection Act
The new Florida Trafficking Statute
Smuggling versus Trafficking
Importance in ESOL
Experiences
• Have you ever encountered a victim of
trafficking?
• How did you know?
• How might an ESOL program/ teacher
encounter a human trafficking situation?
What Is Human Trafficking?
• A form of modern day slavery
• Involves the exploitation of vulnerable
persons for commercial sex or forced labor
• Victims may be illegal immigrants, legal
immigrants, or even U.S. citizens
• Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to
control their victims
Human Trafficking Is On The
Increase
• World poverty has increased
• Millions of the world’s poor are desperate
for economic survival
• Since the 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall,
borders are easier to cross worldwide
• Traffickers prey upon people’s hopes for a
better life in a new country
The Scope Of The Problem
• 1-2 million people trafficked worldwide annually
• An estimated 18,000 to 20,000 women and
children trafficked annually into the U.S., plus
thousands of men
• Currently cases being investigated in 48 states
• Approximately 27 million people held in slavery
worldwide
Human Trafficking Is A
Lucrative Business
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Yields $9 billion in profits each year
Ranks only behind drugs & arms smuggling
Unlike drugs & arms, humans can be resold
Is becoming a preferred business for
criminal syndicates around the world
The Supply of Victims Is
Seemingly Endless
• In the new global economy there is a
constant flow of fresh victims
• The slaves of the 21st century are
dispensable commodities rather than
investments, and are always replaceable
• They are typically brought not by force but
by promises of a better life
• The allure of the U.S. is stronger than ever
Human Trafficking Is Difficult
To Stop
• Its base causes lie beyond U.S. borders
• Where there is poverty there will be human trafficking
• The problem is fueled by government corruption in many
countries
• Effective prevention requires international cooperation
between law enforcement agencies
• Trafficking may also develop due to search for cheap labor
(people may come to the US with a work visa and find
themselves in a trafficking situation)
Trafficking Victims Are Often
“Invisible”
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Many are illegal and are afraid of U.S. authorities
Their traffickers exploit this fear
Victims are constantly watched & guarded
Many victims do not speak English
Many victims have no idea where they are in the
United States
• Most victims are isolated
• Many don’t even realize that they are victims and
that there are laws in the U.S. to protect them
People Are Trafficked For:
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Prostitution
Exotic Dancing
Agricultural Work
Domestic Work &
Childcare
• Factory Work
• Begging/street
peddling
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Restaurant Work
Construction Work
Hotel Housekeeping
Mail Order Brides
Criminal Activities
Other Informal Labor
Sector
• Carnival work
• MANY OTHERS
Traffickers Use Brutal Means to
Control Their Victims
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Beatings, burnings, rapes, & starvation
Isolation
Psychological abuses
Threats of deportation
Threats against the victim’s family members in the
home country
• Drug/alcohol dependency
• Withholding of documents
• Debt bondage
Who Are Traffickers?
• Organized criminal syndicates (i.e.,
Russian, Chinese, Albanian,Vietnamese,
Thai mafias)
– Many have “diversified trafficking portfolios”
(i.e., they traffick in guns and drugs as well as
humans)
– Often the smuggling routes for all three are
identical
Who Are Traffickers?
• Families (“mom & pop” commercial enterprises;
sometimes involves an extended family member,
family has connections on both side of the border,
recruiters may be females)
• Labor subcontractors
• Pimps
• Diplomats
• Individuals with non-commercial sexual motives
• May also be neighbors, friends, relatives of the
victim
Who Are Traffickers?
• Invariably are members of the victim’s own ethnic
or national community
• Often are in the United States with legal status and
maintain close contact with their home country
• Are often fluent in English as well as a native
language
• Often have significant social or political status in
their home countries
Smuggling versus Trafficking
• Smuggling can become trafficking once a
victim is no longer free to walk away and is
forced to work to pay off a debt
• Many trafficking victims begin as willing
participants in smuggling operations and
only later discover that they are actually
being trafficked
Smuggling versus Human Trafficking
• Both types of operations look similar at the border
• Smugglers make their money upfront from people they
smuggle. Their “business relationship” ends once the
immigrant has crossed the border
• Traffickers “allow” the immigrant to pay off the debt
gradually; they use smuggling debt to control their victims
• Traffickers maintain ongoing control over the victim even
after the border is crossed
Labor Exploitation
• On the continuum with human trafficking
• Labor exploitation can be present w/o there
being trafficking. This is still illegal.
The Trafficking Victim
Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)
• Defines new crime of human trafficking
under federal law
• Criminalizes a variety of human trafficking
offenses
• Increases prison terms for slavery violations
from 10 to 20 years and adds life
imprisonment
• Has been amended and improved since ‘00
What is Human Trafficking?
• The crime of compelling or coercing the labor or
services of another person against that person’s
will
• Initial consent of a person is not a defense to
subsequent use of coercion to maintain service
• Trafficking will often involve a border crossing
but does not require it
Human Trafficking Offenses
• Sex trafficking
• Forced Labor
• Document Servitude
Benefits Often Available
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Immigration Help
Legal Assistance
Emergency Shelter
Case Management
Florida Crime Victim
Compensation
• Medicaid
• Social Security Income
• Food Stamps
• Refugee Cash
• Match Grant
• Refugee Social
Services
– ESOL Classes
– Life Skills
– Job Skills Training &
Placement
– Crisis Counseling
– Housing & Transportation
Assistance
Important Legal Change Brought
About By the TVPA/TVPRA
• The TVPA is victim-centered law
• Trafficking victims, even if they are in the U.S.A.
illegally, are now seen as beneficiaries rather than
as violators of U.S. law
• The law directs that victims of human trafficking
are not to be deported
New Florida Trafficking Laws
• Good companion to Federal law
• Local and state law enforcement and prosecution
have direct role and responsibility
• More tools to arrest and punish traffickers
• Requires greater local/state/federal coordination
• Support for victims possible
• No immigration benefits – still need feds
Talking about Trafficking
• Every case is different
• You could provide help and referral info on
the law, benefits and safety
• Be sensitive and aware of your impact
• Don’t interrogate – gently discuss
• Know trafficking resources in your
community and network with them
Talking about Trafficking
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Safety issues
Employment issues
Social Networks
Origins
Immigration Status
Why is it important in ESOL?
– Due to limited English proficiency, students
may be vulnerable;
– Teachers and their students will be able to help
others who may be trafficked or be vulnerable;
– Many students feel that their ESOL class is a
safe environment;
– To an extent, teachers are service providers to
their students;
Why is it important in ESOL?
(cont’d)
– Teachers will know what to do if they suspect a
student is a victim;
– Teachers will learn to recognize traffickers;
– Students will be able to help themselves and
others to know what human trafficking is, how
to get help safely and their legal rights; and
– Students will know how to guard against
recruitment.
Survey needs
Teachers
• Cover specific topics
during the course of the
year
• Cover grammar,
conversation, reading and
writing
• Teach the material in
blocks of time and fit it
into the present
curriculum
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Students
Know the relevance of the
material
Be able to learn material
to complete literacy points
Need to find the material
interesting to stay focus
Need to be exposed to
new material more than
once
Connection with current goals
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Teachers will continue to conduct class
activities that will require students to
participate in reading, writing and oral
exercises allowing the students to absorb
the information gradually.
Teachers will continue to use multiple
teaching modalities to teach certain
concepts.
Integrate human trafficking in ESOL
Human Trafficking information can be
incorporated in the following units:
1.Work
2.Health and Emergencies
3.Safety
4.Multiculturalism
5.Civics
Resources in Florida
Florida State University,
Center for the Advancement of Human Rights
850-644-4550; www.cahr.fsu.edu
Project Director, Robin Thompson –
[email protected] or 850-907-0693
Resources in Florida
Florida Department of Children and Families,
Office of Refugee Services, Holly Merrick
850-922-4143 or [email protected]
Florida Freedom Partnership: 866-443-0106
Federal Resources
Health and Human Services:
• Referral to aid organization in the victim's area.
• Toll-free number (888-3737-888)
• (www.acf.hhs.gov/trafficking)
Department of Justice:
• Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation
Task Force Complaint Line
• 1-888-428-7581 (voice and TTY).