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• Human trafficking is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world. • Earning approximately $32 billion per year. • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlKBeF 3Zh00 The National Report on Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Shared Hope International received a grant from the Department of Justice to assess Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in eleven areas in the United States, which culminated in the National Report, released in July 2009. The findings: At least 100,000 children are used in prostitution every year in the United States. The average age a child is first exploited through prostitution is 13 years old. Misidentification is the primary barrier to services and intervention to DMST victims. 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. In the U.S., 30% of shelter youth and 70% of street youth are victims of commercial sexual exploitation.1 • The average age of entry into prostitution is between 11 and 14.2 1 Estes, R. & Weiner, N. “Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico.” University of Pennsylvania, 2001 2 Kotrla, Kimberly. "Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking in the United States." Social Work 55.2 (2010): 181-187. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 22 Feb. 2011. 3 What about the United States? Human Trafficking Defined By Federal Law • “Severe Forms” of human trafficking are: (a) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or (b) the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.3 3 These definitions are from the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 4 Human Trafficking Defined Simply • Simply put, there are three categories of human trafficking victims: 1. Those under 18 involved in commercial sex acts 2. Those 18 or over involved in commercial sex acts through force, fraud or coercion 3. Those forced to perform labor and/or services in conditions of involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage or slavery through force, fraud or coercion 5 Force, Fraud, or Coercion • Force: ‐ Physical restraint, bodily harm (physical or sexual), or confinement • Fraud: ‐ Deceitful employment offers or work conditions, false promises, or withholding wages • Coercion: ‐ Threats of serious harm, bodily harm against any person, abuse of legal process, withholding legal documents, creating a climate of fear What can be done to bring justice for these victims in the United States? • • • • Improve laws in all areas related to trafficking Most related cases are not brought at the federal level. Therefore, states must take action. In 2011 Shared Hope International did a comprehensive analysis of every states laws. • 40 Indicators for all 50 states and the District of Columbia 7 Criminalization of Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking • Is there a sex trafficking law? – The first state human trafficking law was passed in 2003 (Washington state) – 9 states do not have sex trafficking laws • Are there other laws that could be used? • Do the laws refer to the victims as victims? • How New York Scored: 3.5 out of 7.5 10 11 Who are the Buyers? • Buyers are the individuals who are the recipients of the sexual services – paid for by monetary or non-monetary means. • Buyers can be all ages, ethnicities and represent a variety of social and economic backgrounds. • Buyers are equally as responsible for the crime of domestic minor sex trafficking despite their lack of intent or knowledge of age or victim status. 12 Protected Innocence Initiative Criminal Provisions Addressing Demand • One of the heaviest weighted components – 10 of 40. • Ending demand, decreases profit, and thus the number of trafficked individuals and traffickers. • Indicators in the component: – Does the sex trafficking law apply? – Is there a law specifically applicable to buyers of sex with minors? – How high are penalties? – Is there a law related to buying sex with a minor on the Internet? – Are buyers required to register as sex offenders? – Can a buyer assert a mistake of age defense? How New York Scored: 16 out of 25 14 Crime Classification Sentence Fine (possible) Asset Forfeiture (available penalty) Patronizing a prostitute (minors 14–18)(NY Penal § 230.04) Class A misdemeanor Max. 1 year Max. $1,000 No Patronizing a prostitute (minor under 14; buyer over 18)(NY Penal § 230.05) Class E felony Max. 4 years Max. $5,000 No Patronizing a prostitute (minor under 11)(NY Penal § 230.06) Class D felony 2–7 years sex offense Max. $5,000 No Max. $5,000 Yes Possessing child pornography (minors under Class E felony 16)(NY Penal §§ 263.11, 263.16) Max. 4 years 15 Traffickers? • Can be a pimp, a boyfriend, father, mother, brother, uncle, a coach, a teacher or anyone exerting control over a minor, even a peer • Not always organized criminals • Both men and women of varying ages • Any ethnicity or race • Anyone who benefits from the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor or facilitates the commercial sexual exploitation of a minor 16 17 Protected Innocence Initiative Criminal Provisions for Traffickers • What are the penalties? – Time imprisonment and financial • Do specific provisions related to Internet recruitment exist? • Are traffickers required to register as sex offenders? • Can a court terminate parental rights of a trafficker? How New York Scored: 9.5 out of 15 18 Another Part of the Criminal Ring: Facilitators • Those who knowingly benefit financially from the trafficking – Drivers – Advertisers (online and print) – Hotels/Motels – Landlords 19 Criminal Provisions for Facilitators • Does the sex trafficking law include facilitators? • Are the financial penalties sufficient? • Is there a sex tourism law? How New York Scored: 8.5 out of 10 20 21 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. • Frequently misidentified 22 U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Child Prostitute Victim of Sex Trafficking/CSEC Survivors Survivors Protected Innocence Initiative Protective Provisions for Child Victims • Most heavily weighted category: 11 out of 40 • Are minors immune from prosecution for prostitution? • Does the state sex trafficking law prevent a defense of consent? • Do victims receive a child protective response or a juvenile justice response? • Is commercial sexual exploitation a type of abuse or neglect? • Do victim-friendly criminal justice procedures, such as the rape shield law, protect victims? • Can victims receive restitution or civil remedies? • Can victims have their records expunged? How New York Scored: 18.5 out of 27.5 27 Criminal Justice Tools for Investigation And Prosecution - Mandatory training for law enforcement - The use of wiretapping is allowed - Single-party consent - The use of the Internet as an investigatory tool - The use of a decoy is allowed - Mandatory reporting of missing and recovered children How New York Scored: 8.5 out of 15 Credits • • • • • • • • • • • • • American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. http://www.aacap.org/page.ww?section=Facts+for+Families&name=Foster+Care Detective Ken Lawson, Sexual Assault Unit, Columbus Police Hughes, Donna M. The Demand for Victims of Sex Trafficking. 2005. http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/demand_for_victims.pdf International Association of Chiefs of Police. The Crime of Human Trafficking: A Law Enforcement Guide to Identification and Investigation. http://www.theiacp.org/documents/pdfs/RCD/CompleteHTGuide.pdf Las Vegas Police Department. STOP Program Statistics. National Runaway Switchboard. http://www.1800runaway.org/. NISMART (National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Throwaway Children). http://www.focusas.com/Runaways.html. The Toledo Blade. Captive teenage cousins suffer crash course in forced sex trade. 2006-0109. http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060109/NEWS08/601090328. UN Gift. Human Trafficking: The Facts. http://www.unglobalcompact.org/docs /issues_doc/labour/Forced_labour/HUMAN_TRAFFICKING_-_THE_FACTS_-_final.pdf U.S. Attorney Don DeGabrielle, Southern District of Texas, at the 2006 DOJ Human Trafficking Conference in New Orleans. U.S. Midterm Review on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in America. www.sharedhope.org. U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/prostitution.html 29 To download your Report Card visit: www.sharedhope.org/ReportCards.aspx To view the Protected Innocence Executive Briefing visit: http://www.sharedhope.org/Media/PIIexecbriefing.aspx [email protected] 1-866-HER-LIFE