Human Trafficking

1. Human Trafficking

2. Definition of Human Trafficking “Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other 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 of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. -UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especial Women and Children

3. Definition of Human Trafficking “Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other 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 of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs. -UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especial Women and Children

4. Global Statistics • 12.3 to 27 million: Number of people engaged in forced labor of all kinds today. • 80%: Percent of transnational victims who are women and girls. • 70%: Percent of female victims who are trafficked into the commercial sex industry. • 50%: Percent of transnational victims who are children. • 1 million: Number of children exploited by the global commercial sex trade, every year. Source: Nicholas D. Kristof and The Polaris Project

5. http://www.playgroundproject.com/

6. Human Trafficking in the U.S.

7. Why? Money. • The human trafficking industry earns an estimated $32 to $42 billion annually. • That’s 4x Google, Nike, Starbucks in 2009. • $15.5 billion is made in industrialized countries. • $9.7 billion in Asia • $13,000 per year generated on average by each forced laborer. This number can be as high as $67,200 per victim per year. Source: The Polaris Project and Yahoo! Finance

8. Why is it so profitable? • The nature of slavery. • The trafficking victims are subjected to turning on average 10-15 tricks in a night. • It is easy to sell someone: Facebook, Myspace, Craigslist, etc. • There is a global and local demand for it. "An ounce of cocaine wholesale [costs] $1,200, but you can only sell it once. A woman or a child, [costs] $50 to $1,000, but you can sell them each day, every day, over and over and over again. The markup is immeasurable.“ - Donald Sutherland, a senior United States Immigration and Customs enforcement agent

9. In Our Own Backyard • Portland ranked #2 in the nation for incidence of human trafficking. Seattle is #1. • An estimated 2-5 cases of human trafficking are discovered each week in Oregon. Source: Portland Vice Detectives Doug Justice and Megan Burkeen and Human Trafficking Task Force Director Keith Bickford.

10. Portland • The most noticeable trafficking occurs on 82nd Ave. • Traffickers often find victims at the Lloyd Center Food Court and target young girls who appear to have low self esteem and are alone. • 95% of victims have a history of sexual abuse. • Law enforcement acknowledge that runaway child will be trafficked within their first 72 hours on the street. • Trafficking rings also operate brothels within “legitimate businesses” (such as escort services) making it harder for law enforcement to investigate or intervene. Source: Portland Vice Detectives Doug Justice and Megan Burkeen and Human Trafficking Task Force Director Keith Bickford.

11. Portland Continued • Recruiting Stage, Breaking Stage, Maintenance Stage. • A pimp will flatter the girl, buy them things, take them for a ride in his nice car, and then turn around and ask for something in return (turning “just one” trick). • “Bottom bitches” often also assist their pimp and are rewarded. They enroll in a local high school to recruit girls. • Girls are trained to determine if a john is law enforcement by asking their customer to touch them as soon as their services are solicited.

12. Who Are The Traffickers? • Traffickers are not just men, but also women. Commonly uneducated, grew up in broken homes, are incredibly opportunistic, and usually have a criminal background. • Typically characterized by a their uncanny ability to smooth talk (even to law enforcement) and their charisma. • Internet is their main source of finding clients.

13. Why the North West? • Portland is a port, between two popular destination cities: Seattle and San Francisco. • The I-5 Corridor is not patrolled by police between the hours of 1:00 to 5:00 AM. • Known for few convictions of sex crimes • Demand • Another contributing factor is the high number of sex offenders: • Washington 20,391 • Oregon +21,760 • Sex offenders are the biggest consumers of sex and are often involved in trafficking rings

14. The Law • There are two laws in Washington State that have made the trafficking of humans a felony, but under these laws that were put into place 5 years ago not one person has been convicted. • In Oregon, domestic trafficking is a class B felony. But under Measure 11 can only be held for up to 5 years and 6 months. • Oregon has a human trafficking task force but it only one man on that task force, and two detectives on the Portland Vice Division dedicated to trafficking. • Victims will usually not give the information about their pimp and they too are released back to the streets and not given any help. • Doug Justice’s story.

15. What Can Be Done to Stop It? • Awareness and advocacy. • Education of law enforcement. • Support of victims. • Shelter • Healing • Job training • Convictions of pimps, traffickers and the johns. • Curbing demand. • We as a people need to stop buying in to the sex industry. The only reason that this happens is because there is a buyer for it. If there were no buyers there would be no need to sell girls on the street. • Case study: Sweden

16. Slavery Still Exists If you’re interested, join the group on campus working to raise awareness, bring about new legislation on the issue, and volunteer to assist victims locally and internationally. "It's easier to be ignorant and say I don't know about the problem. But once you know, once you've seen it in their eyes, then you have a responsibility to do something. There is strength in numbers, and if we all work together as a team, we can be unstoppable." -Craig Kielburger Thursdays at 5 pm, Men’s Center in the EMU Speak with Jenn or Kristin after class for more information.