opposing argument to human trafficking

Why Is It So Difficult to Fight Human Trafficking?

Why is it so difficult to fight human trafficking?             

In recent years, human trafficking for the purpose of sexual or labour exploitation became an issue on the top of the political agenda of a great number of countries in the international system of states. While students all around the world learn with a great enthusiasm about the role of the Civil War (1865) in ending slavery in America and the Slavery Convention of the League of Nations (1926) that banned this inhumane practice internationally, slavery in its cruelest form is very much alive today. [1] The whole idea of human beings treated as property that can be bought, sold or exploited for economic gains cannot be recognized as a shameful part of the evolutionary history of humankind and today there are more people being deprived from their liberty and basic human rights than ever before. [2] In fact, despite its clandestine nature and scarcity of systematic empirical research resulting in varying estimates, cross-border and internal trafficking in persons for the purposes of servitude in the sex or labor industries is considered to affect 20.9 to 35.8 million people worldwide [3] while generating incomes of $31.6 billion illicit dollars annually. [4]

The stories of Seba, a 22-year-old woman from Mali taken by a French family when she was a child to perpetually and coarsely work as a domestic servant for no pay under the threat of violence [5] and the one of Tetiana who, under the poisonous influence of poverty, was lured by tempting offer to work as au pair in Italy taking 10 times her Ukrainian salary, but ended up as prostitute in Istanbul, Turkey while beaten, raped, and held in inhumane conditions with few chances to escape [6] , are far from being exceptional. Unfortunately, this is a global problem touching almost every country from Africa and South Asia to Latin America and Eastern Europe and people of poor socio-economic background are being targeted and forced into servitude through violence or deception. Despite the fragmented nature of the anti-trafficking regime [7] and the emergence of a complex anti-trafficking security governance system, consisting of approaches designed to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent trafficking, or the so-called ‘3P’ paradigm acting as a policy framework, the world proved unprepared to deal with one of the greatest humanitarian problems of the 21 st century. [8]

Therefore, as there has been little agreement among scholars on the reasons why human trafficking became a crime so difficult to fight, this study would try to shed light on this issue by arguing that along with (1) problems with the legal definition of trafficking and scarcity of comprehensive data about the scope of the problem that are the basis for further action, there are also (2) inadequate measures to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent trafficking. To do so, the study will firstly put the topic in its empirical context and examine some of the activities taken to counter human trafficking while focusing on the 2003 Palermo Protocol and identifying some of its weaknesses. Consequently, it will critically evaluate the difficulties that the international community face in countering human trafficking following the 3P paradigm and will make its final remarks and suggestions for improvements and further research. It is worth noting that while many studies focus on a particular region and form of human trafficking, this study would concentrate on trafficking for sex or labour purposes by taking a more general approach, illustrated by the usage of empirically-based examples aimed at demonstrating the global dimensions of the problem. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that this study recognizes as limitations the analytical exclusion of prevention in countries of transit and destination and the fact that the three governance approaches examined in the second part of this study represent ideal-types complementing and overlapping with each other.

Human Trafficking and Counter-Efforts: Legal and Institutional Framework

Early international legislative developments such the 1949 United Nations (UN) Convention on the Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Exploitation of Prostitution of Others and the 1959 (UN) Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery became the building blocks of the international anti-slavery movement. [9] Nonetheless, the great population movements in the 80s and the 90s opened a demand side for illegal channels of migration, thus creating new international dynamics and making people aspiring a better life vulnerable to the sieges of the flourishing organized crime. The recognition that the problem of trafficking in persons has increased [10] triggered considerable international attention and resulted in the 2003 UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. [11] The Palermo Protocol, as it became known, supplemented the 2000 (UN) Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (TOC) and outlined the first normative definition of the crime. Having in mind the overall number of the UN member states, it could be argued that the Protocol received a universal recognition as of December 2015 it has been ratified by 169 parties that by the means of cooperation are obligated to prevent, prosecute trafficking in persons and assist victims with full respect to their human rights. [12]

Despite the protracted debates during the ‘Vienna process’ [13] , states agreed that under Article 3 (a) human trafficking shall mean the activity of ‘…recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means [Italic added] of the threat or use of force or another forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose [Italic added] of exploitation …’. [14] As further recognized by the document, the idea of consent is irrelevant when there are elements of exploitation and thus consensual migration cannot be used as a defense to the offence. Nonetheless, many countries such as the US consider that if a person agree to being trafficked, this can be used as a barrier for the prosecution of the trafficker. [15] In this sense, international organizations (IOs) often find their hands tied as debates over the voluntary/involuntary acting prostitutes, for example, are still on national agendas. Therefore, the establishment of a clear definition of ‘deception’ and ‘coercion’ is fundamental in order for governments to adhere to the legal positions of the Palermo Protocol without space for maneuvering. Indeed, while in legal terms migrant smuggling and human trafficking represent separate offences [16] , it is a mistake to consider that there are not interrelated as in practice it is too often that the former descends into the latter. Additionally, despite that the Palermo Protocol does not make such a distinction, some countries consider international passage a requirement in their trafficking definitions, meaning that internal trafficking is not recognized as a criminal offence. [17]

In this sense, despite that the Protocol encourages states to uphold and enforce the trafficking definition, its broad wording created international disagreements and made it sensitive to the interpretation of domestic legislatures, creating their own definitions. This impedes cooperation among origin, transit, and destination countries as for example extradition treaties require the crime to be common to both jurisdictions which is hardly achievable when different states’ recognition of what constitutes a trafficking crime varies significantly. [18] While it is identifiable that there is lack of common definition serving as a legal basis for any further action implying for lack of legally binding implementation mechanism and weak monitoring, there are also problems with the Protocol’s criminal law orientation towards the suppression and criminalization of the supply side of trafficking rather than human rights orientation towards the protection of victims. [19]

Another problem that stems largely from the lack of a common definition is the lack of comprehensive data on the scope of the problem. While this could be a result of the clandestine nature of this illicit activity that remains under-reported, under-detected and thus under-prosecuted, official criminal justice statistics on trafficking proved to be uncomprehensive due to differences in data gathering methodology. [20] For instance, human trafficking has been called an undocumented crime with ‘guesstimates’ which was reinforced by the unsuccessful attempt of the EU to evaluate the extent of trafficking in 27 countries, each giving self-reported data based on their own methodology and understanding of the problem. [21] In this sense, unless we have one single definition of human trafficking and harmonization of laws and practices, it is highly unlikely that accurate numbers will be provided and that attention and resources will be allocated adequately and to the right places in order to tackle the problem successfully.

Nonetheless, it is important that in the changed post-Cold War ideological and institutional dynamics actors were able to recognize the functional need for a complex security governance system, addressing the various causes and consequences of human trafficking. [22] As a result, a great variety of public and private actors became actively involved in the formulation and implementation of anti-trafficking binding policy decisions and intensified their cooperation considerably. Along with governments, implementing domestic anti-trafficking laws such as the 2000 US Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) [23] , IOs and international governmental organizations (IGOs) such as NATO [24] , OSCE [25] , and the Council of Europe [26] adopted conventions, policies, and enhanced collaboration. Moreover, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and private businesses proved an essential part of the puzzle since respectively serving as a watchdog and providing support to victims and contributing to a more stable economy. In this sense, contemporary anti-trafficking measures are eloquent for a paradigmatic shift from government to security governance having at its heart the approaches to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent trafficking. [27]

Difficulties in Countering Human Trafficking: The ‘3P’ Paradigm

To begin with, prosecution of traffickers is a fundamental governance approach that is related to some activities such as the adoption of unambiguous anti-trafficking laws, the arrest of traffickers, the freezing of their assets, and the training of police offices, lawyers, and judges. While governments are the primary actors, IGOs such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are highly involved in training judicial and law enforcement officials, followed by NGOs having a watchdog function and employing ‘naming and shaming’ strategies. Nonetheless, it has been identified that ‘the culture of police agencies and the perceptions of police officials about human trafficking do not support the identification of a broad range of human trafficking cases’. [28] For instance, trafficked women and men are usually seen as breaking prostitution or migration laws rather than as victims of trafficking, which makes them unwilling to bear witness against traffickers. [29] In this sense, authorities take non-discriminatory approach despite that, at least theoretically, the Palermo Protocol stresses the importance of law enforcement measures strictly focused against traffickers. [30] Moreover, victims are afraid to testify due to lenient sentences as evidenced by the national legislations of notable anti-trafficking pioneers such as the US and the UK and inappropriate behavior on the behalf of policemen who refer victims to shelter only if they testify. [31] These fears are further nurtured by the fact that traffickers are not being arrested or convicted due to red tape and corruption. [32] For example, in 2008 the former president of Cambodia avoided prosecution after receiving $30,000 in order to release a brothel owner imprisoned for trafficking.

As police authorities usually lack the training required or even the manpower and technology to attack sophisticated organized crime networks, there are struggles with the identification and investigation of human trafficking offenses. [33] Due to budgetary restrictions a Bosnian senior police official, for example, stated that his four inspectors responsible for combating organized crime had to use one computer that was broken. [34] Along with this, police officials are uncertain about what constitutes the crime itself and they are often unable to distinguish between exploitive labor practices and poor working conditions, prostitution, and human trafficking. [35] The idea that human trafficking is primarily sex trafficking is impeding any real development in countering human trafficking for labor purposes which according to the International Labor Organization is the prevalent form of exploitation worldwide. [36] After all, when one is uncertain about the essence of the crime, its identification and prioritization become mission impossible.  Indeed, the distinct nature of human trafficking is rarely recognized and police officers conduct first interviews inappropriately by putting pressure on victims or witnesses to give too much information. In this sense, traditional investigative practices designed for tackling other crimes and the reactive rather than proactive approach are often obscuring police from prosecuting traffickers. [37]

Nonetheless, this is not an easy task at least because of emergence of decentralized ‘dark networks’ difficult to follow and break in the realities of globalization [38] which also impedes the creation of a universal profile of traffickers and victims. Moreover, even when police authorities are proactive and develop intelligence, organize undercover operations and police raids to save victims, traffickers may become aware that they are monitored and adapt to the new environment by switching from brothels to private buildings and from transnational to internal trafficking. [39]

Secondly, protection for potential or identified victims and satisfaction of their basic needs such as shelter, food, and clothing to legal and psychological assistance is needed in order to preserve them harmless. Along with governments, the involvement of IGOs such as IOM that are leading in the efforts of returning and reintegrating trafficking victims, NGOs ‘working on the ground’, and transport and hospitality businesses required to tightened their control, is essential. [40] While in recent years, some bilateral agreements proved effective in returning victims across borders, it is not always reasonable to send them ‘home’, presuming they have one, especially in cases of armed conflict and political unrest. [41] If the person does not have a legal status, he or she is more likely to be exploited again and revenged for disobedience. In this sense, due to issues of sovereignty that are still on the agenda, victim protection and support is left to the will of the state and is not entitled as a legally binding posture in the Palermo Protocol.

Moreover, along with the fear of deportation to their countries of origin, trafficking victims often find themselves in a situation where their desire to witness against traffickers is blunted by the insufficient protection and incentives that witness programs in countries such as Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka offer and the corruptive practices eroding the boundaries between state agencies and traffickers. [42] In this sense, it seems less reasonable that victims are afraid to testify as neither the state, nor NGOs that cannot refuse to give evidence in court, proved to be reliable partners to allay their fears of reprisals by traffickers.

The creation of short-term donor policies including the allocation of resources to the building of shelters for trafficked women, such as the one built in Laos in 2004, proved ineffective to detect and respond to the root causes of trafficking such as poverty and domestic violence which are one of the major reasons for women to undertake risky migration decisions. [43] Moreover, as Limanowska noticed, many governments give short-term support to ‘willing contractor’ NGOs that they can control, thus limiting their already limited operational scope and making the allocation of resources biased and unbalanced. [44] In this sense, a vicious cycle is created due to the willingness of governments to prioritize short-term solutions rather than long-term strategies which are going to be arguably less noticeable and cherished by the electorate.

Another problem proves out to be the lack of reintegration programs and for example in the countries of Southeast Europe that proved to be countries of origin, transit and more recently of destination, there is not enough funding to assist victims with medical help, financial support, professional training and advises on how to avoid trafficking reoccurring. [45] In fact, this could be also understood more widely in terms of the unwillingness of IOs to cooperate among themselves due to an extreme competition for funding, among NGOs protecting trafficking victims that lack funding to organize regular meetings and agree on common strategies [46] or between the security sector and NGOs who still do not trust each other and are thus inadequate to exchange information and cooperate. [47] In this sense, problems of effective networking are making every step of the protection process even harder.

Finally, the security governance approach focusing on prevention in countries of origin proved inadequate to address the supply side of trafficking despite governments’, IOs’, NGOs’, and businesses’ efforts to warn about suspicious job offers, target high-risk groups, inform them about their rights and migration procedures. On the one hand, the effectiveness of awareness-raising campaigns in countries of origin developed with the purpose to inform citizens about the nature of trafficking is at best contested. For instance, due to their strong language and shocking content, some people perceived them as a tool to reduce migration in wealthy EU countries or even made families prevent their daughters to go outside as an Albanian case showed. [48] On the top of this, there is weak cooperation between countries in documenting and sharing experience about anti-trafficking campaigns’ effectiveness which is perhaps why ‘prevention strategies have failed to integrate into policies’. [49]

Nonetheless, these issues arguably pale in comparison with the inadequate addressing of the socio-economic root cause of trafficking such as unemployment, poverty, lack of access to medical services and education that are major factors for perilous migrations. In fact, there are insufficient development-oriented prevention programs due to lack of patron interest on the behalf of IOs and the businesses. [50] However, even if there are, agencies promoting gender equality and social support should be better equipped to identify labor market needs and to include anti-trafficking components within their activities. [51] It should be recognized that the occasional financial assistance that trafficking victims receive during various development initiatives is far from being a panacea as once the resource is exhausted, they are going to found themselves in the same position of vulnerability. Therefore, prevention of trafficking in countries of origin is not prioritized and this has a direct negative impact on the distribution of efforts and resources.

Conclusions

In summary, this study has examined the reasons why human trafficking became a crime so difficult to fight by critically evaluating the fragile legal definitional basis provided by the Palermo Protocol and assessing the effectiveness of the anti-trafficking governance system’s three approaches designed to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and prevent trafficking in countries of origin. While the anti-trafficking security governance system evolved considerably and various mechanism were created to combat this horrific crime, the transition from government to governance appeared to be not as smooth as we would like it to be. Being foundational for further action, the lack of common definition of trafficking as well as shortage of reliable data about the scope of the crime obscure any real development. Furthermore, prevention in countries of origin has been largely neglected which is barely acceptable having in mind the vital role of preventive measures for reducing the supply side of trafficking and thus undermine the efforts of traffickers. Similarly, protection of trafficking victims proved to be far from perfect and remains politically deprioritized and ill-funded. Finally, prosecution of traffickers is heavily mutilated by cultural and organizational blinders. Therefore, this study suggests that a more balanced and networked anti-trafficking efforts emerge and different actors recognize that success in one area will contribute to success in another as they are all highly interlinked, thus replacing institutional inertia, competition and lack of trust with cooperation, concerted action, and exchange of information among and between stakeholders. Interagency cooperation mechanisms against human trafficking are poorly developed while, for example, cooperation between security authorities and NGOs that provide support and protection to victims can enlighten the way leading directly to the traffickers. [52] Last but not least, the demand side in countries of destination is an under-researched issue that deserves the attention of academics and policy-makers as after all we should not forget that trafficking is a supply-demand illicit business process.

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 Footnotes 

[1] Despite the recognition that in practical terms human trafficking is the movement of one person for the purpose of enslavement and slavery is the exploitation that happens once they arrive, as a legal matter in many parts of the world trafficking means enslavement and there is no need for cross-border movement. In this sense, the two terms are going to be used by this study interchangeably. See Free the Slaves , ‘Slavery questions & Answers’, online available at: http://www.freetheslaves.net/about-slavery/faqs-glossary/, [Accessed on January 15 th , 2016].

[2] Free the Slaves, 2015, Slavery Today, online available at: http://www.freetheslaves.net/about-slavery/slavery-today/, [Accessed on January 15th, 2016].

[3] International Labour Organization (ILO), 2012, ILO Global Estimate of Forced Labour: Results and methodology , online available at: http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/—ed_norm/–declaration/documents/publication/wcms_182004.pdf, [Accessed on January 15 th , 2016], p.13; The Global Slavery Index, 2014, online available at: http://d1p5uxokz2c0lz.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Global_Slavery_Index_2014_final_lowres.pdf, [Accessed on January 17 th , 2015], p.3.

[4] Patrick Belser, 2005, Forced Labour and Human Trafficking: Estimating the Profits , Working Paper 42, International Labour Office: Geneva, online available at: http://digitalcommons.ilr.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1016&context=forcedlabor, [Accessed on January 16 th , 2016], p.8.

[5] Kevin Bales, 2014, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy , University of California Press, p.1-5.

[6] Sylvie Briand, ‘Sold into Slavery: Ukrainian Girls Tricked into Sex Trade’, Agence France Presse , January 28 th , 2004.

[7] Anja P. Jakobi, 2013, ‘The Adoption of Crime Policies: Patterns and Strategies’ in Common Goods and Evils? The Formation of global Crime Governance , Oxford: Oxford University Press, p.187-209.

[8] Louise Shelley, 2010, Human Trafficking: A Global Perspective , Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 2.

[9] Jo Goodey, 2008, Human trafficking: Sketchy data and policy responses, Criminology and Criminal Justice , Vol. 8, No. 4, p.421-442, Online available at: http://crj.sagepub.com/content/8/4/421.short, [Accessed on 25th October, 2015].

[10] Frank Laczko, 2005, ‘Introduction: Data and Research on Human Trafficking’ in Data and Research on Human Trafficking: A Global Survey Offprint of the Special Issue of International Migration , Vol. 43, (1/2), Frank Laczko and Elzbieta Gozdziak (eds.), p.5-17.

[11] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime , 2004 , United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto , online available at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/middleeastandnorthafrica/organised-crime/UNITED_NATIONS_CONVENTION_AGAINST_TRANSNATIONAL_ORGANIZED_CRIME_AND_THE_PROTOCOLS_THERETO.pdf, [Accessed on January 8 th , 2016], p.41-51.

[12] United Nations Treaty Collection, 2015, CHAPTER XVIII: PENAL MATTERS 12 .a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime , online available at: https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XVIII-12-a&chapter=18&lang=en, [Accessed on January 10 th , 2016].

[13] Janie A. Chuang, 2006, The United States as Global Sheriff: Using Unilateral Sanctions to Combat Human Trafficking, Michigan Journal of International Law , Vol. 27, No. 2, online available: http://ssrn.com/abstract=990098, [Accessed on January 16 th , 2016].

[14] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2004, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto , p. 42-43.

[15] Dempsey, Michelle Madden, Carolyn Hoyle, and Mary Bosworth, 2012, Defining Sex Trafficking in International and Domestic Law: Mind the Gaps, Emory International Law Review , Vol.26, no. 1, p.146 (overall:p.137-62).

[16] United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 2004, United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocols Thereto , p. 53-64. As conceptualized by the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, smuggling becomes trafficking when there is exploitation of the person being smuggled through the whole process, from recruitment to arrival at the country of destination and a more constant relationship between the trafficked person and trafficker, higher levels of abuse and deception.

[17] Dempsey, Michelle Madden, Carolyn Hoyle, and Mary Bosworth, 2012, Defining Sex Trafficking in International and Domestic Law: Mind the Gaps, p.150.

[18] Allain Jean, 2013, No Effective Trafficking Definition Exists: Domestic Implementation of the Palermo Protocol, Paper originally presented at: Voiceless Cargo: Symposium on Human Trafficking and Sex Slavery, Albany Law School, in February 2013, online available at: http://poseidon01.ssrn.com/delivery.php?ID=726071067021026017089021115123118028058084022041061078026026031075121025068088093010010097040106104063121089082103001114105107022084007077063113069124099101070092021005042071007106088097085025115118100075111025096108005121010111016106089085019000127&EXT=pdf, [Accessed January 12 th , 2016].

[19] OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), 2004, Ensuring Human Rights Protection in Countries of Destination: Breaking the Cycle of Trafficking , online available at: http://www.osce.org/odihr/16201?download=true, [Accessed on January 13 th , 2016], p.25-68.

[20] Frank Laczko and Marco A. Gramegna, 2003, Developing Better Indications of Human Trafficking, Brown Journal of World Affairs , Vol.10, No.1, p.181, (overall: p.179-194); Zbigniew, Dumienski, 2011, Critical Reflections on Anti-human Trafficking: The Case of Timor-Leste’, Singapore: RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security (NTS) Studies for NTS-Asia , Issue 2; David A. Feingold, 2010, ‘Trafficking in Numbers’ in P. Andreas and K. M. Greenhill (eds.) Sex, Drugs, and Body Counts , London: Cornell University Press.

[21] Jo Goodey, 2008, Human trafficking: Sketchy data and policy responses, p.424-427.

[22] Cornelius Friesendorf, 2007, Pathologies of Security Governance: Efforts Against Human Trafficking in Europe, Security Dialogue, Vol. 38, No. 3, p.384.

[23] Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Public Law 106–386, 106th Congress, online available at: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/10492.pdf, [Accessed on January 11 th , 2016]. While adopted in the US, the TVPA is trying to bring about changes in other parts of the world as it sanctions nations not doing enough to halt human trafficking, however critics argue that it is too weak to enforce any real changes in behavior as based on political interest (e.g. countries such as Saudi Arabia or Japan known for their forced-labor practices are put in Tier 2 and are not being sanctioned; e.g. Japan’s response to the US pressure to curtail sex trafficking by holding a symposium and sending few million dollars aid to Cambodia to deal with the problem and showing their ‘concern’).

[24] NATO, 2004, NATO Policy on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings , online available at: http://www.nato.int/docu/comm/2004/06-istanbul/docu-traffic.htm, [Accessed on January 17 th , 2016].

[25] OSCE, 2008, Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings in the OSCE area: Co-ordination and Reporting Mechanisms, Annual Report of the OSCE Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings presented at the Permanent Council Meeting, online available at: http://www.osce.org/cthb/36159?download=true, [Accessed on January 19 th , 2016].

[26] Council of Europe, 2005, Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, online available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/236093/8414.pdf, [Accessed on January 24 th , 2016].

[27] Ernst-Otto Czempiel and James N. Rosenau (eds.), 1992, Governance Without Government: Order and Challenge in World Politics, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

[28] Amy Farrell and Rebecca Pfeffer, 2014, Policing Human Trafficking: Cultural Blinders and Organizational Barriers, The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science (AAPSS 653), Vol. 653, No. 1, p. 46 (overall:p. 46-64);  United Nations Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner, 2014, Human Rights and Human Trafficking, Fact Sheet No. 36, online available at: http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/FS36_en.pdf, [Accessed on January 21 st , 2016]. p.16-18.

[29] Dina F.Haynes, 2004, Used, Abused, Arrested and Deported: Extending Immigration Benefits To Protect the  Victims of Trafficking and To Secure the Prosecution of Traffickers, Human Rights Quarterly , Vol.26, No.2, p.221–272.

[31] Barbara Limanowska, 2005, The Victim-Perspective – A Neglected Dimension, in Sector Project Against Trafficking in Women, eds., Challenging Trafficking in Persons: Theoretical Debate & Practical Approaches , Baden-Baden: Nomos, p.28 (overall: p.27–31); UNHCR, 2005, Combatting Human Trafficking: Overview of UNHCR Anti-Trafficking Activities in Europe, Geneva: Bureau for Europe Policy Unit, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

[32] UNHCR, 2005, Combatting Human Trafficking, See country reports.

[33] Amy Farrell, Jack McDevitt, and Stephanie Fahy, 2010, Where are all the victims? Understanding the determinants of official identification of human trafficking incidents, Criminology & Public Policy , Vol.9, No.2, p.201-233.

[34] Cornelius Friesendorf, 2007, Pathologies of Security Governance: Efforts Against Human Trafficking in Europe, Security Dialogue , Vol. 38, No. 3, p. 379-402, Interview conducted by Cornelius Friesendorf in Sarajevo on 29 August 2006.

[35] Anne Callagher and Paul Holmes, 2008, Developing an effective criminal justice system response to human trafficking: Lessons from the front-line, International Criminal Justice Review , Vol.18, No.3, p. 318-343.

[36] Find reference in: David A. Feingold, 2005, Human trafficking, Foreign Policy , No.150, p.26-32, Online available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30048506, [Accessed on October 17th, 2015].

[37] Herman Goldstein, 1990, Problem oriented policing , New York, NY: McGraw Hill.

[38] Jörg Raab and Brinton H. Milward, 2003, Dark Networks as Problems, Journal of Public

Administration Research & Theory , Vol. 13, No. 4, p. 413–439.

[39] Wim Huisman and Edward R. Kleemans, 2014, The Challenges of fighting sex trafficking in the legalized prostitution market of the Netherlands, Crime Law Soc Change , Vol.61, p.215-228.

[40] Sebastian Baumeister and Susie Maley, 2005, ‘The Role of the Private Sector in Developing

Youth Careers’, in Sector Project Against Trafficking in Women, eds., Challenging

Trafficking in Persons: Theoretical Debate & Practical Approaches , Baden-Baden: Nomos, p.81–85.

[41] David A. Feingold, 2005, Human trafficking, Foreign Policy, No.150, p.26-32, Online available at: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30048506, [Accessed on October 17th, 2015].

[42] UNODC, 2008, Law enforcement and Prosecution, Chapter 5 Tool 5.18: Witness protection during and after the prosecution and trial , online available at: https://www.unodc.org/documents/human-trafficking/Toolkit-files/08-58296_tool_5-18.pdf, [Accessed on January 29 th , 2016], p.255-256.

El-Cherkeh Tanja, Elena Stirbu, Sebastian Lazaroiu and Dragos Radu, 2004, EU Enlargement, Migration and Trafficking in Women: The Case of South Eastern Europe, Report 247, Hamburg: Hamburg Institute of International Economics, p.23-24.

[43] Give2Asia, 2004, Safe Shelter Services for Women Victims of Violence and Trafficking in Laos , A Give2Asia Project, online available at: http://www.humantrafficking.org/uploads/updates/LaosSafeShelterProposal.pdf, [Accessed on January 28 th , 2016]; Cornelius Friesendorf, 2007, Pathologies of Security Governance: Efforts Against Human Trafficking in Europe, Interview conducted by Cornelius Friesendorf with social service providers in Bulgaria, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Bosnia in July-August, 2006.

[44] Barbara Limanowska, 2005, Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe , Belgrade: UNICEF/UNOHCHR/OSCE-ODIHR, online available at: www.unicef.org/ceecis/Trafficking.Report.2005.pdf, [Accessed on January 28 th , 2016], p.53.

[45] Cornelius Friesendorf, 2007, Pathologies of Security Governance: Efforts Against Human Trafficking in Europe, Interview conducted by Cornelius Friesendorf with NGO representatives in Southeast Europe, September 2005 and July-August 2006.

[46] El-Cherkeh Tanja, Elena Stirbu, Sebastian Lazaroiu and Dragos Radu, 2004, EU Enlargement, Migration and Trafficking in Women, p.98.

[47] Ninna Mörner, 2009, Anti-trafficking efforts: hard to get results, Baltic Worlds, Vol.2, No.3/4, p. 1-7.

[48] Mike Dottridge,  2006, Action To Prevent Child Trafficking in South Eastern Europe: A

Preliminary Assessment , Geneva: UNICEF/Terre des Hommes, p.51.

[49] United Nations Institute for Training and Research, 2009, Human Trafficking and the Role of Local Governments Good Practices, Challenges and Ways Forward , online available at: https://www.unitar.org/dcp/sites/unitar.org.dcp/files/uploads/newcoverhuman_trafficking_final.compressed.compressed.pdf, [Accessed on February 1 st , 2016].

[50] Barbara Limanowska, 2005, Trafficking in Human Beings in South Eastern Europe, p.9.

[51] Cornelius Friesendorf, 2007, Pathologies of Security Governance: Efforts Against Human Trafficking in Europe, p. 395.

[52] UNHCR, 2005, Combatting Human Trafficking: Overview of UNHCR Anti-Trafficking Activities in Europe, p.8.

Written by: Mariya Grozdanova Written at: Royal Holloway, University of London Written for: Dr. Viviane Dittrich Date written: 03/2016

Further Reading on E-International Relations

• North Korean Female Defectors in China: Human Trafficking and Exploitation
• Human vs. Feminist Security Approaches to Human Trafficking in the Mediterranean
• Assessing Globalisation’s Contribution to the Sex Trafficking Trade
• Why Are Feminist Theorists in International Relations so Critical of UNSCR 1325?
• The Protection Paradox: Why Security’s Focus on the State Is Not Enough
• Interregionalism Matters: Why ASEAN Is the Key to EU Strategic Autonomy

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• HAPPENING NOW

Justifying Human Trafficking: The Mind of a Trafficker

January 18, 2016 Cazzie Reyes Opinion  Forced Labor, Child Labor, Bonded Labor, Sex Trafficking

Traffickers recruit, harbor, transport, provide and/or obtain people for the purpose of compelling labor and/or commercial sexual exploitation. They use force, fraud or coercion to exact work and profit from others. Fraudulent brokers, corrupt officials and family members who knowingly do any of the above are easily identified as traffickers.

Those who hear about the practices of human traffickers often express outrage, disbelief, disgust, anger and even confusion. “How could someone do this to another human being?”

Justifying Human Trafficking discusses the different actors and structures that sustain human trafficking. Part 1 takes a look at traffickers and mechanisms used to justify actions.

Traffickers distort situations by framing them under more acceptable terms. For example, Japan is currently facing a labor shortage. To fill these vacant positions, the government offers an internship program that brings in foreign workers to the country. These internships are legal and advertised as opportunities to hone transferrable skills. However, in some instances, workers are trapped in debt bondage and forced to take roles that don’t require skilled labor. The word “internships” masks these programs from what they truly are – indentured servitude.

Rationalization

Excuses are the markings of rationalization, and perpetrators use faulty and false reasoning to convince themselves that they’ve done no wrong. A study by Katherine P. Avgerinos quotes a Ukrainian woman who migrated to Spain: “Life is very hard there because there is no work. Today I sent money to my mother…to pay for her house. You work, work, work, and then they don’t pay you because there’s no money. For example, I worked in an ashtray factory, and when there was no money to pay me they said “take ashtrays,” 100 ashtrays. So? Can you eat ashtrays?”

A recruiter who hears similar comments by people in his or her community might think that he or she is providing a service by giving those people “work opportunities.” It becomes easy for a recruiter to justify prostituting or selling people to labor exploiters when the alternative for those people would’ve been to starve and die.

There’s also the golden rationalization of “everybody does it” and the futility illusion that “if I don’t do it, somebody else will.” Those are rationalizations used by traffickers pimping women and girls in Tenancingo, Mexico .

Social Comparisons

Traffickers might compare themselves to other traffickers in order to dissociate themselves from the most brutal manifestations of human trafficking. Noi , an elderly lady who trafficked Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar to Thailand, claims that what she did was charity since the Rohingya Muslims she either smuggled or trafficked were fleeing ethnic cleansing. Furthermore, she distinguished herself as someone more ethical since she “didn’t mistreat the refugees.”

Blame Shifting

In blame shifting, traffickers such as factory managers might defend themselves by accusing people outside of their control of forcing them to traffick others. Blame shifting arguments might start off with the following: “The company owner will shut down our factory if we don’t produce the daily quota. So, I hire children from rural areas to operate dangerous machinery and lock them in the factory so that they keep working. I can’t fight the company because it’s too powerful, and I can’t adopt more ethical policies because that would lower productivity, close down the factory and I’d be out of a job. It’s really the rich company owner that enslaves these children. Not me.”

Dehumanization

Dehumanization strips people of their identity, identifies them as “the other” and makes it so that they are viewed as inferior and deserving of exploitation. Socially accepted norms (e.g., caste systems, gender-based violence) make the dehumanization process easier, if not automatic. Human trafficking thrives in societies where certain groups of people are already marginalized and abused and where perpetrators go unpunished because they’re not perceived to have committed a wrongdoing against a person.

These justifications and defense mechanisms are not unique to traffickers. Knowing and unknowing compliers like you and me have contributed to this cycle of enslavement. To varying degrees, we’ve all denied, distorted and rationalized our ways into buying slave-made products. We’ve elevated ourselves by saying, “At least, we don’t purchase sex or prostitute others.” We’ve deemed the problem too big to solve and beyond our sphere of influence by resolving to leave governments, law enforcement, NGOs, practitioners and businesses to figure it out. And we’ve become players in dehumanization as we’ve failed to participate in processes that would help end human rights abuses.

The question, then, is not just “How could someone do this to another human being?”

Asking “How could I let someone do this to another human being?” yields more revealing answers.

Part 2 will cover the roles and limitations of knowing and unknowing compliers.

Topics: Forced Labor, Child Labor, Bonded Labor, Sex Trafficking

About the Author

Cazzie Reyes

Cazzie reyes graduated from bradley university with a bachelor's degree in international studies and a minor in women's studies. , related posts, prosecution.

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FACT SHEET: The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking   (NAP)

Globally, an estimated 25 million people are subjected to human trafficking and forced labor, which is responsible for an estimated $ 150 billion annually in illicit profits.  It erodes the safety and health of our communities and transportation networks, the security of our borders, the strength of our economy, and the rule of law.  The Administration is committed to keeping the fight to end human trafficking at the forefront of our national security agenda by releasing the new National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking .  What Has Changed Human trafficking disproportionately impacts some of the most vulnerable and underserved members of our society.  The updated National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking responds to this predatory behavior by addressing the needs of underserved individuals, families, and communities.  As such, it reflects the Administration’s commitments to gender and racial equity by taking action against the systemic injustices that communities experience, including underserved populations. The anti-trafficking efforts outlined in the National Action Plan are directly linked to our broader efforts to address inequities for marginalized groups.  These communities often experience overlapping social and economic inequities, and individuals may suffer multiple forms of abuse.  As a result, individuals from these communities may be more vulnerable to becoming victims of human trafficking. The National Action Plan also reflects the Administration’s commitment to workers’ rights and ending forced labor in global supply chains, which the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated due, in part, to job insecurity, supply chain disruptions, and exponential demand for essential medical supplies and services.  The National Action Plan also serves as an important component of advancing the Administration’s priority of ensuring safe, orderly, and humane migration.  As we continue to address the acute and long-term drivers of irregular migration, we must ensure our legal immigration pathways provide safe alternatives.  We must also reaffirm trust in the U.S. government’s commitment to protect individuals who have experienced human trafficking, including noncitizens. What Remains Consistent The National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking is grounded in an integrated federal response to human trafficking.  It emphasizes the importance of collaboration across government when investing resources in anti-trafficking policies and programs.  Because human trafficking is a complex issue that cuts across many federal agencies’ mandates, the National Action Plan is focused on actions and directs resources to where they are most needed.  The Action Plan also emphasizes collaboration with state and local governments, the private sector, and non-governmental partners. The Plan draws on survivor voices and recommendations over the years on how to prevent human trafficking and provide the appropriate resources to protect and respond to the needs of individuals who have experienced human trafficking. Survivor engagement is critical for empowerment and establishing effective victim-centered and trauma-informed anti-trafficking policies and strategies. The National Action Plan emphasizes recommendations from survivor-led groups, including the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, to include input from individuals with lived experiences within our strategic responses. The National Action Plan retains a central focus on the foundational pillars of U.S. and global anti-trafficking efforts – prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnerships: P REVENTION: Strategic prevention programs are wide-ranging, from educating vulnerable populations and mitigating risk factors to seeking to prevent goods produced with forced labor from entering U.S. markets.

• Enhance education and outreach efforts, including for at-risk populations.
• Enhance community-coordinated responses to human trafficking.
• Strengthen efforts to identify, prevent, and address human trafficking in global supply chains.
• Build capacity to prevent the importation of goods produced with forced labor.
• Address aspects of nonimmigrant visa programs that may facilitate the exploitation of visa applicants and visa holders.

P ROTECTION: Protection encompasses the interventions, services, and supports needed to protect and assist victims of human trafficking.  Protection starts with robust outreach and proactive identification efforts, and includes providing comprehensive victim services and applying victim-centered, trauma-informed strategies.

• Identify and engage with victims in a victim-centered, trauma-informed, and culturally competent manner.
• Support survivor-informed interventions, in which survivors of trafficking are essential partners and help to improve service delivery and inform victim assistance policy decisions.
• Seek to protect victims of human trafficking from incarceration, fines, or penalties for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking.
• Improve access to immigration benefits to help provide assistance to victims of human trafficking.
• Expand and improve assistance to victims of human trafficking encountered by law enforcement agencies.
• Seek financial remedies for victims of human trafficking.
• Increase access to social services for victims of human trafficking to increase short- and long-term stability.

P ROSECUTION: Prosecution involves holding individuals and entities engaged in human trafficking accountable and dismantling human trafficking networks.

• Improve coordination among law enforcement to increase accountability for human trafficking.
• Build capacity of Federal, state, local, Tribal and territorial law enforcement to investigate and prosecute human trafficking and its illicit proceeds using a trauma-informed, victim-centered approach.
• Enhance efforts to bring traffickers to justice by deploying a broad range of tools, including, where appropriate, financial sanctions, federal contracting suspension and debarment, and travel restrictions.
• Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute forced labor.

P ARTNERSHIPS: Effectively combating human trafficking requires collaboration to complement and support the other pillars of prevention, protection, and prosecution. 

• Deepen our understanding of human trafficking networks that primarily impact or operate in the United States.
• Enhance information sharing to inform a strategic outcome.
• Strengthen Federal anti-trafficking efforts through external partnerships, including with the private sector, civil society organizations, and survivor input.
• Cooperate with allies, including trade partners, bilaterally and in regional and multilateral fora to address and combat human trafficking and forced labor.
• Continuously reevaluate the authorities and resources of the U.S. Government to combat human trafficking.

“Human trafficking is an evil practice that contradicts who we are as Americans and the rights we cherish. With this National Action Plan, we reaffirm our commitment to preventing and punishing human trafficking in all its forms and to addressing the social and economic conditions that can create greater vulnerabilities for marginalized groups,” said Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor Dr. Liz Sherwood-Randall.

We recognize and express our gratitude to the community leaders, service providers, businesses, grassroots activists, and individuals with lived experience of human trafficking across the United States and around the world who continue to forge innovative anti-trafficking strategies and push various forms of government to improve their response to human trafficking.  This includes addressing the ways in which policies and actions may have contributed to disparities that marginalize certain communities, jeopardized safe, orderly, and humane migration, or emboldened traffickers.  This Administration will continue to partner with a growing cadre of interagency, civil society, and international partners – to include those who have experienced human trafficking – to improve our collective efforts to comprehensively address human trafficking.

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• Post category: News / Our Work

Over-Policing Sex Trafficking: How U.S. Law Enforcement Should Reform Operations

The report launched during our virtual event on November 15, 2021. Click here or on the flyer to access a recording of the event.

The launch featured the following panelists:

Professor Hannah Garry , is a Clinical Professor of Law and the Director of the International Human Rights Clinic (IHRC) at the University of Southern California (USC) Gould School of Law.

Garry’s research, teaching and practice has centered on confronting some of the most pressing international human rights concerns—from international justice and accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, to upholding refugee and fair trial rights, advocating against human trafficking and fighting for racial justice. She recently filed an amicus brief before the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of torture victims from the U.S. war on terror, and made amicus oral arguments with UN Special Rapporteurs before the International Criminal Court on behalf of torture survivors from the war in Afghanistan.

Currently, Garry is working with Clinic student attorneys to launch a report on the effects U.S. law enforcement anti-sex trafficking sting operations are having on underrepresented communities, a brief on atrocities against the Cameroonian Anglophone population before the International Criminal Court, and two reports on fair trial rights violations against journalists and human rights defenders in Morocco and Kyrgyzstan. The Clinic is also working on evacuation of Afghan families to the U.S. as well as representing trafficking survivors. Garry launched the IHRC 10 years ago to prepare the next generation of human rights advocates. She is expanding upon that work in her research as well. Earlier this year, she received a Fulbright scholar grant to study the enforcement of international refugee law at the University of Oslo Law PluriCourts Centre in Norway. Garry is USC Gould’s first Fulbright research scholar among full-time faculty in the history of the law school. 

Garry obtained her JD from Berkeley Law in 2002, her master’s in international affairs from Columbia University in 2001 and was a Visiting Study Fellow in forced migration studies with distinction at Oxford University’s Refugee Studies Programme, Queen Elizabeth House, U.K. from 1995-1996.

Maura Reinbrecht , Advanced Student Attorney, was the moderator of this event and a primary author of the report. Under the supervision of Professor Garry, she conducted a majority of the interviews and report analysis.

Maura has been a long-time advocate for refugee rights, ever since she began volunteering at a local Hispanic center in her hometown of Reading, Pennsylvania. After seeing the injustices faced by many clients there, Maura became determined to alleviate the pressing needs of those with limited resources. As an undergrad at New York University, Maura studied abroad in Buenos Aires, ​where she interned at Asociación Civil por la Igualdad y la Justicia (ACIJ) which promotes the rights of children with disabilities and migrant children living in slums. For her senior thesis, she wrote about the educational and legal challenges that unaccompanied Latinx minors face in the U.S., receiving grants to travel to Guatemala, a children’s shelter in Brownsville, Texas, and a high school in Los Angeles known as a refuge for migrant children. While writing her thesis, she volunteered at the NYU Immigrant Rights Clinic interpreting for Spanish-speakers facing deportation, as well as other organizations providing free legal services to migrant and refugee children. After graduating from NYU, Maura volunteered at Community Justice Project, a non-profit law firm providing immigration services, and spent six months volunteering in Mexico City at Instituto para las Mujeres en la Migración (IMUMI), giving presentations to migrants about U.S. asylum requirements, conducting intake interviews of unaccompanied minors, and coordinating information sessions with local migrant shelters.

During her time at USC Gould, Maura has been named a Public Interest Scholar and has been involved with the International Refugee Assistant Project (IRAP), and the Public Interest Law Foundation. She has interned at the Legal Aid Society of New York in the Immigration Unit and at Sullivan & Cromwell in New York, where she will be working after graduation. She is currently a Douglass Fellow at the Human Trafficking Institute (HTI).

Suamhirs Piraino-Guzman currently oversees King County’s largest publicly funded behavioral health initiative, the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency Tax Fund at the King County Department of Community and Human Services. Suamhirs was the Senior Program Coordinator at the International Rescue Committee and led the Washington Anti-Trafficking Response Network. Suamhirs graduated from the University of California San Diego with a Master’s in Psychology. He has years of experience developing curriculum and providing training on trauma-informed care, mental health, human trafficking, evidence-based practices, and more to Child Welfare Systems and non-profit organizations across 38 states. Suamhirs’ professional experience also includes direct services to vulnerable youth, program management, policy advocacy around foster care and human trafficking, and co-coordination of the National Survivor Network. As a male survivor and an expert in behavioral psychology, Suamhirs has been an active consultant for the Department of Justice Office for Victims of Crime, a subject matter expert Consultant for the Department of Health and Human Services National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistant Center, and the International Association of Human Trafficking Investigators, and is a member of the National Council for Community Behavioral Health. He was appointed by President Barack Obama to the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking and has worked with the United Nations and Vital Voices International to develop curriculum and training on engaging men in gender-based violence initiatives. 

Susie Baldwin , MD, MPH, FACPM is a preventive medicine specialist who works as Medical Director for the Office of Women’s Health at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH). Her team focuses on issues impacting women’s health equity including sexual and reproductive health, gender-based violence and human trafficking, and women’s health epidemiology. Dr. Baldwin Co-Chairs the DPH Human Trafficking/CSEC Task Force and represents DPH on the County’s CSEC Steering Committee. She also represents DPH on the County’s Gender Responsive Advisory Committee, working to improve conditions for women and gender expansive people in LA County jails while advancing the County’s Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative. 

Dr. Baldwin is a co-founder of HEAL Trafficking, a non-profit organization leading innovative health care solutions to human trafficking since 2013. She served as its Board President until 2021. She led work on the HEAL Protocol Toolkit for Responding to Trafficking Victims in Health Care Settings; was part of the first U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ technical working group on trafficking, which developed the national SOAR curriculum for health care providers; and has served as a consultant for the National Human Trafficking Technical Assistance Center.

Dr. Baldwin attended Columbia University, SUNY Downstate College of Medicine in Brooklyn, NY, and the Zuckerman School of Public Health at the University of Arizona. She completed two post-doctoral research fellowships and has published on many public health topics. Dr. Baldwin has received numerous awards for her work.

Jess Torres (they/them) is an educator and cultural worker dedicated to advocating for the marginalized and criminalized. They have worked as the Survivor Leadership Program Coordinator at the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) in Los Angeles and as the Community Liaison for the Mayor’s Office to End Gender Based Violence (GBV) in New York City. As a result of these positions, Jess brings 15 years of dedication to policy advocacy and community building in the anti-trafficking and anti-GBV movement. Currently, Jess is serving on the development team at The Little Market, an organization whose mission is to support meaningful income opportunities and dignified labor for the artisans they employ globally. In addition to policy and organizing work, Jess has also served as a guest lecturer in academic spaces, a keynote speaker, and as an independent consultant. In these capacities, they have collaborated with various federal agencies and participated in international conferences and symposia. 

Kiricka Yarbough Smith is the Director of Human Trafficking Programs at the North Carolina Council for Women and Youth Involvement, where she has worked since 2015. She also serves as a consultant for the Office for Victims of Crime at the U.S. Department of Justice, as a faculty member for Futures Without Violence, and as a consultant and trainer for the Office on Trafficking in Persons at the Administration for Children, Youth and Family, and the National Human Trafficking Training and Technical Assistance Center at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Trained as a social worker, Kiricka addresses human trafficking at its intersections with other issues, including mental health, developmental disabilities, substance abuse, domestic violence, sexual violence, and child advocacy. She has over 20 years of combined experience working in these areas. Kiricka is the former Human Trafficking Program Manager at the NC Coalition Against Sexual Assault, and a former Investigator for Project No Rest at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Administration for Children and Families. She also served as the Chairperson of the NC Coalition Against Human Trafficking from 2014-2019. As a 2021 Human Trafficking Leadership Academy Fellow, Kiricka helped develop recommendations to address institutional inequities and barriers to accessing services for survivors of human trafficking and communities of color.

Martina E. Vandenberg is the founder and president of The Human Trafficking Legal Center.  Vandenberg established the organization in 2012 with generous support from the Open Society Foundations Fellowship Program.  For more than two decades, Vandenberg has worked to fight human trafficking, forced labor, rape as a war crime, and violence against women. Vandenberg has represented victims of human trafficking pro bono in immigration, criminal, and civil cases. She has obtained T-visas for trafficking survivors and won significant civil judgments in federal cases.  Vandenberg has trained more than 4,000 pro bono attorneys nationwide to handle human trafficking matters.  She provides technical assistance to legal teams handling trafficking cases. Vandenberg has also testified before multiple House and Senate Committees on issues ranging from human trafficking and peacekeeping to forced labor in global supply chains. 

She gave the keynote address at the first NATO ambassadorial-level conference on human trafficking in Brussels, and has worked to combat trafficking of third country nationals onto U.S. military bases for forced labor.  Her work has been cited in The Washington Post, the New York Times, the New Yorker, NPR, CNN, and the BBC. Vandenberg previously served as a partner at Jenner & Block LLP, where she focused on complex commercial litigation and internal investigations under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act.  She served as a senior member of the firm’s Pro Bono Committee and handled multiple human trafficking matters pro bono while at the firm. A former Human Rights Watch researcher, Vandenberg spearheaded investigations into human rights violations and war crimes. She conducted HRW investigations in the Russian Federation, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Uzbekistan, Kosovo, and Ukraine. She is the author of two Human Rights Watch reports, “Hopes Betrayed: Trafficking of Women and Girls to Post-Conflict Bosnia & Herzegovina for Forced Prostitution,” and “Kosovo: Rape as a Weapon of ‘Ethnic Cleansing.’” 

As a researcher for the Israel Women’s Network, she investigated and published the first report documenting human trafficking into Israel. While living in the Russian Federation in the 1990s, she co-founded Syostri, one of Russia’s first rape crisis centers for women. Vandenberg has received multiple awards for her leadership against human trafficking.  In 2012, the Freedom Network USA presented Vandenberg with the Paul and Sheila Wellstone Award for her “outstanding leadership and dedication in working to combat human trafficking and slavery in the United States.” In 2013, she received the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation’s Stevens Award for outstanding service in public interest law.  In 2015, she received the Katharine & George Alexander Law Prize.  She also received Albert E. Jenner, Jr. Pro Bono Award for her successful representation of trafficking victims in United States federal courts and her advocacy before Congress.  In 2020, Vandenberg received an honorary doctorate from her alma mater, Pomona College. In 2021, she received the Blaisdell Award, Pomona College’s highest honor for alumni of the college. She currently co-chairs the D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force’s Forced Labor Subcommittee. A Rhodes Scholar and Truman Scholar, Vandenberg has taught as an adjunct faculty member at the American University Washington College of Law and at the Oxford University Human Rights Law Summer Program.  She is a graduate of Pomona College (B.A.), Oxford University (M.Phil), and Columbia Law School (J.D.). 

About the Report

The report is one of the first comprehensive reports about U.S. anti-sex trafficking law enforcement operations, jointly coordinated at the federal, state and local levels, and often known as “raids”, “stings” or “sweeps”. They involve law enforcement working undercover or investigating private establishments to identify persons who are sex trafficked (referred to as survivors or victims), and perpetrators. The U.S. government has long used these operations as a primary means for addressing sex trafficking, presenting them as an effective anti-sex trafficking tool through compelling media releases and press conferences. Meanwhile, there is little public data about operations’ outcomes and funding, despite distressing claims that operations harm and retraumatize persons who are sex trafficked, while perpetuating systemic racism as well as discrimination against LGBTQ individuals and undocumented immigrants.

“Anti-sex trafficking operations identify few victims or traffickers and instead result in the arrest, physical, verbal and sexual abuse of many victims and sex workers—a disproportionate number of whom are LGBTQ people, undocumented immigrants and people of color, particularly Black women and minors,” says IHRC Director Professor Hannah Garry.

Our report analyzes whether operations actually protect persons who are sex trafficked, prosecute traffickers, and prevent trafficking as required under the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA). Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, interviews with 42 anti-trafficking professionals, and responses to 16 public records requests, we found minimal evidence that operations further these goals. Instead, our research and analysis suggest operations are ill-suited for achieving the aims of the TVPA, and are a product of the United States’ overreliance on law enforcement and a retributive criminal justice approach to address complex societal issues that instead require nuance and understanding of trauma, race, and poverty.

In light of our findings, we urge law enforcement to reconsider their use of operations to combat sex trafficking in the U.S. Effective anti-trafficking efforts are moving away from support for use of operations, focusing instead on community involvement; public health and harm-reduction strategies; and investing in poverty relief, anti-discrimination initiatives, and opportunities for education and employment. We implore law enforcement to join this movement by drastically curtailing the scope of operations to address the limited situations in which they can actually be effective, and to incorporate our concrete recommendations for reforming operations when they are used as follows:

1. Drastically limit the use of operations while supporting community and public health approaches to identify victims and traffickers outside of the criminal justice system;  2. Redirect funding to evidence-based victim identification methods that are more effective and less harmful to victims, and to the extent operations continue, implement strict policies and training that increase the efficacy of victim identification while minimizing trauma to victims;  3. Increase the transparency of operations to support more effective oversight; 4. Strengthen prevention efforts that reduce the vulnerability of potential victims; 5. Increase services available to victims and systematically offer comprehensive services to every suspected victim;  6. Improve communication between nonprofit service providers, prosecutors and other law enforcement agencies, community organizations and sex workers.

The following individuals and organizations endorse our report and its recommendations:

Organizations: 

1. Advocating Opportunity 2. Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Los Angeles 3. BU Law Immigrants’ Rights and Human Trafficking Program 4. Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) 5. Cornell Gender Justice Clinic 6. Global Health Justice Partnership of the Yale Law and Public Health Schools 7. Human Trafficking Legal Center 8. National Network for Youth 9. Pars Equality Center 10. Reframe Health and Justice 11. The Sex Workers Project of the Urban Justice Center 12. SWOP Behind Bars: Sex Worker Outreach Project

Individuals: 

1. Erin Albright, Founder of New Frameworks 2. Alex Andrews, Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of SWOP Behind Bars 3. Chris Ash, Nonprofit Leader & Trainer 4. Dr. Susie Baldwin, MD, MPH, FACPM 5. Rose Cob, Vice President and General Counsel, MDRC 6. Courtney Dunkerton, Anti-Human Trafficking Specialist 7. Prof. Annalisa Enrile, PhD, USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work 8. Prof. Annie Isabel Fukushima, PhD, Associate Dean, Univ. of Utah 9. Dr. Rosana Garciandia, King’s College London 10. Philip Gnaedig, Licensed Clincial Social Worker 11. Dr. Sofia Gruskin, USC Institute on Inequalities in Global Health 12. Olga Irwin, Spokesperson and Policy Mentor, Positive Women’s Network 13. Prof. Kathleen Kim, Associate Dean of Equity & Inclusion, Loyola Law School 14. Prof. Laura T. Murphy, PhD, Helena Kennedy Centre for Int’l Justice, Sheffield Hallam Univ.    15. Prof. Stephanie Richard, Director, Rights in Systems Enforced, Loyola Law School 16. Prof. Rhacel Salazar Parreñas, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences 17. Suamhirs Piraino-Guzman, Licensed Clinical Psychologist, MPsy 18. Prof. Annie Smith, Director, Human Trafficking Clinic, University of Arkansas School of Law 19. Anita Teekah, Senior Director, Anti-Trafficking Program at Safe Horizon 20. Professor Philippa Webb, King’s College London 21. Dr. Kristen Zaleski, SDP-Keck Human Rights Clinic

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The Intersection of Human Trafficking and Immigration

That is the appalling  number of individuals estimated to be involved in human trafficking in the United States, and it is more than likely a relatively conservative estimate.

Even more appalling is that there are approximately 50 million people who are victims of human trafficking worldwide. This is an industry driven by sex, with 80 percent of trafficked individuals engaged in sex trafficking of some form.

Woman account for about 80 percent of individuals involved in sex-trafficking, with some estimates stating that a quarter of these cases involve minor children. The average age for females at the time of entry into sex-trafficking is thought to be between  17–19 years old .

Victims of both sex and labor trafficking include United States citizens, but also many foreign nationals, mostly from Mexico, Central and South America, as well as the Caribbean. Now more than ever, these victims of a horrific crime are at significant risk, not just from their traffickers but from something else that can cause significant harm: the fear of deportation.

Many of trafficking victims are lured into the system with the promise of legitimate jobs, while others are kidnapped or entrapped in a myriad of ways. They are enslaved and faced with violence and torture, including threats of death. Their lives become less their own and they are bought and sold as a commodity.

Victims of trafficking brought to the United States illegally are a particularly vulnerable group. Especially now, when the Trump administration is revamping immigration policy, these are individuals at significant risk. These are people who are often afraid, alone and frequently have had their passports and other identifying papers taken from them by their traffickers. They have no way to contact family or friends, as they are stripped of their identity and have to rely on their traffickers for survival.

Unfortunately, they are also at constant risk for engagement with law enforcement. Whether through prostitution or illicit drugs, these are individuals whose activities are on law enforcement agencies’ radar. In most cases, the aim of law enforcement is to protect the trafficked individual while targeting the traffickers and those who utilize sex trafficking. While not in the crosshairs of prosecutors, these vulnerable people are still at significant risk for deportation if they are undocumented (or even documented, in many cases) immigrants, who are now in the legal system.

While law enforcement can sometimes help to protect trafficked individuals, this is not always assured. The climate of how the current administration views immigrants makes this an even more tenuous promise. While police and prosecutors try to afford protection and build their case, federal officers may take charge and initiate the process of deportation.

The ever-looming threat of deportation has some substantial consequences. It can be a significant deterrent to victims reporting their traffickers, making them even more reliant on them for a perceived protection. Many traffickers use the threat of deportation to control their victims, and the widespread enforcement of immigration policy reinforces that fear. There is also the fear of retaliation, as threats that traffickers will harm victims and their families is an oft used tactic to maintain control.

There have been efforts to afford some protection. The T visa, a special visa to protect victims of trafficking was created in October 2000 with the passing of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act . There are 5,000 of these visas available on an annual basis. This would seem promising, but it is a significantly under-utilized process. According to the United States Citizenship and Immigration statistics, only around 500 – 600 of these visas are granted each year. In addition, the burden of proof can be on the trafficked victim and there are a number of requirements to qualify. This often includes testifying against their trafficker, something that can be terrifying for these individuals.

T visas are also temporary, only lasting for four years. Although individuals can apply for a green card after the third year, that process is also under-utilized and slow.

We need to look closely at how victims of human trafficking, especially those who are immigrants, receive protection. Human trafficking is by all accounts a human rights violation. It is our duty as humanitarians to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Under the current policy, it is at the discretion of law enforcement and prosecutors to make this information and resources available. The current climate regarding immigration, the burdensome process and limited resources all have lead to underutilization of this important protection.

One policy solution to improve access could be to require prosecutors to inform and facilitate the T visa process. It should be made part of the process of assisting victims of trafficking, not an extra, discretionary step. Similar to other victim advocate programs, there should be support to help the individuals fill out and complete the lengthy and sometimes confusing applications. It should also involve transparency, illuminating the process and ensuring fairness and equity.

It is important for policy makers and stakeholders to consider the T visa process, especially as new immigration policies and practices are formulated at the federal level. This is an important protection for people who have been victimized and forced into slavery and it is an imperative to increase awareness of access to this important safety-net for some of the most vulnerable people in the world.

Image via Wikimedia Commons.

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Stephen Wood

Stephen P. Wood, MS, ACNP is an acute care nurse practitioner practicing emergency medicine in Boston, Massachusetts. He is a former fellow in bioethics at the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School in Boston and a visiting researcher at the Petrie Flom Center at Harvard Law School..

12 thoughts to “The Intersection of Human Trafficking and Immigration”

“Many traffickers use the threat of deportation to control their victims, and the widespread enforcement of immigration policy reinforces that fear.” Are you saying that a person would choose being a slave over going back to their family and country of origin?

In some instances, yes. This is especially true if they fled their country because they were victims of gang violence or torture. They aren’t choosing to be a slave, they are caught in a net of slavery. In many cases they may fear for their lives if returned to their own country.

In “some” cases “many” isn’t a good answer to Pat’s question. I had the same question after reading the article. I am trying to educate myself on The Wall debate. How and what locations are these traffickers transporting their victims? If the U.S. government blocked the traffickers channels of entrance wouldn’t that help to put them out of business? If the current population of non documented minors- who are victims of trafficking were apprehended, wouldn’t their circumstance qualify for them for asylum? I think it would. Your page is a cautionary description of a despicable activity, human trafficking. Why would it not be in the best interest of all concerned to take the ability away from the start by blocking the traffickers ability to transport these victims into the U.S. in the first place? Shouldn’t each and every avenue of U.S. border be 100% secured so we can focus on the unique strategies the traffickers will surely come up with next? If we don’t improve our methods of security at the border, why would we expect anything to change? These are sincere questions on my part. Most opposing arguments to The wall in my opinion are emotional or politically charged. I am looking to for results.

I think it is important to understand that human trafficking is not simply isolated to the US/Mexican border. It is a worldwide issue. In the United States, there have been documented cases of trafficking in all 50 States, involving people not just from Mexico but also China, Carribean and African Countries. Many sex trafficked individuals, upwards of 70% by best estimates, are US citizens. Many of these individuals are run-aways, people with housing insecurity or with substance use disorder. Marginalized populations that building a wall would have little to no impact on, if not harm from diverting important funding. Additionally, a fair number of foreign nationals engaged in trafficking are here legally. They are brought in to the country on a variety of visas including work visas. This leaves a small percentage of individuals who are smuggled in as undocumented foreign nationals engaged in both sex and labor trafficking. The wall would likely have only a minor effect on this population. To address the asylum question, yes, many of these individuals would be eligible for asylum. The fact is however that very few T visas are offered, fewer are granted and the whole process can take up to a year if not longer to complete. Building a wall is not the answer to combating human trafficking any more than it is to combating the opioid epidemic. The real data is that only a minority of trafficked victims are undocumented foreign nationals and using them as a tactic to promote the idea of a wall is unethical and irresponsible.

Open immigration is unethical and irresponsible instead of actually dealing with the drug cartels and corruption that plague much of Central America and Mexico. Of course, how do we do that? Well, there’s two camps: enforce the law or disregard the law and hope that if we don’t have to enforce the laws the problem will go away. Who cares about the strain on communities, resources, and instability that open immigration has brought on much of Europe? Ironically, many of Europe’s immigrants would rather be in the United States where they perceive we actually practice incorporating immigrants into American life rather than segregating them to ghetto neighborhoods. It’s clear that you dislike Trump intensely like most people in academia, but saying building a wall to stop sex trafficking is unethical and irresponsible isn’t factual. It’s your opinion. There is much evidence that suggests walls have been incredibly effective in stopping drug and sex trafficking in certain areas of the United States , at least in the places where they have walls. They’ve certainly been effective historically all over the world in reducing illegal traffic. Many of the smugglers are synonymously human traffickers, so of course stopping their ability to cross the border is an effective strategy, which most border patrol officers will tell you firsthand from experience. Many of my friends on the left discount this, because all border patrol officers are evil and not capable of sharing honest firsthand experiences. Of course airplanes can still make drug drops, but walls have significantly reduced overall immigration numbers.

Many American citizens, especially teenage girls are introduced into sex trafficking through the drug trade like the one that follows the I-5 corridor and are also illegally kidnapped and taken into Mexico. This problem here in the Pacific Northwest and in the larger U.S. is not significantly worse than it was during the Obama administration. In fact in some ways it has improved significantly because illegal immigration numbers as a whole have decreased. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2019/01/17/falling-illegal-immigration-numbers-confirm-no-border-crisis/#2b023fb533fb This is a politicized issue that the left hopes to exploit for election purposes and then will do very little about when/ if they get elected. We know this because they didn’t care about these issues during the Obama administration when the problem was at its height. Most of the pandemonia we’re experiencing now is from fear of what Trump’s Draconian view that the law should be followed might lead to rather than what has actually taken place. I’ve been amazed at how difficult it is to get simple statistics without highly editorialized news pieces that have a clear leftist agenda and by that I mean: Trump is evil. Now, I wouldn’t give the guy a Nobel peace prize or anything, but when Trump only shadows the actions and behaviors of Bill Clinton, it seems difficult to have a credible voice on the issue. The recent group of democratic opportunistic crusaders are taking up the voice of moral superiority and it’s simply laughable. Their dying to impeach Trump, so they can debate him on the senate floor and get a priceless camera moment. Even people on the left, but recognize how phony it all is. Academics live in an echo chamber of like minded people who only recognize each other’s work if it mirrors their own. It has led to the most disgusting refusal to look at evidence and multiple perspectives and to continually publish their own editorial pieces without an interest in even exploring alternate views or evidence. I’ve spent much time in that echo chamber, so I do believe that many of these academics are making their cases in earnest, but it doesn’t make them right. It doesn’t make Trump right either.

Personally, I’d like to see the world take an interest in rescuing women and children from sexual slavery. Perhaps we could have every nation creatie a safe geographical space for women and children to run to when they’re being abused and hurt and offer then time and resources so they can get back on their feet and become independent. I don’t see anything really working until we address why people are fleeing. Refugees would usually like to stay in their own country, but just can’t because drug Lords and dictators have free reign. Open immigration doesn’t solve this. It just allows the dictators and drug Lords to continue their reign of terror while other countries pay the bill for their citizens. This will not lead to stability and will most likely make more people vulnerable rather than safer.

Deborah Dana, in my opinion you make MUCH more principled and grounded arguments. Me. Woods’ concerns miss the many of the drivers of human trafficking. Following his assertions, we sweep primary drivers of human trafficking under the rug because there may be people fleeing persecution in their numbers. Because Mr. Woods has bought into the exaggerated justifications for flaunting our immigration laws, all of his genuine emotional concern is doing little more than continuing the drivers of human trafficking. The Left has built a house of cards to defend allowing anyone who steps foot in this country to ‘disappear’ into the shadows. Then, they want to attempt to change the nature of ‘shadows’. The cure for shadows is light. As long as the Left venerates darkness, sanctuary, law breaking, the things that exist in those hidden places will prosper. Being an adult and living in abject denial of those realities and trying to paint those who bring light and justice as racist and xenophobic are the frustrations that that drive the dedication to closing the border, deporting the flaunters of our laws and keep the polls from accurately reflecting the ridiculousness that the bleeding heart Left has become.

First and foremost, my article isn’t an article about open immigration. This is a piece that outlines that victims of human trafficking should be afforded the opportunity to a legal process that is already in place but under-utilized. The current administration wants to limit T visas and also is deporting individuals with credible claims, but whose T visas are rejected nonetheless. You can read more about that here: https://www.newyorker.com/podcast/political-scene/the-trump-administrations-plan-to-deport-victims-of-human-trafficking

I also would argue that a wall isn’t the answer. It hasn’t been the answer to the worlds woes for eons and it isn’t the answer now. That isn’t just my opinion, its a fact. Here is a great article on what walls have accomplished from China to our own United States. https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/01/03/walls-dont-work/

In “some” cases “many” isn’t a good answer to Pat’s question. I had the same question after reading the article. I am trying to educate myself on The Wall debate.

Dear “Havip”,

Your’e comment is word-for-word the same as a comment by “Judith Collins”. I guess you can read my comment to her for your answer….

You mentioned an increased risk to illegal immigrants now that Trump is revamping immigration laws but did not follow that statement with any reasons for or evidence of increased risk. I would urge you to remove that sentence or edit to clarify your position on why there is increase risk. Without the clarification, you appear to be another rabid-anti Trump-er that looks for any opportunity to disparage rather than sticking to facts and evidence. It was a real turn off for this moderate reader that struggles to find unbiased sources.

This is not a duplicate. You mentioned an increased risk to illegal immigrants now that Trump is revamping immigration laws but did not follow that statement with any reasons for or evidence of increased risk. I would urge you to remove that sentence or edit to clarify your position on why there is increase risk. Without the clarification, you appear to be another rabid-anti Trump-er that looks for any opportunity to disparage rather than sticking to facts and evidence. It was a real turn off for this moderate reader that struggles to find unbiased sources.

My friend first excuse me for my good English.

Migration and human trafficking issues are very serious. I worked in the Zaatari refugee camp on the Syrian-Jordanian border, and during my work I saw the blackmail of migrants, especially women and minors.

Unfortunately, a large part of what the refugees are exposed to is caused by the failing international community.

Women and children die in transit from Turkey to Europe and no one cares little.

Donald Trump treats all immigrants as criminals.

My friend I saw horrors during my work, in the end we offer nothing but words and lines written unfortunately.

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What are some opposing viewpoints on human trafficking?

In trying to understand the varied views of prostitution and female sex trafficking, it is important to recognize that the two opposing sides of the issue, those opposed to prostitution and those in support of it, come at the issue with a different question in mind. Forced labor is a serious and pervasive problem in the United States. At any given time ten thousand or more people work as forced laborers in scores of cities and towns across the country. And it is likely that the actual number is much higher, possibly reaching into the tens of thousands. Because forced labor is hidden, inhumane, widespread, and criminal, sustained and coordinated efforts by U.S. law enforcement, social service providers, and the general public are needed to expose and eradicate this illicit trade.

If one were to take a cursory glance at the current research on Human Trafficking, one would quickly see that trafficking in persons is generally explored from two opposing perspectives: the radical feminist perspective, which states that as an extension of patriarchy women are exploited by men typically for sexual employment, versus the liberal postmodern perspective, which operates from the position of individual rights and sexual freedoms.

Add your answer:

what is trafficking?

Human trafficking is the crime of forcing a person to move to a different country and become a slave and or prostitute.

What are some example of modern slavery?

Drug slaves/ Drug Trafficking Sex slaves Human Trafficking Child slaves Debt slaves Cheap labour

What is illegal trafficking?

In which countries is human trafficking still an issue.

Human trafficking is still an issue in many countries. Some source countries include Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, and Kenya. People from these countries are sent to destination countries all over the world. These include Jordan, Israel and even the United States. Basically,human trafficking is still a worldwide issue.

Why do people not sell their organs?

Trafficking in human organs is illegal in the US and much of Europe. There are some places where it is allowed.

What are some interesting topics in writing a research paper?

How does technology promote bullying?How to cure cancerHow to end human trafficking

What are the Types of Crime in India?

India has issues with crime just like any other country. Some of the types of crimes include drug trafficking, rape, domestic violence, arms trafficking, cyber crimes, corruption and police misconduct, petty crimes, robbery, poaching, and human trafficking.

What are some viewpoints of Betsy Ross?

What is being done to stop human trafficking.

As of right now there's not a whole lot of action in that area. No legitimate laws exist about human trafficking, and other countries refuse to stop their human trafficking. Many countries turn a blind eye on traffickers so that they can keep their financial agreements with other countries. There are some organizations being formed to help, but at this point they can't do much because traffick victims are too afraid to testify. Here's a great website I found about trafficking...

Why did some historians view Alexander as a villan?

He slaughtered opposing armies, brought starvation and destruction to the peoples of the Persian Empire, murdered some of his own people including 10,000 Greek mercenaries he captured at Granicus. It depends on personal viewpoints as to whether he was heroic or murderous and cruel.

What are causes of human trafficking in Africa?

The causes of human trafficking vary from country to country, culture to culture, and person to person. But there are a few reasons that seem to be universal when it comes to human trafficking:chronic povertywarlack of accessible educationpolitical and/or civil unrest leading to a dangerous environmentnatural disasters, leading to a breakdown in communitylack of economic opportunitylack of human rightsin some cultures, parents sell their children in hopes of a better life for the child, but the child becomes a slave

What are some good movies that are out?

The Boy In The Striped Pajamas is an amazing WW2 movie about the Holocaust Human Trafficking and Taken are good movies about human trafficking Saving Private Ryan and Pearl Harbor are good WW2 films National Treasure, Chronicles of Narnia (series) and the Count of Monte Cristo are adventure movies For the whole family, Up, Bolt,

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Why Is Sean Combs the Subject of a Homeland Security Investigation?

The department has a division that often directs inquiries into sex trafficking allegations, like those cited in recent lawsuits against Mr. Combs.

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By Julia Jacobs

The raids of Sean Combs’s homes in Los Angeles and the Miami area this week raised a barrage of questions about the nature of the inquiry, which a federal official said was at least in part a human trafficking investigation.

The government has said little about the basis for the search warrants, but the raids came after five civil lawsuits were filed against Mr. Combs in recent months that accused him of violating sex trafficking laws. In four of the suits women accused him of rape, and in one a man accused him of unwanted sexual contact. Mr. Combs, a hip-hop impresario known as Puff Daddy and Diddy who has been a high-profile figure in the music industry since the 1990s, has vehemently denied all of the allegations, calling them “sickening.” Officials have not publicly named him as a target of any prosecution.

As the civil suits against Mr. Combs illustrate, the term human or sex trafficking has a broader meaning in the law than perhaps the more popularly understood image of organized crime and forced prostitution rings.

“Traditionally you think of trafficking as a pimp who has a stable of victims and then is trafficking them in the traditional sense of the word, for money,” said Jim Cole, a former supervisory special agent with Homeland Security Investigations who oversaw human trafficking cases, “but there are lots of forms of trafficking.”

The breadth of trafficking investigations has grown with the recent uptick in sexual abuse claims and the use of the internet by traffickers. Homeland Security Investigations often leads such criminal investigations, although the department is most commonly associated with immigration and transnational issues.

In the current inquiry, federal investigators in New York have been interviewing potential witnesses about sexual misconduct allegations against Mr. Combs for several months, according to a person familiar with the interviews. Some of the questions involved the solicitation and transportation of prostitutes, as well as any payments or promises associated with sex acts, the person said.

The search warrants were executed this week by Homeland Security, which has carried out such investigations since it started operations in 2003. In 2020, the agency created the Center for Countering Human Trafficking in an effort to better coordinate their anti-trafficking work across the department.

With the #MeToo era and its aftermath giving rise to sexual abuse allegations against scores of powerful men, prosecutors have turned more frequently to federal sex trafficking laws to prosecute cases. Those laws allow for federal prosecution of sexual assault — typically a crime handled on the state level — and they have longer statutes of limitation than some abuse charges, allowing prosecutors to try to convict a person on allegations dating back years.

Homeland Security took a leading role in investigating the case that led to the first criminal punishment against the R&B artist R. Kelly. It came in a federal trial in Brooklyn that ended in his conviction on a count of racketeering and violations of an anti-sex-trafficking law known as the Mann Act. Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted on sex trafficking and other charges for conspiring to sexually exploit underage girls with Jeffrey Epstein, who hanged himself in his jail cell as he awaited his own trial on similar charges.

And Keith Raniere received a 120-year prison sentence in the Nxivm sex cult scandal for sex trafficking and other crimes. He was convicted after the prosecution overcame an argument from his lawyers that his was not a legitimate sex trafficking case because the charges did not involve sexual exploitation for profit, but rather sex coerced through promises of increased status, among other claims.

“More recently prosecutors have been more aggressive with prosecuting trafficking cases to the fullest extent that they can,” said Elizabeth Geddes, a former federal prosecutor who was part of the team that won the case against Mr. Kelly.

Ms. Geddes said prosecutors have been effective because the main federal sex trafficking law , passed in 2000, is broad, making it a crime for anyone to use “force, fraud or coercion” to cause a person to engage in a commercial sex act. Courts have interpreted this as receiving anything of value — not necessarily money.

The recent escalation of Mr. Combs’s legal troubles began in November, when his former girlfriend Casandra Ventura, who makes music as the singer Cassie, filed a lawsuit accusing him of years of sexual and physical abuse. Ms. Ventura accused Mr. Combs in the court papers of forcing her to have sex with male prostitutes in front of him. She said he instructed her to use websites and escort services to find prostitutes to participate in what he called “freak offs.”

“Sometimes, Mr. Combs would pay to fly male sex workers to his location, including to multiple cities in the United States as well as abroad,” the lawsuit said. “He required Ms. Ventura and his staff to help him make these arrangements.”

Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit was filed shortly before the deadline for the Adult Survivors Act , a New York law that provided a window for plaintiffs to file sexual abuse claims outside the statute of limitations. The suit was settled in a single day, with both sides saying it had been resolved “amicably,” temporarily giving the impression that Mr. Combs’s team might have contained a problem.

But four more lawsuits followed, including the most recent one filed by the male music producer , who accused Mr. Combs of forcing him to hire prostitutes and participate in sex acts with them. A lawyer for Mr. Combs responded to the lawsuit by saying that the producer was “shamelessly looking for an undeserved payday.”

In addition to claims of sexual assault and battery, Ms. Ventura’s lawsuit cited the federal sex trafficking statute. Douglas H. Wigdor, one of the lawyers representing her, said in a recent interview that his client’s claims fit the framework for sex trafficking, and pointed to allegations in the lawsuit that Mr. Combs used force and coercion to induce Ms. Ventura into sex acts.

“It meets the definition,” he said. “It includes isolation, confinement and monitoring, and there’s obviously force.”

The statute of limitations for some types of prosecutions of the federal sex trafficking law is 10 years. Ms. Ventura’s allegations span the mid-2000s through 2018.

The investigation into Mr. Combs, 54, burst into public view on the afternoon of March 25, when local television footage surfaced of agents from Homeland Security Investigations entering his mansion in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. His home in Miami Beach, Fla., was raided the same day, and Mr. Combs was met by federal agents at a Miami-area airport where he had been planning to leave on a flight to the Bahamas. Arrested at that time was a 25-year-old associate named Brendan Paul, who was charged with cocaine possession. Among the items that agents recovered in the raids were electronic devices, weapons and ammunition, a federal official said.

A lawyer for Mr. Combs, Aaron Dyer, called the raids a “gross overuse of military-level force” and “nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits.”

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have been increasingly turning to state and federal trafficking statutes as a means of possible recourse with the passage of legislation like the Adult Survivors Act in New York, and a similar law in California.

Ann Olivarius, a lawyer who has used such statutes in sexual misconduct lawsuits, said that the influx of such lawsuits will likely lead the courts in the coming years to make decisions as to the proper interpretation of trafficking laws, which she said are relatively untested.

“It’s a young area of the law,” Ms. Olivarius said. “The whole notion of sex trafficking is really under review.”

Ben Sisario and William K. Rashbaum contributed reporting from New York. Hamed Aleaziz contributed reporting from Washington. Susan Beachy contributed research.

Julia Jacobs is an arts and culture reporter who often covers legal issues for The Times. More about Julia Jacobs

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Youngkin: time to stop the modern-day slavery of labor trafficking.

• Apr 4, 2024

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Saying he’s still deep into arguments for and against the 1,046 bills the General Assembly send him, Gov. Glenn Youngkin took time Wednesday to sign into law a measure that aims to crack down on labor trafficking – using threats and violence to force people to work against their will.

The measure inspired by a Chesterfield County case , goes beyond federal efforts on the issue because it goes after people who profit from the trafficking, not just those who engage in it, Youngkin said, at a bill signing at the Colonial Heights courthouse.

The bill, House Bill 633 , sponsored by Del. Mike Cherry , R-Colonial Heights, also clears the way for victims to sue traffickers, Youngkin said.

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed into law a bill cracking down on labor trafficking — using threats or violence to force people to work against their will.

Cherry was moved to introduce the measure when he learned of the case of a woman, Maira Butt, forced to work for relations in Chesterfield County for more than a dozen years.

Chesterfield County police and prosecutors knew about the situation for years but were powerless to pursue it under state law.

While Virginia’s law includes stiff penalties for abduction and extortion, there are times — like Butt’s case — where it does not cover a case in which force, intimidation or deception, including threats to isolate a person from family, compels that person to work.

A federal judge last year sentenced three members of a Midlothian family to prison terms ranging from five to 12 years for what they did to Butt. Federal prosecutors said in court filings that Butt twice tried to take her own life by consuming rat poison on one occasion and overdosing on sleeping pills on another, and called the case “the modern-day equivalent of slavery.”

Youngkin vetoes four more bills, signs a hate crime measure

Virginia had been the only state without a forced labor law as part of its statutes against human trafficking.

“Oftentimes, things on the federal front move very slowly,” Youngkin said, after signing the bill.

“And in fact, I think it’s been one of the frustrations from prosecutors is that we could move very quickly … so it really allows us to get to work,” he said.

Youngkin noted that one of his first executive orders, on his first day in office, set up a commission to tackle human trafficking, adding that one of its recommendations was for legislation like Cherry’s.

Today we took a firm stand against the crimes of labor trafficking & human trafficking & reaffirmed our commitment to protecting the vulnerable, defending human rights & ensuring that Virginia remains a beacon of justice & a place of opportunity for all. https://t.co/emrbB6K9Zs pic.twitter.com/QK0RHZf64w — Governor Glenn Youngkin (@GovernorVA) April 3, 2024

“It is an evil that lurks in the shadows but that many people don’t recognize as it exploits the most vulnerable,” he said. “And don’t think for a moment that this is an issue that exists in another place … there are hundreds, hundreds, hundreds of Virginians who have been trafficked over the last four or five years and we need to stop it.”

Formally, the bill expands the offense of abduction to include anyone who by force, intimidation or deception obtains the labor or services of another. It includes seizing victims, transporting them, detaining or hiding them, or even threatening to do that.

The bill also expands the section of state law penalizing procuring someone for sexual purposes by expanding it to cover forced labor from such an abduction.

It also allows victims to sue for compensatory and punitive damages.

How technology plays a role in the increase in human trafficking prosecutions

Human trafficking is a complex crime to quantify and even more difficult to root out.

The most trusted studies say around 27.6 million people globally are victims of human trafficking, unable to choose where they live or work. However, experts suggest there may be far more human trafficking victims in the U.S. than officials, scholars, and activists have been able to count.

Spokeo analyzed news reports and data from the Department of Justice to illustrate ways high-tech tools are used to catch traffickers and help victims, sometimes with the collaboration of the technology companies behind them and often by making more data available to law enforcement.

Human trafficking encompasses more than just forced sex work; it also includes other forms of forced labor. The Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as the use of violence, fraud, or coercion to force someone into work or commercial sex acts. Sex trafficking and forced labor generate an estimated $150 billion in profit for traffickers and those who aid them, whether employers or private individuals.

U.S. Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband put the problem simply in a 2019 address at the National Human Trafficking Summit, describing human trafficking as "the trading in human beings that slave traders and 'masters' engaged in to exploit other human beings for compelled servitude."

The nation's anti-trafficking efforts are part of "our nation's long and complex fight to remove the stain of slavery from our country," he said.

Today, the ongoing climate crisis and the conflict in Eastern Europe and the Middle East serve as factors that could make many more people, like refugees of war, vulnerable to trafficking.

Economic factors like China's Belt and Road Initiative, aimed at dominating manufacturing across more than 100 countries, and the global push for green energy have created circumstances that could increase the potential for forced labor and coerced commercial sex nationwide, according to a 2022 State Department report .

Prosecutors' ability to put traffickers behind bars grew over the last decade

Attorneys with the Department of Justice increased the number of cases they prosecuted against suspects in human trafficking cases from 2011 to 2020, according to the most recent data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Law enforcement faces challenges in prosecuting this modern-day slavery, including vulnerable populations reluctant to cooperate, hard-to-identify networks of criminals, and a lack of actionable public data..

State officials around the country continue to implement laws that might give investigators the upper hand in these cases. For example, legislation signed recently by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul requires airports and bus and truck stops to provide information to the public about efforts to fight human trafficking. The hope is that victims might see the information and alert authorities to their situation.

Tech companies, too, have been contributing new weapons in the fight against trafficking over the past decade, with government encouragement. As gatekeepers of the software that connects so many of our daily activities and employment data, the private sector is often closest to the victims and perpetrators of trafficking and can develop internal controls and measures to prevent it, the State Department said in its most recent annual Trafficking in Persons Report .

Image recognition

Image recognition technology has become more ubiquitous since Google first made its reverse image search available to the public in 2011. Today, experts say it can identify unique patterns like tattoos and birthmarks, which can help spot trafficking or its perpetrators. Researchers also pull qualitative data like name tags, skin tone, and hair length into databases so that it is searchable.

Microsoft partnered with Dartmouth College in 2009 to launch a tool called PhotoDNA, which assists police departments in identifying potential suspects and trafficking victims. Clearview AI has also provided tools to law enforcement.

The technology is imperfect and not free from criticism, however.

In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California found that Amazon's facial recognition technology system, called Rekognition, falsely identified 28 members of Congress as matching people in its database of criminal mugshots. The recognition software's basis is machine learning models trained by humans.

IBM released public datasets for corporations to train algorithms on that contain images of people of varying races and ethnic backgrounds after researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found commercial versions were less accurate at identifying people other than white men.

Natural language processing

Experts at MIT have been working to find creative, tech-forward ways to identify trafficking ever since one of the largest platforms for the trading of humans, Backpage.com , was taken down by law enforcement in 2018. The researchers study criminal networks' advertising language and train large language learning models to point investigators toward signs of crimes fragmented across the broader internet.

Scraping advertisements in an attempt to identify trafficking victims has resulted in the targeting of consenting sex workers, too, whose work remains criminalized at the federal level. These software suites intended to avoid child exploitation have received ethical backlash in recent years, leading Amazon to forbid the use of some of its proprietary software by law enforcement.

Anti-money laundering programs

Human trafficking is a profitable enterprise, but all that money can attract attention from the government and banks. New technologies have also worked to help traffickers hide their activities.

In particular, cryptocurrency has grown in popularity since Bitcoin was introduced in 2010, making anonymous payments easier than ever. Congress' investigative arm found that suspicious activity reports filed with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network about illegal trafficking of drugs and cryptocurrency " increased fivefold" from 2017 to 2020 and that federal agencies have inadequate data to measure the true scope of crypto's use in the trafficking of both humans and illegal drugs.

The same Government Accountability Office report cites a report from the nonprofit human trafficking organization Polaris, which found that cryptocurrency was the second most common payment method on dozens of online commercial sex platforms where trafficking victims can be among the providers of advertised services.

But technology companies are trying to help detect illegal transactions, too. Silicon Valley-based cryptocurrency analytics firm Ciphertrace is among the firms that have partnered with financial institutions, providing tools for detecting illegal activity through transaction logs. Mastercard ultimately acquired the company in 2021.

Story editing by Jeff Inglis. Copy editing by Kristen Wegrzyn. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.

This story originally appeared on Spokeo and was produced and distributed in partnership with Stacker Studio.

Dave Ress (804) 649-6948

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Arguments Against Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is a figure of transnational organized crime and a serious infringement of basic human civil liberties. The fight against human trafficking is the joint responsibility of the global community and joint efforts must be strengthen by further developing the close cooperation that already exists between governments and nongovernmental organizations (U.S. DOT & CBP 2013). Concentrating efforts towards bordering countries is paramount in the fight against human trafficking . A prime example is U.S. Senator John McCain and Congresswoman Martha McSally from Arizona presented to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives the Transnational Criminal Organization Illicit Spotter Prevention and Elimination Act. This was generated …show more content…

As mentioned previously, Mexico is noted as the hub of the various flavors of trafficking entering the United States . According to U.S. State Department, nearly one in five victims who fall to the industry of the commercial sex trade travel through Texas with the cities of El Paso and Houston are listed as the most intense in high trafficking area. With Texas supporting many of the gateways leading to and from Mexico, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex) a ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Border and Maritime Security Subcommittee engaged with her Mexico counterparts. Favoring and promoting a comprehensive DHS wide border security strategy to include the roles and resources from both Mexico and U.S. was her primary concern. Lee’s meeting with Mexico’s officials led to discussions of border security to include the problems with immigration, national security, human trafficking, gun trafficking, and the importance of U.S. and Mexico diplomatic relations were all emphasized and consolidated into the presentation of the H.R. 1417, also known as the Border Security Results Act. This legislation outlined the required support from the Secretary of Homeland Security to develop a comprehensive strategy to gain and maintain operational control of the international borders of the United States, and for other purposes. Lee states when the nation refers to border security, efforts are expected from both sides that make up the border. The relationship among allies play as a key asset in the attempts to control the borders as well as protect its economy and its people (Congresswoman Jackson Lee Meets with Mexican Government Officials About Border Security, Human Trafficking and Immigration, 2014, para 1-3). With Lee at the wheel and leading the charge in the overall fight against the

Summary Of Migra ! A History Of The US Border Patrol

According to Hernandez, “ Mexicans in the borderlands, regardless of immigration of citizenship status, were subject to high levels of suspicion, surveillance, and state violence as border patrol officers aggressively policed not only the U.S and Mexico border but also Mexican communities and work sites” (Hernandez Pg. 2). In her book, Hernandez tells the story of how Mexican immigrant workers became

The Pros And Cons Of United States Border Patrol

The United States Border Patrol, USBP, has acted as the country's first line of defense against unauthorized migration throughout history. Border Patrol's primary focus and mission is to prevent as well as detect the entry of any and all weapons of mass destruction, terrorists and illegal aliens into the country while also working to interdict drug smugglers and all other criminals along the border (Haddal, 2010). The Homeland Security Act of 2002 did away with the Immigration and Naturalization Service and instead placed the United States Border Patrol in the Department of Homeland Security. USBP, in the last couple of decades, has begun to receive a drastic increase in funding in response to incidents, which could have been prevented if the terrorists had been stopped at the border (Haddal, 2010). The United States has some of the world’s longest land and sea borders and securing them is both a national security priority and logistical challenge.

Human Task Force

Ms, Kuzma presented the Attorney General’s position on human trafficking. The AGs office defines sex and labor trafficking as when traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control other people for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex or forcing them to provide labor services against their will. The AGs office is very passionate about this issue and was an influential member of the National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) announced to focus of their efforts on ending human trafficking across the United States back in 2011. In the NAAGs efforts they created the Pillars of Hope: • Pillar 1) Making the Case: Gather stat-specific data on human trafficking and create a database that assists local authorities with identifying human

The Devil's Highway Summary

After September 11, they sealed the border, built a wall, and began persecuting immigrants and justified it as a problem of security. This perspective became an excuse for everything,” said Sandra Rodriguez, an investigative reporter for Ciudad Juarez’s largest newspaper El Diario. The border and immigration are hot button issues in American politics. Brought up in speeches by candidates from all sides of the aisle and can easily factor into a successful campaign.

Human Trafficking In Oklahoma

Human Trafficking in Oklahoma Individuals all over the world are at risk of being abducted and sold into some form of human trafficking or forced prostitution. As a resident of Oklahoma, I am concerned for the safety of my friends and family in regard to this ever-increasing occurrence. Worldwide, human trafficking is the second largest form of organized crime. This is especially true in Oklahoma. Interstate Highways forty, thirty-five, and forty-four all three run through Oklahoma reaching from coast to coast, and from Mexico to Canada.

Summary Of Migra By Kelly Lytlle Hernandez

She does this through an analysis of the complex history of the creation of border patrol and the factors that played a role in the development in how the border patrol function. Quite clearly, Hernandez explains her thesis on page 5. She says, “The development of the Border Patrol, in other words, is best understood as an intrinsically social and political process” in which “social anxieties, political tensions, and economic interests” all coalesced and helped forge the Patrol’s identity as a law enforcement agency (Hernandez 5). She explains her thesis throughout the book, discussing how initially the force of border control was used to the advantage of southwestern employers to control the amount of labor in the U.S. Eventually, the border control became a much more political and racial battle.

Human Trafficking Thesis Statement

There is belief that the reason why for the low convictions of human trafficking in the United States is because the new requirements of federal and state human trafficking laws are not being enforced, but others are saying that the numbers of human trafficking are overstated and that there are fewer victims than estimated. The low numbers of victims could also be a result of professionals not being able to identify human trafficking victims when they interact with the

Satire Essay On Illegal Immigration

Due to this, we should be concerned with Mexico’s southern border. Mexico certainly wants to avoid becoming a transit country for those seeking asylum in the US. Although it may only seems like Mexico’s problem, but it is also ours. We should start to create a dialogue with Mexico on how to solve this problem.    We also might look at the conditions in these countries that cause people to want to leave and parents to send their own children north.

Sex Trafficking Argumentative Essay

After researching about multiple different topics that are presumed problems in the United States that need resolving, sex trafficking is a line of work that goes against any religion. Does the United States do enough to prevent people from joining this line of work, or are they pushing papers so they don 't get involved? Does the United States of America take action when needed, or do they have enough laws placed that can prevent pimps from selling innocent human beings? Prostitution, the practice or occupation of engaging in sexual activity for payment arrived from the latin word “prostituta”. While researching this topic it was found to be very controversial.

Persuasive Speech On Human Trafficking

Have you ever seen this picture? This picture is a lot more than a poetic protest on media. It is the reality. In the 21st century, the average cost of a human is $90 globally.

Argumentative Essay On Immigration Reform

Despite the multiple attempts at creating a well-rounded immigration reform the United States has failed to achieve the full capacity of the reform. The United States first failure at the reform was in 1986 when congress passed the “Immigration Reform and Control Act”. The purpose of this legislation was to amend, revise, and re-assess the status of unauthorized immigrants set forth in the Immigration and Nationality Act. The content of this bill is overwhelming and is divided into many sections such as control of unauthorized immigration, legalization and reform of legal immigration.

Human Trafficking And Law Enforcement

It is important that the public is informed about the nature of human trafficking, how to assist law enforcement in the fight against trafficking, and how to avoid becoming a victim. Like some in law enforcement, much of the public may view victims of human trafficking as participators in the crime, leading to a negative stigma associated with trafficking victims. By educating the public about the true nature of human trafficking, this stigma may be alleviated. Additionally, law enforcement may benefit from the creation of specific ways for the public to report suspected cases of human trafficking, particularly in large cities or areas with high levels of trafficking. Yates (2015) stresses the need for law enforcement to create community partnerships with the general public, civic and social groups, and religious organizations in the fight against human trafficking.

Human Trafficking Research Paper

Some of the current US policy and legislation in use to combat human trafficking is the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, “which is the cornerstone in human trafficking legislation”, that helped in the efforts against human trafficking. The act combats trafficking

Essay On Human Trafficking

We are living in a world where one person has an absolute power over another. The groundless trade of human beings in today’s world shows a deteriorated state of affairs which confirms that the greatest moral challenge facing the globe today is human trafficking. It refers to illegal sale or trade of people for sexual abuse or forced labor through coercion or abducting people. Our world is facing from many obstacles created by natural and manmade disasters which further results in problems in every country’s economy and social welfare of every person is jeopardized and one of the problems faced by majority of the nations of this world due to economic downfall is human trafficking. It is one of the most atrocious human rights infringements commonly

Argumentative Essay On Human Trafficking

When I hear this question what is violence or even did something happens about violences. The first thing that comes to mind is Human trafficking because I just be thinking how these girls can go through this problem and how hard of a time in life by getting beaten people , or even getting killed ,and also being used for sexual activities to them I just don’t understand why people even do this they need to stop this type of violence right now . Human trafficking has become a threat to this world and some families around the world is losing there child because of human trafficking it is a serious problem people need to start making this serious . People can stop it if they try it’s starts at place where there unfamiliar to you and people that

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Southeast Asia Human Trafficking Now a Global Crisis, Interpol Says

FILE PHOTO: A view shows the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) headquarters in Lyon, France, September 30, 2023. REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes/File Photo

By Yantoultra Ngui

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Organised crime rings who fuelled an "explosion" of human trafficking and cyber scam centres during the pandemic have expanded from Southeast Asia into a global network making up to $3 trillion a year, the head of Interpol said on Wednesday.

"Driven by online anonymity, inspired by new business models and accelerated by COVID, these organised crime groups are now working at a scale that was unimaginable a decade ago," Interpol secretary-general Jurgen Stock told a briefing at the global police coordination body's Singapore office.

"What began as a regional crime threat in Southeast Asia has become a global human trafficking crisis, with millions of victims, both in the cyber scam centres and as targets."

The new cyber-scam centres, often staffed by unwilling staff trafficked with the promise of legitimate jobs, had helped organised crime groups diversify their revenue from drug trafficking, Stock said.

Drug trafficking businesses still contributed 40% to 70% of criminal groups' income, he said.

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"But we see groups clearly diversifying their criminal businesses using drug trafficking routes also for trafficking of human beings, trafficking of arms, intellectual property, stolen products, car theft," Stock said.

About $2 trillion to $3 trillion in illicit proceeds are channeled through the global financial system annually, he said, adding that an organised crime group can make $50 billion a year.

The United Nations said last year that more than 100,000 people had been trafficked into online scam centres in Cambodia. In November, Myanmar handed over thousands of fugitive Chinese telecom fraud suspects to China.

A Reuters investigation last year detailed the emergence in Thailand of one branch of such alleged cyber-crime and its financing.

Stock praised Singapore for its success in uncovering a money laundering case last year involving seized assets amounting to over S$3 billion ($2.23 billion).

(Reporting by Yantoultra Ngui; Editing by Nick Macfie)

Copyright 2024 Thomson Reuters .

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Tags: Myanmar , crime , Asia , Thailand , Singapore

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Feds want Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ communications, flight records in sex-trafficking probe

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Federal investigators are seeking telecommunications records involving Sean “Diddy” Combs as part of an investigation into alleged sex trafficking, a source close to the investigation told The Times.

The news comes several days after the Department of Homeland Security served search warrants at Combs’ Los Angeles and Miami estates . The hip-hop mogul has denied any wrongdoing in the sweeping investigation, which includes multiple lawsuits in recent months alleging sexual assault and harassment .

The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly, said investigators also have requested flight records linked to Combs.

The musical artist remains in the U.S. , according to sources with knowledge of the situation, who said Combs was scheduled on Monday to depart by plane for a spring break vacation with his school-age daughters but delayed the trip after learning of the searches. He still has his passport, they added.

He was spotted playing golf with two of his daughters at a driving range in the Miami area Thursday night, according to reports by the Daily Mail .

But Homeland Security agents on Monday stopped a plane on the ground at an executive airport in Miami, and Miami-Dade police officers who accompanied them arrested Brendan Paul, a man in Combs’ entourage. Authorities say they found cocaine and marijuana-laced candy in his bag. Paul, 25, was described in a recent lawsuit against Combs as a confidant and drug “mule.”

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What to know about the Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs lawsuits, raids

Music mogul and rapper Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, who’s facing multiple lawsuits, is the subject of a sweeping sex trafficking probe that resulted in a federal raid of his L.A. and Miami homes.

March 28, 2024

Companies doing business with Combs’ empire also are being issued subpoenas, as first reported by TMZ, including a private charter jet firm and phone provider and computer companies.

On Monday, federal agents seized several electronic devices , including cellphones, according to a source familiar with the investigation. They also disabled Combs’ security system at his Holmby Hills mansion and seized the hard drive, a source told The Times.

But much remains unknown about the case and how close authorities are to determining whether to file criminal charges.

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Sources with knowledge of the operation who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss it publicly said it appears investigators searching Combs’ Holmby Hills home emptied safes, dismantled electronics and left papers strewn in some rooms.

That tracks with what some legal experts say investigators would need if trying to build a sex-trafficking case against Combs.

Dmitry Gorin, a former L.A. County sex crimes prosecutor who is now in private law practice, said investigators would likely seek authorization to “search for videos or photographs on any devices connected to the target ... anywhere where digital images can be found in connection to sexual conduct that would have been recorded.”

No one has been arrested in connection with the investigation, although two of Combs’ sons were briefly detained on the Holmby Hills property.

Behind the calamitous fall of hip-hop mogul Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs

In the wake of multiple lawsuits filed against him, former members of Combs’ inner circle told The Times that his alleged misconduct against women goes back decades.

Dec. 13, 2023

The investigation into Combs is being directed by federal prosecutors with the Southern District of New York.

It comes after four women filed civil lawsuits accusing Combs of rape, assault and other abuses, dating back three decades. One allegation involves a minor.

A source familiar with Homeland Security’s criminal inquiry said investigators have interviewed some of the people tied to the sex-trafficking allegations in the lawsuits against Combs.

Homeland Security investigates most sex-trafficking operations for the federal government. Legal experts say one possibility why the agency could be involved in this case is because the women involved in the allegations against Combs could be from other countries.

“They have [in the Combs case] convinced one or more federal magistrates they had enough probable cause for one or more search warrants,” said Meghan Blanco, a defense attorney who has handled sex-trafficking cases. “Given the scope of the investigation, it seems they are further along than most investigations.”

Gorin said the allegations involving a minor could be a key focus in the inquiry.

If a minor is moved across state lines for the purpose of sex, “that is enough for at least an argument ... of sex trafficking because somebody underage cannot consent,” Gorin said.

“Sex trafficking for adults usually involves some sort of coercion or other restraints,” he said, and can be tougher to prove. Prosecutors would need to show a person “encouraged somebody to engage in sexual activity for money or some other inducement.”

Where is Diddy? Sean Combs remains in U.S. amid widening sex trafficking probe, sources say

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs remains in the United States and vows to fight sex trafficking allegations, sources close to the music legend said.

March 27, 2024

Aaron Dyer, one of Combs’ lawyers, on Tuesday called the raids a “witch hunt” and criticized how they were conducted.

“There was a gross overuse of military-level force as search warrants were executed at Mr. Combs’ residences,” Dyer said in a statement.

“This unprecedented ambush — paired with an advanced, coordinated media presence — leads to a premature rush to judgment of Mr. Combs and is nothing more than a witch hunt based on meritless accusations made in civil lawsuits. There has been no finding of criminal or civil liability with any of these allegations.”

More to Read

After years on the run, GirlsDoPorn boss faces ‘beginning of the end’ in San Diego

April 6, 2024

Sean Combs’ son Christian accused of sexual assault on yacht that Diddy chartered

April 5, 2024

Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs’ ex slams feds, posts dramatic video of L.A. raid where his sons were detained

April 2, 2024

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Richard Winton is an investigative crime writer for the Los Angeles Times and part of the team that won the Pulitzer Prize for public service in 2011. Known as @lacrimes on Twitter, during almost 30 years at The Times he also has been part of the breaking news staff that won Pulitzers in 1998, 2004 and 2016.

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The real BBC booker on how she convince Prince Andrew to go on record about Epstein

Karen Zamora

Courtney Dorning

Mary Louise Kelly

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Sam McAlister, who persuaded Prince Andrew to go on record about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. It's the subject of new movie: Scoop.

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

The big get. In media lingo, that means the interview with the person at the center of a big story. Think Monica Lewinsky after her affair with then-President Clinton or the actor Alec Baldwin after the cinematographer was shot and killed on the set of his movie or Britain's Prince Andrew after his friend Jeffrey Epstein was arrested on sex trafficking charges. Now, interviews like these can entail months of negotiations, calls and emails and meetings to persuade that person to go on the record. That is what happened in 2019, when BBC journalist Emily Maitlis sat down with Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, at Buckingham Palace. Then-BBC "Newsnight" booker Sam McAlister had spent almost a year talking to Prince Andrew's private secretary and the prince himself. Her efforts and the resulting interview are dramatized in the new Netflix film "Scoop."

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "SCOOP")

RUFUS SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) I have a lot of people telling me that it's a mistake, me even being in this room.

BILLIE PIPER: (As Sam McAlister) And yet here you are. And I can promise you one thing. You can't turn it around by staying silent.

KELLY: That's the actress Billie Piper playing Sam McAlister. The real Sam McAlister joins us now. Hi there.

SAM MCALISTER: Hi there. It's very meta. I'm not sure who's real and who's Billie anymore, to be honest. Thank you for having me.

KELLY: So your task was not only landing the interview, talking the palace, talking the prince into doing this but talking them into doing a serious news interview where they would not be able to vet or control the questions in any way. Walk us through the argument that persuaded them. What did you say?

MCALISTER: Well, there's a double argument, right? Here is a man who used to be effectively a national hero in the United Kingdom. He was, you know, the beloved son of the Queen, her favorite son by all accounts, a war hero. And now he was effectively a problem prince at best. And then, on the more pretentious level, of course, there was a view of Prince Andrew about him and his behaviors and the allegations against him, which, of course, he strenuously denies. But it was a double opportunity - a human opportunity to return to the life he had and a royal opportunity to basically restore his reputation in some ways. So I feel it was those two things that made this really a dream opportunity, at least on paper, for him.

KELLY: Was there a moment in the negotiations where you could tell, I got him? Like, that just landed. He's going to do it.

MCALISTER: There was a moment where I thought we might have him. The last negotiation is face to face with Prince Andrew...

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) Hello, everyone. I hope you don't mind. I brought someone along.

CHARITY WAKEFIELD: (As Princess Beatrice) Hello.

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) You know my daughter Beatrice.

MCALISTER: ...And a surprise guest, his daughter Princess Beatrice in Buckingham Palace. I mean, you can imagine how overwhelming that was. It was about two hours long. I felt we had a rapport. Emily, the presenter, was also there and Stuart McLean, who was the deputy editor. And at that moment of rapport, there's a moment of peril, and there's a moment of chance. And I said something quite bold. I told him the truth, which was always my style, that he was known as Randy Andy.

PIPER: (As Sam McAlister) You know how people see you; don't you?

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) Why don't you spell it out?

PIPER: (As Sam McAlister) Randy Andy, Air Miles Andy. This is sex and girls and planes and private islands and money. And with respect, the public see these stories. And they think, yeah, I can believe that.

MCALISTER: And that moment is really where he's going to laugh. And he knows that we have integrity and trust and we're honest with him, or he's going to slam the door in our face. Now, luckily it was the former. But you never, ever know if someone's going to say yes until you get that final call.

PIPER: (As Sam McAlister) This isn't bad for your brand. This is your brand.

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) With respect (laughter). Well, you sort of got a point.

KELLY: So you get the yes. The interview is taking place. The prince's answers are sounding increasingly tone-deaf. Let me put it that way. And you can see the actors playing you and the prince's private secretary just keep shooting looks at each other. It is deeply uncomfortable. Let's listen.

GILLIAN ANDERSON: (As Emily Maitlis) She was very specific about that night. She described dancing with you and you profusely sweating.

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) There's a slight problem with the sweating because I have a peculiar condition, which is that I don't sweat. Or, rather, I didn't sweat at the time.

KELLY: Sam McAlister, take me to that room. Where are you, and what is going through your mind?

MCALISTER: Oh, my gosh. So I'm about 15 feet behind him. And I used to be a criminal lawyer, and I used to represent people accused of all kinds of things. And one of the great skills of that world is poker face. And thank goodness for poker face - 15 feet behind those incredible answers, trying not to show any emotion, trying not to communicate any panic or fear or consternation. And all I can see is the back of his head. So I saw the front of him for the first time when it went out a couple of days later. But it really was a masterclass in how to give terrible answers and, from my tiny perspective, a small, personal masterclass in showing no emotion whatsoever on your face for an hour - one of the longest hours in television history, I would say.

KELLY: I mean, was there a moment where you're thinking, oh, my God, this is just going completely off the rails?

MCALISTER: I think it was almost every moment. It was like building. And after the first answer, which was his mildest answer, every line was a news line.

ANDERSON: (As Emily Maitlis) But you were staying at the house of a convicted sex offender.

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) It was a convenient place to stay.

MCALISTER: Just watching them kind of pile on top of one another over and over.

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) I don't think there was anything wrong then. I don't remember meeting her at all. I do not remember a photograph being taken. Do I regret the fact that he's quite obviously conducted himself in a manner unbecoming?

ANDERSON: (As Emily Maitlis) Unbecoming? He was a sex offender.

SEWELL: (As Prince Andrew) Yes. I'm sorry. I was being polite. I mean...

MCALISTER: It was really journalistically, obviously, the highlight of my career and quite an extraordinary experience.

KELLY: Well, the fallout, the consequences from this interview were almost immediate. Just a few days afterward, Prince Andrew stepped back from royal duties. Did you have a sense, even as the interview was unfolding, like, this is going to have just extraordinary consequences?

MCALISTER: I knew it was huge. I'm not going to lie. I knew how consequential it was in theory. But the idea that it would topple a member of the royal family, effectively, you know, sacked by his own mother and we'd still be talking about it, let alone that I would have the opportunity of this incredible movie - it would have sounded like I was drunk if I'd said that to you. So I knew it was a scoop, but I just did not know it was the scoop of scoops.

KELLY: If you were still in that job, who's the big get you would be trying to get on the line today?

MCALISTER: Putin 100%. There's a different type of journalism that the BBC is lucky enough to do, which is without fear and without favor. And I think this film is an homage to that type of journalism and to the type of people that do that type of journalism. And, you know, I feel that if we had the opportunity to interview President Putin, he would be treated exactly the same as everyone that we interviewed - without fear and without favor. And that's rare, and that's why journalism is so important.

KELLY: Well, I will share. I just re-upped my interview request to President Putin this week, and I can assure you, President Putin and Kremlin colleagues, if you're listening, that you would indeed be treated with professionalism. And I completely, 100% agree with you. That's the big get. Sam McAlister, this has been a pleasure. Thank you so much.

MCALISTER: The pleasure was mine. Take care.

KELLY: Sam McAlister. She persuaded Prince Andrew to go on the record in front of millions about his friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her work on that interview is the subject of the new Netflix drama "Scoop."

(SOUNDBITE OF LADY SONG, "GET READY")

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Anita Ramasastry applies law, policy and politics to fight corruption and defend human rights around the world

Posted on April 5, 2024 by Ed Kromer . This entry was posted in Faculty Friday , Spotlight and tagged Anita Ramasastry , UW School of Law . Bookmark the permalink .

The curriculum vitae of Anita Ramasastry is awe-inspiring. And a bit exhausting.

The Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law has compiled an impressive record of traditional academic activities and achievements, from directing the UW School of Law’s Sustainable International Development Graduate Program and serving as senior advisor to the UW’s Office of Global Affairs to receiving the UW Distinguished Teaching Award (1998) and Outstanding Public Service Award (2002).

Ramasastry’s prolific research on international commercial law, responsible business conduct, anti-corruption and economic development has given rise to the new field called “ Business and Human Rights ,” which calls on governments and corporations to protect human rights all the way down the global supply chain. She founded and co-edits the Business and Human Rights Journal and co-founded the Global Business and Human Rights Scholars Association .

It’s a heavy lift on heavy topics. But Ramasastry does not take for granted her privileged position to apply theory to real-world policy, to interpret and advocate in order to affect real change.

“I’ve been very fortunate in my career to have the opportunities to work in policy and intergovernmental organizations,” she says. “I can marshal evidence quickly and make arguments based on this evidence to help policy makers—who are not going to read the academic articles—make good decisions. That’s my job.

“My other job, as someone who has worked against corruption and for human rights all my career, is to bring the voices of journalists and NGOs and human rights defenders into the room with policy makers to help craft solutions.”

International perspective

The foundations of Ramasastry’s global perspective go back to her parents, Indian emigres who came to the US for graduate studies. Her father, an engineer and rocket scientist, worked for NASA on its Apollo and Skylab programs before becoming involved in early international telecommunications negotiations. Her mother, a research scientist, worked for the American Red Cross .

“I teach my students that the law is never sufficient to change the world… Changing social norms is far more important.” – Anita Ramasastry

With both engaged in international research and policy making, it was no surprise that their daughter would inherit a global perspective and a profound sense of purpose.

Ramasastry studied history and literature at Harvard College, added a master’s at the University of Sydney, then returned to earn her JD from Harvard in 1992.

An early teaching position at the newly established Central European University exposed her to the fallout of the failed Soviet era. A formative role with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York opened her eyes to the primary source of society’s ills.

“I realized that corruption was one of the biggest problems facing modern society. The consequences were earth-shattering, and continue to be today,” Ramasastry says. “I found that many corrupt leaders around the world were also engaging in systematic human rights abuses. And businesses were somehow partners in this.

“I came to human rights through this journey.”

Getting involved

She also came to the University of Washington School of Law, in 1996. After one of her earliest academic papers—“ Secrets and Lies? Swiss Banks and International Human Rights ”—exposed the connections between banks and dictators and human rights violations, Ramasastry helped establish a claims tribunal to return Holocaust-era stolen assets that had been stashed in Swiss bank accounts.

It was the first of many forays beyond academia. Requests for her expertise began to roll in from around the world.

Among many current advisory and leadership roles, Ramasastry is the special representative on combating corruption at the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and chair of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights , where her scholarship has helped shape implementation of the “ Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights .”

Business and Human Rights

This latest UN effort is a culmination of Ramasastry’s career. From a wide perspective, her research, education and advocacy has endeavored to connect the corrupt actions of governments and corporations with downstream human rights abuses.

This is not a new problem. “It’s not as if we woke up and suddenly there was child labor in supply chains,” she says. “Human right issues have plagued us forever.”

From the exploitative East India Company of the British Empire to the forced labor of Japanese mining companies in the early 1900s to the culpable German industrialists during World War II to the chemical disaster of Union Carbide in the 1980s. The difference today?

“What was previously made invisible is now visible,” Ramasastry says. “You have historians and journalists and other watchdogs exposing these issues. We are aware that corporations and consumers can be connected to harm halfway around the world. We have frameworks—like what I’ve worked on with the UN—that are attempting to address these issues. And those frameworks are slowly turning into legislation.”

Visibility is motivating

Ramasastry believes that the Business and Human Rights movement can help enlighten organizations in ways that existing efforts do not. She points out that Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is guided by company leadership and that Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) is driven by investors. But her new framework is driven by stakeholders along the global supply chain.

To further persuade them to respect and protect human rights, Ramasastry calls on arguments she learned from her time in the Commerce Department: greater competitiveness (the business case), commonality (connecting human rights to ethical behaviors they already endorse) and transparency (the world is watching).

“One of the most effective methods is to ask companies: is it better to address these issues than to have them brought to your attention by NGOs or lawsuits?” she says. “I think the larger message for many is that it’s harder to hide things today.”

Teaching and research in action

While keeping a crowded schedule of extracurricular activities, Ramasastry continues to produce impactful research and deliver award-winning education at the UW. She is proud to see former students rise to key positions within organizations like the UN and companies like Starbucks. “The best thing I can do is to teach well and help people move into these roles,” she says.

The Sustainable International Development master’s degree program that she directs draws students from around the world to contribute to major human rights projects.

Anita Ramasastry with former students working for human rights.

“I teach my students that the law is never sufficient to change the world,” Ramasastry says. “Laws aren’t always implemented, enforced or followed. Changing social norms is far more important.”

For that, understanding history, politics, economics and sociology is also required.

Plus the fact that all corporations are global. And smart. And prone to look the other way when profit is in the balance.

“Corporations can figure out whether the gain is greater than the potential cost of committing bribery or violating sanctions,” she says. “We’re trying to get governments and companies to understand that corruption causes significant harm to people and communities.”

Ongoing concerns

In her decades of work, Ramasastry has seen some progress. The European Union is negotiating a new directive on human rights in supply chain. She has helped write uniform laws on human trafficking that has been adopted by many U.S. states. And she has seen an encouraging shift in demand for human rights protections from governments. “Companies are calling for international standards to level the playing field,” she says. “Getting to this point where companies become champions for regulation has been very rewarding.”

But the end of corruption is hardly near. While everyday hunger for profit continues to make cutting corners tempting, Ramasastry says that corruption rates spike during crises—such as pandemics, wars and climate disruptions—when governments are in a hurry to distribute resources and incentives.

Add to this the global trend to concentrate political power, and Ramasastry knows that her work is far from done. She remains motivated by the reality that the effects of corruption are worst felt by the most vulnerable.

Like the estimated 50 million people around the world who are trapped in debt bondage, forced labor and other forms of modern slavery.

Ramasastry’s response to this horrific figure? To join the newly formed Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking . And use her powers to do something about it.

“Some academics are comfortable being great teachers or researchers,” she says. “For me, the opportunity to use my voice for advocacy is critical for two reasons: To be a voice in the policy conversation channeling both empirical data and the perspectives of those who don’t usually get heard. And to convince people that these issues should matter to them—and they should pursue solutions.”

Want to learn more?

Here are a few good books and films that Anita Ramasastry recommends on the topics of modern slavery, human rights and global supply chains:

Modern Slavery: A Global Perspective by Siddarth Kara

Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers our Lives by Siddarth Kara

Thieves of State: Why Corruption Threatens Global Security by Sarah Chayes

The Laundromat: Inside the Panama Papers Investigation of Illicit Money and the Global Elite by Jake Bernstein (adapted for a Netflix film by Steven Soderbergh).

The Price of Free , a documentary film about Nobel Prize winner Kailash Satyarthi

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