Human Trafficking In Your Backyard
In March of 2011, Southern Illinois University Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute distributed a poll to a random sample of 1,000 registered voters in Illinois. The pole provided voters with a definition of human trafficking (taken from the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000)) and inquired on issues related to the topic. One of the questions asked if the voters believed human/sex trafficking affected their area.
From the sampled group, 51% of voters “disagreed” or “strongly disagreed” that trafficking affects their area. Another 20% of voters did not know or refused to answer. The questions in this poll were then replicated across all demographics covering education, party affiliation, age, and employment. Results paralleled the results in the SIU original study.
These poll numbers are unbelievably absurd given the factual evidence collected in Illinois. In actuality, Illinois, ranks eight in the nation with the greatest number of human trafficking cases. Its populous cities, major airports, and Midwestern location give it the status of prime location for pimps, traffickers, and dealers. In turn, these factors have given way to a multi-billion-dollar criminal enterprise.1
The doubts and naïve nature of the general population is common throughout many first-world nations. No one believes that an issue so disgusting and inhumane can take place in the 21st century developed culture of cellphones and self-driving cars, of healthcare and government over-involvement. No one believes that an issue so disgusting and inhumane can take place in their backyard.
Although it is easy for me to choose to remain objective in this blog, and simply give facts on poll results and Gallup findings, it would be unfair of me to say that these numbers made sense to me before looking into further findings. Although I knew human trafficking existed in our nation to a larger degree than most, I did not think it was as intrusive as it is.
While Illinois was eighth in human trafficking numbers, California, Texas, Florida, and New York had the most disturbing numbers of trafficked victims in core locations.2 The one thay hit me was New York. I could not fathom that the one state I was born and raised in – the one place I had felt safe and comfortable in – made the list for Top States with Human Trafficking. As the Polaris Project confirms, thousands of unique cases and “hubs” stemmed out of these states and many of the numbers illustrated trafficking of women and children.
STEPS TAKEN
Human Trafficking in the United States is not only an issue, but an invasion that never receives the attention that the innocent men, women, and children victimized by this process deserve. It was not until 2007 that the Department of Health and Human Services began to fund and legitimize the National Human Trafficking Hotline – a 24-hour toll free hotline that provides victims, survivors, and community members with a platform to report incidents of human trafficking.3 Ten years later, in 2017, the U.S. State Department’s “Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons” placed the US in Tier 1 – therefore, fully committing themselves to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act that was passed in 2000. The Act expands US Federal Code 18, Section 1589, which terminates the use of force, threats, or restraints to make people work against their will.4 Furthermore, in January of 2018, Trump signed into law the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act of 2017, which aimed at “blocking or screening offensive material” and shutting down online sources and websites that could enable traffickers to gain access to hubs around the larger cities.5
MORE STEPS TO BE TAKEN
Although the United States has increased its efforts in tackling human trafficking in its many forms, there is still much work to be done. For example, the Trump administration, and particularly Ivanka Trump, have been outspoken about human trafficking and have vowed to take actions to end it in the United States – going so far as to repeatedly insist that “human trafficking is a major foreign policy priority.”6 However, the harsh immigration policies established by the Trump administration have proven to have a contradictory role to their vows against trafficking. The 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report referenced the vulnerability of women and children as a marker for traffickers, all while Trumps family separation fiasco and his tightening immigration policies were making the US a more prominent and “easy” location for traffickers. Human Trafficking is not just a foreign policy priority, but a domestic one. Therefore, the US should be taking steps to end the nearly 9,000 cases or more a year of human trafficking in the US alone.
UNICEF WORK
UNICEF USA has taken steps to end human trafficking on two campaign fronts: End Trafficking and Child Trafficking. With active websites, expansive resources, statistical information, Congressional opinions and step-by-step instructions on how to locally advocate for those who have been trafficked, UNICEF USA has allowed small groups and school organizations to join the fight. The Harvard Undergraduate UNICEF Club has taken part in the human/child trafficking fight by setting up a fundraising campaign that not only informed the general public of the issue at hand, but also provided them with accurate numbers and facts that would allow them to contribute to the fight outside of our little fundraising booth. Much more work has to be done, such as stricter laws and acceptance of the issue as a domestic problem, however everything has to start small. Informing the general public one person at a time will change the public opinion polls to better represent the reality of the numbers and will create more controversy around the issue. The Illinois voter poll will not repeat itself and human trafficking will begin to fade away with an audience and with laws/regulations.