1. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Trafficking in Persons
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery, and is a federal crime since the passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000.
Polaris Master Training Presentation by: Polaris Project Staff [special thanks]
For additional information, please visit:
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2. Human Trafficking: Legal Definitions
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Human Trafficking: Legal Definitions
International Law
The UN Protocol
United States Federal Law
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA)
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3. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
The UN Protocol
Formal name: Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children (Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime)
Signed on December 15, 2000 in Palermo, Italy
Occurred at the Signing Conference for the United Nations Convention on Transnational Organised Crime, held from December 12-15, 2000
Signed by Heads of State and Ministers from more than 80 member States (double the number required)
The UN Protocol represents the first time that trafficking in persons is defined in an international instrument.
Note “Scope of Application” due to Transnational Crime – difference between “definition” and scope of application
Serves as model language and a common framework for each country that adopts their own national anti-trafficking law
Offers guidelines for implementation for each country that adopts its own law (e.g., definitions should not be limited to transnational trafficking)
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4. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
The UN Protocol – Full Text
“Trafficking in persons” shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring 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 labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs;
The consent of a victim of trafficking in persons to the intended exploitation set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article shall be irrelevant where any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) have been used;
The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation shall be considered “trafficking in persons” even if this does not involve any of the means set forth in subparagraph (a) of this article;
“Child” shall mean any person under eighteen years of age
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5. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000
The first comprehensive Federal Law on Trafficking in Persons
Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (NJ) and a diverse bipartisan coalition
Made changes to U.S criminal policy, immigration policy, human rights policy, foreign policy
3-P paradigm: Protection, Prevention, and Prosecution
PROTECTION –
Certification Process and Eligibility for Benefits for foreign national victims
Creation of the T-visa (5000/yr)
Witness Protection
PREVENTION –
International initiatives for economic alternatives in source countries
PROSECUTION –
Creates new criminal offenses (e.g., 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592) and increases penalties for existing offenses
Misc. - Interagency Task Force, TIP Office, Annual Report (Three Tiers), SPOG
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6. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Legal Definitions under the TVPA of 2000
“Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons” are defined as:
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
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.
More informally stated - Three different categories of human trafficking:
Minors involved in commercial sex;
Those over the age of 18 involved in commercial sex via force, fraud, or coercion;
Those trafficked into forced labor or services, or involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery, via force, fraud, or coercion (minors or adults)
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7. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Legal Definitions Explained – Elements of the Crime of Trafficking in Persons
ACTION
Recruits,
Harbors,
Transports,
Provides, OR
Obtains
(or so attempts)
MEANS
(Force, Fraud, Coercion)
Causing or threatening serious harm
Causing or threatening physical restraint
Threats of abusing or abuse of the legal process
Document confiscation
Causing or threatening financial harm
Using financial control over or debt bondage
PURPOSE
Commercial sex acts
 OR
Labor or Services OR
Subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery
***Sexual Servitude of a Minor: Means (entire 2nd column) not required for minors under age 18 for commercial sex acts
***NOTE: Standard to keep in mind is “SERIOUS HARM”
Modified from Original model – MIHRC, copyright 2003
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8. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Examples of Means – “Methods of Control”
Force: Physical assault (Beating, burning, slapping, hitting, assault with a weapon, etc), sexual assault, rape, gang rape, and physical confinement and isolation
Fraud: False employment offers, lying about work conditions (example: not telling someone that commercial sex will be required), false promises, withholding wages
Coercion: Any threats to life, safety, to family members or other similar parties. Threats involving immigration status or arrest. Debt bondage: use and manipulation of debt to control the victim. Withholding legal documents such as government documents. Creating a climate of fear. Psychological abuses.
**Note: Sophisticated Methods of Control – Psychological Bondage
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9. Legal Definitions Explained – Smuggling vs. Human Trafficking
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Legal Definitions Explained – Smuggling vs. Human Trafficking
SMUGGLING
U.S.C §1324
A crime against a country’s borders
Requires illegal border crossing
Often transportation only
Control ends at the border
Can be a gateway to trafficking if it leads to forced labor
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
U.S.C §1584, 1589, 1590, 1591, 1592
A crime against a person
Involves forced labor or service, or commercial sex acts
Transportation can be, but not required, as an element
Ongoing control
Smuggling debt can be used as a means of control
*Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 55 – Kidnapping (Sec. 1201)
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10. Legal Definitions Explained – Sexual Assault vs. Sex Trafficking
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Legal Definitions Explained – Sexual Assault vs. Sex Trafficking
SEXUAL ASSAULT
U.S.C §2241
“Aggravated sexual abuse”
Title 18, Part 1, Chapter 109A
“Whoever knowingly causes another person to engage in a sexual act –
by using force against that other person;
by threatening or placing that other person in fear that any person will be subjected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping;
or attempts to do so.
Imprisoned for any term of years or life, or both.
SEX TRAFFICKING
U.S.C §1591
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
A commercial sex act = any sex act on account of which anything of value is given to or received by any person
Induced by force, fraud, or coercion
If Minor (no means required)
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11. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Legal Definitions -
Top 4 Myths about Trafficking in Persons
Myth 1: Trafficked persons must be foreign nationals/only are immigrants.
Reality: Trafficked persons can be either U.S. citizens or foreign nationals - both are equally protected under the federal trafficking statutes. Many trafficked persons in the US are legal residents.
Myth 2: Trafficking requires transportation across state or national borders.
Reality: The legal definition of trafficking does not require transportation, although transportation may be involved, and although the word connotes movement. Unlike the Mann Act, no interstate transportation is required.
Myth 3: If the trafficked person consented before the abuse or was paid, then it is not trafficking.
Reality: Consent prior to an act of force, fraud, or coercion (or if the victim is a minor with sex trafficking) is not relevant, nor is payment.
Myth 4: There must be elements of physical restraint or bondage for it to be trafficking.
Reality: The legal definition of trafficking does not require physical restraint. Psychological means of control are sufficient elements of the crime.
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12. State-level Anti-Trafficking Laws
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
State-level Anti-Trafficking Laws
In addition to the Federal TVPA, there is currently a growing number of States that have passed anti-trafficking criminal statutes that make trafficking a State crime.
As of May 2006
17 States have passed criminal statutes against trafficking (AR, AZ, CA, FL, GA, IA, ID, IL, IN, KS, LA, MO, NJ, NV, SC, TX, WA)
7 States have passed legislation to create task forces or research commissions on trafficking
11 States have pending anti-trafficking criminal bills
5 States have pending legislation for task forces or research commissions
Based on these new laws, a future trend in the anti-trafficking movement will be a rise in State-level prosecutions of traffickers
Polaris Project ~ ~ Tel:

13. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Human Trafficking in the United States - A Framework for Understanding Types of Human Trafficking
U.S. Citizens
(Internal)
Foreign nationals
(Transnational)
Sex Trafficking
Labor Trafficking
NOTE: All four types of human trafficking are equally protected under U.S. law
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14. Human Trafficking in the United States - Scope and Statistics
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Human Trafficking in the United States - Scope and Statistics
Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens are estimated to be at high risk for being trafficked within the United States, many of them prostituted children. (University of Pennsylvania, 2001)
An estimated 14,500-17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year for both sexual and labor exploitation. (CIA)
Trafficking investigations have been initiated in all 50 States (DOJ) and trafficking cases have been reported in 91 U.S. cities (Free the Slaves).
TOTAL TRAFFICKING IN U.S
14,500-17,500 + Internal = XXXX
Protection Project
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15. Scope and Statistics (Global and U.S.)
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Scope and Statistics (Global and U.S.)
3rd largest criminal industry in the world, after arms and drugs smuggling, and fastest growing (CIA) (some say 2nd largest)
600, ,000 individuals trafficked across international borders each year
Yields an estimated $9 billion in profits each year (based on only transnational trafficking estimates)
Majority of victims are estimated to be women and children
Only a small percentage of potential total victims have been officially identified and assisted in the U.S.
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16. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Who are the victims?
What is your typical image of a trafficking victim?
Major Source Regions (for U.S.):
United States (Internal)
Latin America
Southeast and East Asia
Eastern Europe/Russia/FSU
Africa (increasingly)
VULNERABLE populations:
Undocumented migrants
Runaway and homeless youth
Oppressed or marginalized groups
Those living in poverty
Victims of abuse
Women and families in debt
Displaced peoples (natural disasters)
No Single Typical Face of a Victim:
Trafficking Victims are:
Men and women
Adults and children
Individuals, families, or groups
Educated or illiterate
U.S. citizens or foreign nationals
Documented or undocumented
Human trafficking cuts across age, gender, ethnicity, race, and nationality
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17. Who are the Traffickers?
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Who are the Traffickers?
What is your typical image of a trafficker?
Characteristics:
May be members of victim’s own ethnic or national background
Common denominator: Willingness to exploit others for profit
May be engaged in other criminal activities
Diverse Trafficking Operations:
Individuals
Individual pimps
Neighbors, friends, relatives
Foreign diplomats and staff
Small, independently-owned businesses
Small contractors/agents
Small decentralized criminal operations
May involve family or extended family
Hierarchies of pimps
Intl. Organized crime syndicates
Russian mafia, Triads, Yakuza
Less centralized
U.S. Spotlight: Decentralized Criminal Networks:
Group sizes range from 2-25
Inter-related groups and roles
Mostly informal and work ad hoc; loose-knit
Highly responsive and flexible to market forces
More centralized
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18. QUESTION: Why would someone become a human trafficker?
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
QUESTION: Why would someone become a human trafficker?
- LOW RISK
- HIGH PROFITS
- Low Barriers to Entry
- Minimal Start-Up Costs
- Little Knowledge Required
- Thriving Market Demand
- Other Thoughts?
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19. Testimonies from Survivors
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Testimonies from Survivors
Testimony – Foreign National:
“When I was fourteen, a man came to my parents' house in Veracruz, Mexico and asked me if I was interested in making money in the United States. He said I could make many times as much money doing the same things that I was doing in Mexico.
A week later, I was smuggled into the United States through Texas to Orlando, Florida. It was then the men told me that my employment would consist of having sex with men for money.
Because I was a virgin, the men decided to initiate me by raping me again and again, to teach me how to have sex. Over the next three months, I was taken to a different trailer every 15 days. Every night I had to sleep in the same bed in which I had been forced to service customers all day.
I couldn't do anything to stop it. I wasn't allowed to go outside without a guard. Many of the bosses had guns. I was constantly afraid.
Because I was so young, I was always in demand with the customers. It was awful. Although the men were supposed to wear condoms, some didn't, so eventually I became pregnant and was forced to have an abortion. They sent me back to the brothel almost immediately.
I cannot forget what has happened…I still feel shame. I was a decent girl in Mexico. I used to go to church with my family. I only wish none of this had ever happened.
-Rosa, Age 14, Trafficked in Florida
Testimony – US Citizens:
“So what’s it really like for us? The pimps tell us about the sneakers and jeans they’ll buy us, but they never tell us that we’ll never see any of the money we make. They don’t tell us what will happen when we don’t make the quota they have set for us that night, the beatings, the physical torture we’ll receive if we break one of the ever-changing complex set of pimp rules. Looking at another pimp, for example, can earn a severe beating, so we learn very quickly to look down at all times to protect ourselves no matter what, to be loyal or faithful to the man that scares us the most.
It feels like there’s no safe place for us, because out on the streets we take our lives into our hands every night. Every time we get into a car or go to a motel room, we never know if we’ll come back. We know girls who didn’t.
How does it affect us? Seventy to eighty percent of us are diagnosed with post traumatic stress disorder even though we can’t articulate or understand why we feel so numb to the pain we experience. We have nightmares in the daytime and terrors in the night. Many of us have STDs, some of us can no longer have children. Some of us are infected with HIV or AIDS.
Many of us have physical scars, but all of us have scars that no one will ever see. We know how society feels about us, and we begin to internalize the stigma and we always carry around a sense of shame and self-loathing for the things that we’ve done.
-Testimony of Rachel Lloyd, a survivor of child sex trafficking
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20. Factors That Make a Person Vulnerable
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Factors That Make a Person Vulnerable
Poverty-driven migration (within and between countries)
Limited educational and economic opportunities
Dysfunctional families and institutions
Stigmatization and persecution
Poverty, desperation, and receptivity to false promises
Desire to travel or travel to new locations for a “better life”
Migration due to perceptions of developed countries
Displacement from civil unrest
Displacement from natural disasters (e.g., tsunami, hurricanes)
Modified from Washington, DC Task Force Community Outreach Presentation, 2006
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21. Factors That Make Human Trafficking Possible
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Factors That Make Human Trafficking Possible
Demand for commercial sex or cheap labor
Traffickers’ greed and willingness to exploit
Relatively low levels of arrests, investigations, and prosecutions
Relatively low levels of community awareness
Traffickers perceptions of low risk and high profits
Lack of safe migration options for immigrants
Historically uncoordinated community or regional responses
Limited legal rights and protections for children
A support structure of legal businesses (e.g., advertising)
The “culture of silence” in some communities
Modified from Washington, DC Task Force Community Outreach Presentation, 2006
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22. What People are Trafficked For
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
What People are Trafficked For
Trafficked persons have been identified in the following:
Commercial sexual exploitation/prostitution
Massage parlors, room salons, hostess clubs, residential brothels, escort services
Phone chat lines for commercial sex and internet dating
Exotic dancing/Stripping/Pornography
Domestic work and child care (“Domestic servitude”)
Factory work/Sweat shops
Agricultural work
Landscape work
Restaurants
Nail salons
Construction labor
Servile Marriages/International Marriage Brokers (IMBs) (Bride trafficking)
Hotel housekeeping
Day labor
False adoption
Common threads? Often unregulated industries and low-wage labor
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23. A Continuum of Exploitation
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
A Continuum of Exploitation
Applies to Both Sex and Labor Trafficking
Working Conditions
Voluntary
Labor rights upheld
Freedom to resign
Instances of
Human Trafficking
STRUCTURAL FACTORS
- institutions
SOCIETAL FACTORS
-racism, sexism
ECONOMIC FACTORS
poverty, class
marginalization
DEGREES OF PRIVILEGE
INEQUALITIES
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24. Why Victims Don’t Leave
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Why Victims Don’t Leave
Methods of Control – What You Can’t See
Common Reasons why victims cannot or will not leave their exploitative situations (For both Foreign National and US Citizens):
Captivity, confinement, and physical restraint (or threat thereof)
Frequent accompaniment and being guarded/Frequent movement
Use and threat of violence
Use of reprisals and threat of reprisals against loved ones or third parties
Fear
Shame
Self-blame
Debt bondage
Traumatic bonding to the trafficker
Can’t identify how to get back home
Polaris Project ~ ~ Tel:

25. Why Victims Don’t Leave (Cont’d)
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Why Victims Don’t Leave (Cont’d)
Methods of Control – What You Can’t See
Common Reasons why victims cannot or will not leave their exploitative situations (Cont’d) (For both Foreign National and US Citizens):
Language barriers, social barriers, and unfamiliarity
Isolation
False promises and misinformation
Psychological trauma and dissociation
Lack of personal identification documents
Distrust of law enforcement or service providers
Lack of awareness of available resources
Low levels of self-identification as victims
Hopelessness and resignation (believing no one cares to help)
Normalization of exploitation
Polaris Project ~ ~ Tel:

26. Quick Reference – Rapid Trafficking Assessment
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Quick Reference – Rapid Trafficking Assessment
The following are selected questions that are helpful to be thinking about when identifying situations of human trafficking:
Was the person recruited? Were they promised anything?
How did the person find out about the job?
What are the working conditions?
Is the person being paid?
Is the person free to leave?
Are there incidences of physical and/or sexual assault?
Has the person been threatened? What are the threats?
Is the person in control of their own identification documents?
How many hours does the person work each day?
What are the person’s living conditions?
Is the person being held against their will?
Is the person being watched or followed?
Is the person afraid to discuss her or himself in presence of others?
NOTE: Each question taken individually can imply a trafficking situation. Questions are not intended to be cumulative in nature.
Polaris Project ~ ~ Tel:

27. Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
The Burden of Violence
Physical Violence: Physical assault (Beating, slapping, assault with a weapon, etc), sexual assault, rape, murder, and physical confinement and isolation
Violence may come from traffickers and buyers
Health effects often go untreated
Creates a climate of intense fear and submission
Psychological Violence: Threats to life, safety, to family members or other parties. Systematic breakdown of self-esteem and encouragement of dependence through emotional abuse.
Psychological abuse may come from traffickers and buyers
Similarities to domestic violence and Battered Women’s Syndrome
Leads to depression, anxiety, suicidal behavior, PTSD, disassociation, flat affect, substance abuse
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28. Comprehensive Service Needs
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
Comprehensive Service Needs
Emergency, Transitional, and Long-term housing
Legal services
Medical/mental health services
Clothing and food
Court and daily accompaniment
Crisis intervention
Emotional support and counseling
Employment assistance
Interpretation/translation (if foreign)
Protection/safety planning
Social service advocacy
Transportation
Literacy education (school, G.E.D.)
Polaris Project ~ ~ Tel:

29. A Victim-Centered Approach
Polaris Project ~ Practical Training on Victim Identification
A Victim-Centered Approach
A Paradigm Shift
Things to Consider
Distrust of law enforcement
May not understand the crime of human trafficking
Trauma and coping mechanisms
Need for comprehensive services
High level of collaboration between LE and NGOs
From Being Seen as Criminals
To Being Treated like Victims of a Crime
“Federal experience has shown that prosecution without victim protection is unworkable.” – U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
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