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HUMAN TRAFFICKING AMONG
HOMELESS YOUTH
Human traffickers prey on the
vulnerable and marginalized in society. The Polaris Project, an organization
dedicated to eradicating this form of modern day slavery from the planet, lists
child runaways and homeless youth as targets for pimps and traffickers to be
exploited in the commercial sex industry or various labor or services
industries: “…sex traffickers are skilled at manipulating child victims and
maintaining control through a combina tion of deception, lies, feigned
affection, threats, and violence.”
It is estimated that 85% of confirmed sex trafficking
victims in the world are in the United States, and most of them are runaway
children.[ii] The U.S.
Department of Justice (DOJ) estimates that “there are an estimated 200,000
American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry alone.” Research studies conducted by Department of Health and
Human Services supported the fact that traffickers target children with low
self-esteem and social support, and indicated that, “These traits are highly
prevalent among young people experiencing homelessness or those in foster care,
due to their histories of abuse, neglect, and trauma.”[v]
The following statistics reveal the connection between
homeless youth and human trafficking in America. The Administration for
Children and Families (ACF) estimates that 1.3 million youth live on the
streets in the U.S. due to running away from home, being abandoned, or becoming
homeless. On average, these boys and girls are solicited for sex within 72
hours of being on the street. The ACF also estimates that 55% of girls on the
street engage in formal prostitution and 20% of girls end up in nationally
organized crime networks where they are forced to travel far from their homes
and they are isolated from loved ones.[vi]
The National Alliance estimates that approximately
39,000 children who experience homelessness or leave their homes are sexually
assaulted or experience youth trafficking. To further complicate matters, these
child victims, can often be treated as criminals because of law enforcement
practices:.”[viii]
Federal law defines human trafficking as the use of
force, fraud, or coercion in situations of forced labor for services or any
time a child is found in the commercial sex industry. The ACYF letter points to
the responsibility of general citizens in identifying potential situations of
trafficking: “For example, victims of child trafficking may attend school, participate
in other social activities, or have contact with neighbors and community
members who may be in positions to help identify situations of child
trafficking.”[ix] The following
true story from a U.S. DOJ case provides an illustration of labor trafficking
with a young girl:
“In 2006, a wife and husband in Lakewood, Washington,
pleaded guilty to charges of forced labor after bringing their 12-year-old
niece to the United States on promises that she will attend school in exchange
for childcare and housework. The victim was forced to cook, clean, provide
childcare, and work at the defendant’s coffee shop twelve to fourteen hours a
day. The child was physically abused, threatened with deportation, not paid for
her work at the coffee shop, and attended school for only a short time. The
child escaped with the help of friends and a community-based organization.”[x]
In response, states are taking action through new
legislation and coalitions to provide appropriate training for law enforcement
and social work officials. In the state of Texas, the Human Trafficking
Rescue Alliance was formed to provide collaboration between law enforcement
agencies and non-governmental organizations that work to address the needs of
victims. “It is one of five Bureau of Justice Associates (BJA) funded task
forces throughout Texas and forty-two across the country. The collaboration of local,
state, and federal law enforcement agencies works with social service
organizations to identify and assist the victims of human trafficking and to
prosecute the perpetrators of these horrific crimes.”[xi]
Other states have begun similar initiatives intended to
end child prostitution through research, prevention, intervention, and
education.[xii]
To respond at
the federal level, H.R. 5076, the Enhancing Services for Runaway and
Homeless Victims of Youth Trafficking Act of 2014. requires government
officials to give priority to projects related to staff training in the
behavioral and emotional effects of trafficking, as well as any agency-wide
strategies for working with runaway and homeless youth who have been victimized
by trafficking. S. 2646, the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking
Prevention Act requires local emergency shelter and family reunification
centers to offer trauma-informed services to run away and homeless youth and
would extend the maximum stay period for these youth from 21 days to 30 days.[xvi]
Because this crime is so widespread, it is clear that
governments will need to continue to work with and rely on professional
trauma-support and counseling services from shelters and other non-government
organizations to best meet the needs of victims.
For more
information contact: Susie Johnson – WASHINGTON OFFICE OF PUBLIC POLICY 100
Maryland Avenue, NE Suite 100 20002: csadc@unitedmethodistwomen.org
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