Human Trafficking

1. Human Trafficking Modern Day Slavery Profitable on an International Level Destructive on a Personal Level

2. “In one of several related cases, hundreds of Mexican girls between 7 and 18 were kidnapped or subjected to false romantic entrapment by organized criminal sex trafficking gangs.  [The] victims were then brought to San Diego County, California.  Over a 10 year period [ending in an INS, FBI, and San Diego Sherriff Dept. raid in 2003], these girls were raped by hundreds of men per day in more than 2 dozen home based and agricultural camp based brothels.” (‘The San Diego Child Sex Trafficking Scandal’ www.libertadlatina.org) 

3. What is Human Trafficking? • a. Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; OR • b. The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery. • A victim need not be physically transported from one location to another in order for the crime to fall within these definitions. (Definition based on the 2007 US State Department TIP Report)

4. BSCC The Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition (BSCC) is an alliance of over 120 government and nonprofit agencies in the United States and Latin America that is convened along the U.S.-Mexico Border Region to combat slavery and human trafficking.BSCC is committed to bilaterally preventing and intervening in the commercial and sexual exploitation of women and children while advocating for all exploited persons. BSCC is the only bilateral bi-national project that provides services in Tijuana, Mexico and San Diego, CA. • Mission To preserve the dignity and well being of commercially and sexually exploited men, women, and children through prevention, intervention, and education. (www.bsccoalition.org)

5. Smuggling Relationship ends at the border. Individual is free to leave. Trafficking Individual is moved from his/her home and held against his or her will. Debts may be incurred. Definitions

6. Labor Exploitation Housework Agricultural Begging Factories Industry Manual labor Child care Hotel or Cleaning industries Sexual Exploitation Pornography Strip clubs Prostitution Mail-order bride CSEC Internet Comprises nearly half of CSEC and forced labor cases Labor vs. Sexual Exploitation

7. CSEC Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children • The use of children for sexual gratification by adults for remuneration in cash or kind to the child, or a third person(s). • Prostitution, pornography and sex trafficking • Child sex tourism, child marriages, and forced marriages • Not a value or belief of any culture (www.epcat.com)

8. Methods Recruitment and Coercion

9. Prior sexual abuse Gender Widows/abandoned wives and children Orphans Street kids/runaways Poverty Refugees Ethnic minorities Little to no education (i.e. In Laos 60% of women are illiterate and there are limited educational resources, so prostitution is a good option www.rfa.org) Vulnerabilities

10. “I did not even ask where I wasgoing. I was promised a job and money for food. I was sure I was getting away from trouble. I even thought that I’d make some money, return home and help everyone, including my father.”-Ana, a victim of trafficking, who after running away from home to escape her father’s beatings, was trafficked into Poland and forced to beg on the streets. (2007 US TIP report)

11. Kidnapping Parents, female and male relatives(knowingly or unknowingly) Boyfriends Frequent selling of minors Sold to relieve poverty of family Deception or Fraud Newspaper ads promising career opportunities in the city or in foreign countries Recruitment by other victims Falsified travel documents Visa overstays Internet: Mail order brides, ‘Craig’s List’ and ‘My Space’ Recruitment

12. Barriers Faced by Victims Seeking Assistance • Language • Lack of trust • Undocumented/fear of deportation • Fear of law enforcement • Lack of knowledge of services, rights, laws • Lack of resources (money, connections) • Fear of retribution by traffickers against self, family, friends • Culture (i.e. Karma) • Shame and stigma • Dangerous or unfavorable pre-enslavement situation

13. Psychological damage Physical damage Social and personality changes Cultural shunning or exile from community Trust issues Repeat trafficking victim Falling into criminal activity or prostitution; recidivism Difficulties adjusting to independent life “Once you come to the end of your recovery, the ‘freak out period’ starts…you can’t get a job with eight warrants in different counties.” -Amanda, survivor of trafficking Long-Term Effects

14. Identifying Victims Hot Spots & High Impact Areas

15. Migrant or immigrant communities Areas or zones known for prostitution Routine traffic stops Health care providers ER and social services (counseling) Escort services Strip Clubs Where Victims may be Found

16. Where Victims may be Found Cont… • Airports and hotels • Malls (also for recruitment) • Large agricultural fields • Resort communities (i.e. Ensenada and Cancun, Mexico; San Diego, California; Pattay, Thailand) • Victims are also found due to law enforcement calls concerning domestic abuse or organized crime

17. Services AvailableGovernment and Non Profit

18. Street Outreach and Awareness – What can I do? • Outreach to businesses in high-risk areas. Often business-owners and workers are negatively affected by the presence of crime and prostitution, and are willing to cooperate and offer information. • Visit industrial areas or garment districts and post outreach materials and signage. “Rescue and Restore” offers these materials for free, and in a number of languages. Asking owners of shops and businesses if you can post signage on their building is a good opportunity to provide awareness to workers. • Offer and anonymous tip-hotline or crisis hotline that shop and business owners and community members can utilize if they witness illicit activity. • Observe opening and closing hours of suspected businesses, including massage parlors, strip clubs, adult book/video stores, and chiropractic offices. DO NOT CONDUCT “SURVEILLANCE”! • Visit laundromats, bus stops, trolley stations, and parks and speak with individuals there.

19. Street Outreach and Awareness – cont… • Visit migrant eductation classes and soup kitchens, homeless shelters, etc. • Educate the public health sector, ie. public health nurses, Planned Parenthood, about warning signs, indicators, and proper procedures when spotting victims. • Assemble hygiene kits or beauty kits for distribution among the possible-victim population. These are very successful in migrant camps and farm worker communities, and beauty kits are popular among those exploited through prostitution. • NOTE: This is for more skilled and experienced outreach workers. The purpose of these kits is to provide a covert method of offering a crisis hotline number, for a future prospect of seeking refuge. • Educate middle and high schools about the warning signs of exploitation and tactics pimps and traffickers use for recruitment • Conduct community awareness forums educating about human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation.

20. WHAT NOT TO DO – Proper Outreach Safety Guidelines • Never approach a victim while exploitation is occurring. If a victim is being forced to prostitute, do not attempt to interrupt a “deal going down”, or interfere a pimp while he/she is pandering the victim. • Do not conduct “stakeouts”, “surveillance”, “undercover operations”, or “raids”. It is okay to observe the closing-time of suspected establishments, however do not stay longer than is necessary. • Do not engage in conversation with possible victims. A good note to remember is that if you can see the victim, his/her pimp can see you. • Do not engage johns before/during/after their time with a victim. Johns have been known to carry weapons, rob/assault/murder prostitutes. • Do not “block-walk” door-to-door in residential neighborhoods.

21. Local Cases

22. Between 1998 and 2003: 57 forced labor operations in almost a dozen cities in California More than 500 individuals from 18 countries Thailand was the home country of 136 forced labor victims, with 104 and 53 arriving from, respectively, Mexico and Russia American citizens comprise 5.4 percent of the total California

23. San Diego Dante Dears – Pimpin’ Ho’s Daily (PHD) -Sentenced in April 2004 for four years and eight months for kidnapping, pimping & pandering. Forced one 17-year old victim into the trunk of his car while he drove her around to prostitute her. Cory Lancelin-Smith, aka “Suga Shaft” -Ran a large-scale prostitution ring in Oceanside, CA, exploiting minors, mostly between the ages of 14-17. Smith is known for “branding” his victims with the words: I, [the victim’s name] am sole property of Suga Shaft. All who come into contact with me are indebted to him. Mario Antonio Antunez-Sotelo -US Federal agents under I.C.E. (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) are currently looking for Mario Antonio Antunez-Sotelo, who used his position as coyote to hold 9 migrants prisoner

24. Conclusion BSCC contact information Tel: 619-336-0770 Fax: 619-336-0791 24-HOUR HOTLINE:619-666-2757 www.bsccoalition.org National Hotline 1-888-3737-888 2-1-1 San Diego