TRAFFICK CIRCLE PART III: VULNERABLE VICTIMS
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| The Traffick Circle |
Here in my Midwestern hometown of Indianapolis, Indiana,
a 15-year-old girl responded to a job posting in
a Spanish language newspaper for a maid's position at a downtown
hotel. Arriving at the hotel for her interview, she was greeted by two
men she thought to be hotel personnel. The men spoke with her for a
bit, then proceeded to show her to one of the hotel rooms she would
be cleaning... that's when her nightmare began.
For 48-hours, she was held against her will and forced to perform
sexual acts with a barrage of men, one after the other. Finally, the two men
left and she was able to run back to her home. She told her mom what
happened and her mom immediately took her to the emergency room. Having been
raped multiple times, she was severely injured, both physically and
psychologically. At the ER, her concerned doctor promptly notified
the police.
The police arrived at the hotel within two hours after the young
girl escaped, but these traffickers were experienced and knew what they were
doing. Using false names, they paid cash for the room before she arrived and
cleaned it thoroughly after her escape, leaving very few clues to their identity
or the identities of the multiple 'johns' who raped her for two days.
Sound like this is a one-off incident that could never
happen in your community or to someone you might know? Think again.
What is Commercial Sex
Trafficking?
Each year, anywhere from 100,000 to 300,000 children in the
United States are victims of commercial sex trafficking. Anyone under the
age of 18 who is forced into prostitution is, by definition, a sex trafficking
victim. In nearly all cases, victims are forced, defrauded or coerced
into performing commercial sex acts. The person compelling them to do this is the
trafficker, who profits greatly from the victims' work. Trafficking is
sometimes confused with smuggling. Smuggling is illegally transporting someone
over an international border and is typically voluntary, where the person is
free to leave on their own once they've crossed into a new country. A
trafficking victim may, in fact, be transported across borders, but is then
exploited for the financial gain of the trafficker and is not permitted to
leave the trafficker's control.
Vulnerable Victims
A trafficking victim can be ANYBODY, but they all have one thing
in common... they are all vulnerable in some way. That vulnerability
can come in the form of youth -- in fact, the average age for girls to
become victims of sex trafficking is only 12 to 14 years old; for boys, the
average age is even younger, at 11 to 13 years old. Many victims are
desperate for money and are unemployed, impoverished or even immigrants
whose work status is unstable. 84% of victims have been or currently are
homeless.
Children whose family lives are filled with violence, abuse,
neglect or conflict may think their problems will be resolved by running away. The
sad truth is, within the first 48-hours after running away, 1 in 3 children
become commercial sex trafficking victims. Other victims may have a strong
need to be loved and find themselves entrapped by traffickers who pray on that
need and weave the unsuspecting children into their web. In some cases,
victims are actually kidnapped or abducted.
Abuse plays a role in the lives of many child sex trafficking
victims. While research data is often hard to come by in sex trafficking, it's
been found that of boys and girls recruited into the commercial sex industry:
- 57% had been
sexually abused as children
- 49% had been
physically assaulted
- 85% were
victims of incest as girls
- 90% had been
physically abused
Another study found that over half the children surveyed had
been "raped or molested as children or teenagers."
There seems to be a generally accepted myth about commercial sex
trafficking that victims are predominantly from other countries. The fact is, 83%
of minor sex trafficking victims found here in the United States are
U.S. citizens.
Why is it so hard to
escape the Traffick Circle?
Would you believe that prostitution is the deadliest form of
'work' in the U.S.? The American Journal of Epidemiology reported that
prostitutes suffer a ‘workplace homicide rate’ 51 times higher than that of the
next most dangerous occupation, working in a liquor store. The average age of
death for those involved in prostitution is only 34 years old. The leading
cause of death for people in the commercial sex industry is homicide
(19%).
Drug usage/overdoses
comes in a close second (18%) followed by accidents (12%), alcohol-related
causes (9%) and HIV/immunodeficiency syndrome (8%).
It's a dangerous business. Aside from the ever-present threat of
being killed, the majority of commercial sex trafficking victims live under
constant threat and fear. A survey of prostitutes (including sex trafficking
victims) found that:
- 82% had been
physically assaulted
- 83% had been
threatened with a weapon
- 68% had been
raped while working as prostitutes
Victims' health and lives are in danger if they try to leave.
Traffickers maintain both a strong physiological, as well as psychological hold
on their victims. Traffickers may threaten to not only harm victims, but also
their families and friends, or even threaten to deport those
victims who have entered the U.S. illegally. Traffickers keep a tight hold
on their victims and don't allow them to have any meaningful social network.
They will often move victims around to various locations to keep them from
establishing relationships and thus, prevent them from seeking help. A fear of
law enforcement and other authorities is instilled in victims; they believe
reaching out for help will result in a prostitution arrest... or painful
retribution from their trafficker.
Traffickers, also known as "pimps", take all the money
a victim is paid by the consumer ("john"). Women and child victims
are forced to make nightly quotas to avoid beatings. Pimps often
"brand" or tattoo those under their control as a further
demonstration of 'ownership'.
Using a conservative
estimate, a victim can be raped by 6,000 johns during the course of his or her
victimization... that figure is based on a formula of 5 johns per night, 5
nights a week for 5 years. Many victims, though, are expected to engage in sex
acts with up to 15 different johns per night.
This may seem strange (I have to admit, it does a little to me),
but many victims don't view themselves as victims. They often look at their
trafficker as someone who is taking care of them by providing food, shelter and
clothing. Many victims hold out hope that if they prove their worth to the
trafficker, "things will get better." In addition to being
fearful, many are embarrassed and choose to keep their involvement in
commercial sex trafficking a secret from those they do know or those with whom
they are granted permission to interact.
One pimp is quoted as saying, "It’s impossible to
protect all girls from guys….We eat, drink and sleep thinking of ways to trick
young girls into doing what we want.”
Identifying a trafficking
victim
Victims are all around us... we just need to be aware of the
signs, which can include:
- Potential
victim is accompanied by another person who seems controlling
and/or insists on speaking for the victim
- Chronic
runaways/homeless youth
- People who
frequently relocate
- Someone
demonstrating a lack of knowledge of a given community or whereabouts,
beyond just being 'lost'
- People with
numerous inconsistencies in their stories or have restricted or scripted
communication with others
- Someone who
lies about their age (typically this applies to younger tweens/teens)
- People who are
not in control of their own money or have excessive amounts of cash
- People who lack
control of their own identification documents or use false IDs
- People who
carry hotel room keys
- Victims may
have signs of branding (tattoo, jewelry)
There
are also several health indicators that someone may be a trafficking victim
including showing signs of physical abuse, such as bruises, black eyes,
burn, cuts, broken teeth or multiple scars. They may appear malnourished, have
poor dental hygiene or show other evidence of trauma. They may also have
psychological problems such as anxiety, depression, Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD) or can show signs of being suicidal, have extreme fear or
distrust of others, be prone to panic attacks or even suffer from Stockholm's
Syndrome.
There are several questions you can ask yourself to help
determine if someone may, in fact, be a victim of sex trafficking:
- Are they being
forced to do something they don’t want to do?
- Is the person
allowed to leave their place of work?
- Has the person
been physically and/or sexually abused?
- Has the person
been threatened?
- Does the person
have a passport and other documents, or are they taken away?
- Has the person
been paid for his/her work or services?
- How many hours
does the person work a day?
- What are/were
the living conditions?
- How did the
person find out about the job?
- Who organized
the person’s migration?
- Do they have to
ask permission to eat, sleep, or go to the bathroom?
- Do they believe
they owe money for their travel or other expenses?
- Has anyone
threatened their family?
- Where do they
sleep and eat?
- Is there a lock
on their door or windows so they cannot get out?
How can trafficking
be stopped?
Prevention and education efforts are ramping up around
the country to help protect and rescue sex trafficking victims. Thanks to the Victims of Human
Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act of 2000,
resources and restitution are available to trafficking victims, including
T-Visa eligibility to become a lawful resident of the U.S. after three years.
Victims can also petition to have spouses and children accompany them. There is
a national cap of 5,000 Visas annually, but as of 2012, less than half that
allotment was requested. It is believed the reason that number is so low is
that many trafficking victims are too frightened or embarrassed to come
forward.
Other life resources are available to trafficking victims
including housing, food, job placement, employment education, medical
care, language interpretation and safety planning. The
challenge we face as a society is making victims "trust" the system
enough to come forward and ask for help.
If you suspect someone is a trafficking victim...
- If they are in
immediate danger, call 911.
- If you have
questions or want to talk with someone about what you've witnessed and
discuss next steps, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource
Center Hotline at 1-888-3737-888.
YOU can help!
There are four key things each of us can do to help wipe out commercial sex trafficking and save the lives of millions of victims.
- Commit to not participating in the commercial sex industry.
- Don't purchase or participate in prostitution or the commercial sex industry.
- Do hold friends accountable and demand their respect for women and children.
- Take action on behalf of those vulnerable to sex trafficking.
- Take part in creating cultural change.
- Encourage education for youth on topics such as healthy relationships, self-identity and life skills.
- Support local organizations that serve victims of human trafficking.
- Talk about it.
- Talk to your friends about the fact that there is a direct connection between prostitution, lap dancing and strip clubs and missing and exploited children.
- In interviews, johns admit that they would be deterred from buying sex if they were held criminally and socially accountable.
- Speak out.
- Don’t tolerate or use the lingo. When prostitution is portrayed as a choice or “funny” in movies, talk about the reality. Don’t glorify the “pimp” culture.
- Share these facts with others.
Thank you!
My deepest appreciation goes to the Indiana Attorney General's Office under the direction of Attorney General Greg Zoeller for providing the lion's share of this information, research, data and suggestions for how YOU can make a difference and help trafficking victims. This information and other data in this series can be found in several AG public presentations, including (contact the AG's office for details):
- "Human Trafficking: Culture, Demand and Prevention"
- "Human Trafficking: A Demand Problem"
- "Human Trafficking: IPATH"
Special thanks goes to Attorney and Human Trafficking Prevention Project Manager Nicole Baldonado and Intern Kelly Dobkins for their tremendous assistance, guidance and support. Thank you, ladies, for helping make this series a reality and for your dedicated commitment to helping victims of trafficking. You are the best!
We would like to pass our deepest gratitude to Ginger Kadlec for allowing us to use her Traffick Circle series to share with our readers.
About Ginger
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| Ginger Kadlec and Chance |
Working to improve the world one child at a time, Ginger has made it her life mission to raise awareness of the world-wide epidemic of child abuse. An impassioned child advocate, trainer, speaker and child forensic interviewer, Ginger can be contacted via her website “Ginger Kadlec: 4UrKids™” at gingerkadlec.com or find her on Facebook facebook.com/gingergkadlec.
You can also connect with Ginger via other social media at:
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