Tiny Pebbles, Big Ripples

By Gena Cameron

At times we can get a bit discouraged when looking at big problems in our world. It is easy to become overwhelmed and ask, “What can I really do to help?” Vast problems can overwhelm and make us feel inadequate to make any kind of impact. I try to keep myself in a positive mode and love this quote that most of us have heard:

“Just as ripples spread out when a single
pebble is dropped into water, the actions
of individuals can have far-reaching effects.”
–Dalai Lama

Each person can influence the lives of others in many ways and each pebble you toss can make a difference. That pebble I’m referring to is the use of Fair Trade products.

Items with the Fair Trade label can improve a community’s day-to-day lives. These products come from cooperatives, independent small farmers, and farm workers in 70 developing countries across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Latin America and the Caribbean. There are about 12,000 products that are Fair Trade certified. These products can be found in more than 110,000 retail locations in North America.

Your effort can be as small as buying coffee, tea or chocolate, with a mindset of helping others. This is so simple and worthwhile. You get a good product while at the same time help others. When you drink that cup of coffee, tea, or have a bite of chocolate it will taste extra good knowing you helped someone.

So the next time you are at the store, check labels and try to find a few things you can purchase that adds value to our world. If you don’t find Fair Trade items where you shop please speak to the store manager and let the store know this is something you are interested in, or fill in a product request card.

You can make a difference. Toss your pebble at the grocery store and look for these trade marks.

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Here are 4 ways to get involved with the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking.

Here are 4 ways to get involved with FCAHT:

1. Help raise awareness on the issue of human trafficking. Host an event, re post an article posted on the FCAHT Facebook/Twitter page or simply let others know that slavery still exists.

2. Learn more about Fair Trade Certified products and purchase those products instead. Just by purchasing products such as Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream can make a big difference in the fight against Labor Trafficking!

3. Volunteer! Everyone has something to contribute. FCAHT has numerous opportunities for you to use your talents to help make a difference.

4. Start a fundraiser for FCAHT. You can go to Fundsgiving.com and start your own fundraising campaign!

Congrats Tampa Bay Rescue and Restore on Celebrating your 5th Anniversary!

In 2010, Law enforcement was on board to address the issue of the commercial sexual exploitation of children within the Tampa Bay region. However, one issue that they were coming across was that many of the local services providers were not providing services to victims of CSEC. According to FBI, about 20% of the youth recovered were receiving services. FCAHT decided to lend a hand and see why only 20% of the youth recovered were receiving assistance. FCAHT at that point decided to put together a working group that would solely focus on the issue of CSEC. On October 25, 2010 The Tampa Bay Rescue and Restore Coalition was born! The first meeting was held at DCF office. Advocates from DCF, HKI, Redefining Refuge and FCAHT came together to brainstorm on the many ways that we could help make an impact.

Slowly but surely, the word began to spread and now, 46 different agencies, including FBI, and Eckerd Youth have come to the table to continue to improve how the Tampa Bay region address victims of CSEC. Many changes have occurred over the last 5 years including the mission of the Tampa Bay Rescue and Restore. The mission of the TBRRC is to build a safety network of partnerships that will work together to identify, rescue and restore victims of Child Trafficking in the Tampa Bay Area. Our group has expanded to the issue of forced labor of youth as well. Under the TBRRC, we began the Education Subcommittee to address the issue of education. Since the subcommittee started, members of the TBRRC have assisted in training over 1,000 other social service providers within the Tampa Bay region. We have also partnered with the SHOCK Education Youth Diversion program to help educate at risk youth on the issue of human trafficking. And since 2010, we have seen the increase of services for victims of CSEC with now over 50% of youth recovered by law enforcement receiving the assistance that they are entitled to. These past 5 years have been an amazing journey!

Victim survivors will be honored by victims’ advocates during NCVRW

The Domestic Violence Task Force Victim Advocacy Committee engage, will celebrate and honor the victim survivors in our community during National Crime Victims Rights Week (NCVRW)

In observation of National Crime Victim’s Rights Week (NCVRW) the Domestic Violence Task Force Victim Advocacy Committee is sponsoring a day filled with fun activities and valuable resources for crime victim survivors and their families. This year’s NCVRW Program and activities was a collaborative effort, reflecting the spirit of the 2015 theme “Engaging Communities | Empowering Victims”. It highlights the importance of building partnerships throughout our communities to better address all victims’ needs and create a victim response system that is open and accessible to all survivors and victims of crime.

The Domestic Violence Task Force Victim Advocacy Committee is a collaborative group that consists of a team of professional victim advocates and community victim advocates from local law enforcement agencies and non-for-profit organizations that serve survivors of murder victims, victims of sexual assault and domestic violence, human trafficking victims, victims of child abuse and survivors of other related violent crimes. The NCVRW event will include information and resources from the task force along with a host of other agencies and organizations that serve victims in our community.

Contributors include representatives from the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking (FCAHT), Mothers Against Drunk Driving West Central Florida – Pinellas, Sexual Assault Response Team (SART), Therapy Dogs International (TDI), Clearwater Police Department Victim Advocate Unit, Haven of RCS, Area Agency on Aging, Suncoast Center, Inc., Bikers Against Child Abuse (BACA), Largo Police Department Victim Advocate Unit, Crime Stoppers of Pinellas, The State Attorney’s Victim Advocate Unit, Community Action Stops Abuse (CASA), Personal Enrichment Mental Health Services, Pinellas County Health Department, The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office Victim Advocate Unit and The Springtime Club, Inc.

You can help engage, celebrate and honor the victim survivors in our community by participating in the NCVRW programs and events. The Program will include special events and selected topics for high school students in Ross Norton’s Recreation Center Teen Room. Teens will be introduced to anti-crime prevention resources and public awareness projects, such as the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking “Drop An F- Bomb Campaign”, that teaches teens that friendship is the best way to fight teen sexual exploitation, and shows them the signs of commercial sexual manipulation of children and how they can help to prevent a friend from being tricked into a life of prostitution.

Activities will also include motivational techniques and tools that help survivors cope with life experiences. Adult participants will learn martial arts and self defense tactics with Chris Sutton of Cobra Self Defense; they can take part in Yoga techniques, join a Tai Chi demonstration with Rita Hall one of the wonderful nurses from the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay, and get pampered by a chair message therapist. Mean while the children can interact with therapy dogs trained to support victims impacted by crime, take advantage of the play ground and skateboard park, and participate in therapeutic games, such as ribbon tying and arts and crafts.

Entertainment will include music by Big Dad E Sound DJ’s, line dancing with The Springtime Club, stepping by The Million Dollar Steppers, and vigorous rhythms from a quest appearance by Tapped In, Inc..

The power of partnerships launched the crime victims’ rights movement and the achievements celebrated during National Crime Victims’ Rights Week (NCVRW) each year. Families of murdered children, victims of sexual assault, drunk driving, domestic violence, and other violent crimes mobilized at the grassroots level, joining forces to demand justice for victims of crime. The National Campaign for Victims’ Rights founded by these partners led to President Ronald Reagan’s reforms on behalf of crime victims, his declaration of the first NCVRW, and the creation of the Victims of Crime Act and Crime Victims Fund, whose anniversary the victim advocate community will celebrate during its Kick Off in observation of NCVRW, on April 19th.

Pinellas County’s victim advocates honor the steps that have been made throughout the history of crime victims’ rights through community building and partnerships like The Domestic Violence Task Force Victim Advocacy Committee. The NCVRW event offers an opportunity to renew and strengthen partnerships, and to highlight the collaborative approaches that are integral to engaging communities and empowering victims.

The 2015 National Crime Victims Rights Week is being observed from April 19–25. The event is open to the public and will serve as a prelude to NCVRW and takes place on Sunday, April 19, 2015, from 1:00 – 4:00 PM, at the Ross Norton Recreation and Aquatic Complex & Extreme Sports Park, in South Clearwater, located at 1426 S Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, Clearwater, Florida 33756.

For additional information contact The Springtime Club at 727-906-5299 or visit us on the web at http://www.springadvocate.org

House passes the 13th Amendment.

Jan 31, 1865

On this day in 1865, the U.S. House of Representatives passes the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, abolishing slavery in America. The amendment read, “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude…shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction. “When the Civil War began, President Abraham Lincoln’s professed goal was the restoration of the Union. But early in the war, the Union began keeping escaped slaves rather than returning them to their owners, so slavery essentially ended wherever the Union army was victorious. In September 1862, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, freeing all slaves in areas that were still in rebellion against the Union. This measure opened the issue of what to do about slavery in border states that had not seceded or in areas that had been captured by the Union before the proclamation.

In 1864, an amendment abolishing slavery passed the U.S. Senate but died in the House as Democrats rallied in the name of states’ rights. The election of 1864 brought Lincoln back to the White House along with significant Republican majorities in both houses, so it appeared the amendment was headed for passage when the new Congress convened in March 1865. Lincoln preferred that the amendment receive bipartisan support–some Democrats indicated support for the measure, but many still resisted. The amendment passed 119 to 56, seven votes above the necessary two-thirds majority. Several Democrats abstained, but the 13th Amendment was sent to the states for ratification, which came in December 1865. With the passage of the amendment, the institution that had indelibly shaped American history was eradicated.

Recent Federal Bills regarding Sex Trafficking in the U.S.

On Tuesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a several bills addressing human trafficking. Politicians on both sides of the aisle have been patting themselves on the back and boasting about their good work here. However, the bills do very little to address ,labor trafficking, which comprises the majority of human trafficking within the U.S. , according to the U.S. State Department. For an organization who not only assist adult survivors of sex trafficking but one that also assists adult survivors of domestic servitude and labor trafficking, this is very discouraging. It is sad to see that both at the Federal and State level, forced labor continues to be swept under the rug. In recent years, the U.S and the state of Florida have not been in full compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000.

Of the 11 anti-trafficking bills passed by the House, few seem likely to actually assist victims. None of the bills really seem to address any of the root causes of human trafficking and does not appear to state anything that will actually help make a dent. However, the bills do help build a facade of hard-working legislators. Within the bills you will find important-sounding terms such as “Human Trafficking Detection Act of 2015” and “International Megan’s Law to Prevent Demand for Child Sex Trafficking.” They mandate reports! re classifications! distance-learning courses on preventing trafficking!

Here is a brief description of the individual bills:

H.R. 181, sponsored by Rep. Ted Poe (R-Tex.): Changes federal criminal code to subject anyone who “patronizes or solicits” commercial sex from someone under 18-years-old to a mandatory minimum federal prison sentence of 10 to 15 years (up to life). Raises the standard under which a defendant charged with soliciting commercial sex from a minor must prove they didn’t know the minor’s age, from “a preponderance of the evidence” to “clear and convincing evidence.”

The bill, known as the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015, would also give more money to state and local law enforcement for anti-sex trafficking task forces, rescue missions, and prosecution units; set up special court programs that include “continuing judicial supervision of (people) who have been identified by a law enforcement … as a potential victim of child human trafficking, regardless of whether the victim has been charged with a crime related to human trafficking”; and create state-administered outpatient treatment centers for trafficking victims, among other things.

H.R. 515, sponsored by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.): Creates an “Angel Watch Center” within the Department of Homeland Security which will “facilitate the implementation of an international sex offender travel notification system in the United States and in other countries.” The center would notify foreign countries whenever a U.S. citizen convicted of a child-related sex crime was traveling there, as well as collect such information from other countries (and provide money to other countries to help them comply)

H.R. 159, from Rep. Erik Paulsen (R-Minn.): Allocates money for the development and creation of a “national human trafficking hotline.” Authorizes the Attorney General “to give preferential consideration in awarding Community Oriented Police Services grants” to applicants in states that treat minors engaged in prostitution as victims rather than criminals.

H.R. 460, sponsored by Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.): Implements a training program to help Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and Customs and Border Protection officials learn “how to effectively deter, detect, and disrupt human trafficking.”

H.R. 469, from Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.): Conditions eligibility to receive state grants for child abuse prevention on the state having a law or program dedicated to identifying and providing services for child sex-trafficking victims. Requires the HHS Secretary to report to Congress on child trafficking prevalence, state anti-trafficking practices, and “any barriers in federal laws or regulations that may prevent identification and assessment of children who are such victims.”

H.R. 514, from Rep. Christopher Smith (R-N.J.): Changes the status of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to a Bureau to Monitor and Combat Trafficking and changes the way we classify foreign countries on our “special watch list” for those not living up to U.S. trafficking-elimination standards.

H.R. 357, from Rep. Sean Maloney (D-N.Y.): Requires certain federal personnel to take “a distance learning course on trafficking-in-persons issues,” U.S. ambassadors to receive “specific trafficking-in-persons briefings,” and “at least annual reminders” to various federal personnel about “key problems, threats, methods, and warning signs of trafficking in persons.”

H.R. 468, from Rep. Joseph Heck (R-Nev.): Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to give priority to staff training projects that relate to sex trafficking and authorizes the Secretary to make grants to private nonprofit agencies providing services to “runaway and homeless, and street youth, who have been subjected to, or are at risk of being subjected to, sexual abuse, prostitution, or sexual exploitation.”

H.R. 246, from Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio): Changes the language the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children must use for its “cyber tipline” from “child prostitution” to “child sex trafficking, including child prostitution.”

H.R. 350, from Rep. Kristi Noem (R-S.D.): Requires the Inter-agency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to survey “state activities to deter individuals from committing trafficking offenses,” review the “academic literature on deterring individuals from committing trafficking offenses” and identify “best practices and strategies.” Also requires the Government Accountability Office to report to Congress about trafficking issues and authorizes grants for programs that assist trafficking victims with housing.

H.R. 398, from Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-N.C.): Allocates funding for the development and dissemination of anti-trafficking training for health care professionals.

The True Definition of Human Trafficking

As you may know, January has been proclaimed to be National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. This month was proclaimed as such by President Barack Obama in January of 2009. Since then, our organization has continued to see an increase in dialogue surrounding the topic of human trafficking……well more of an increase on the dialogue of sex trafficking. Our organization is thrilled to see so many within the United States speaking up and speaking out against the issue of sex trafficking. But it also leaves us confused as to why the other forms of human trafficking are rarely mentioned. If you think about it, it truly is a catch 22. The Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking is one of very few agencies that not only educates the community on the issue of sex trafficking, but we are also very vocal on the issue of domestic servitude as well as labor trafficking. Not only do we assist survivors of sex trafficking, but we also assist survivors of domestic servitude and labor trafficking, both male and female. One of the things that are staff has noticed is the fact that the anti human trafficking field is literally pitting victim against victim. According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000, this should not be happening.

Recently one of our staff members came across this statement: Human trafficking is the trade of people, usually for the purpose of sexual slavery, and experts claim the epidemic is on the rise in the U.S.

This statement could not be further from the truth. Human Trafficking is defined as 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.

Sex trafficking is defined as a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years.

Understand that human trafficking is domestic servitude. It is labor trafficking and it is sex trafficking.

Now the statement mentioned above states that human trafficking is the trade of people, usually for the purpose of sexual slavery. Let’s see what the true experts in the field are reporting on this:

According to research conducted by the International Labour Organization, the statement shown above is false. The ILO has been researching the topic of forced sexual exploitation and forced labor since 1973. Their research has been accepted by The United Nations, The White House and the U.S State Department.

Now according to the chart, it shows that labor trafficking far exceeds sex trafficking. One of the main reasons why this is simply due to demand. Think about it. How many of us depend on the commercial sex industry? How many of us truly are part of the demand for the commercial sex industry? Now let’s flip the script and ask those same questions regarding forced labor? How many of us depend on cheap labor? How many of us depend on the workers in the agricultural industries? How many of us depend on the workers in the garment industries? How many of us depend on services provided to us in locations such as hotels, nail salons, and restaurants? These are all industries in where victims of forced labor have been recovered from.

Due to the fact that there is a higher demand for cheap labor vs. the commercial sex industry, there will always be a higher amount of victims of forced labor throughout the world and throughout the United States. Plus you add in the fact that very few labor trafficking cases are investigated in the United States, this will add onto the number of labor trafficking victims. Understand that is fewer numbers of victims of forced labor that are recovered and assisted, the less traffickers that are arrested equals to the fact that less prosecutions will take place. It is a free for all for anyone involved in labor trafficking and or domestic servitude?

In conclusion, it is important to not just shed light on sex trafficking, but it is important to also shed light on domestic servitude and labor trafficking. We often come across victims of forced labor on a frequent basis and yet not recognize them as victims due to the lack of awareness. Many of these men, women and children, both from foreign countries and the United States are hopeful that one day someone will recognize their silent pleas for help. And yet, very few of us actually recognize their pleas.

After the 12 Days of Christmas, try the 31 Days of Freedom!

31 Days of Freedom Step-by-Step Guide: Here are the first 5 Days!

1. Change your wallpaper on Facebook and Twitter to the icon below and let your friends know January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness month.

2. Start a chain reaction! Tell two people about the issue of human trafficking and its affects in the U.S. Encourage those two people to tell another two people about human trafficking, and so on and so on. Try to educate as many people as possible on this global issue!

3. Attend an anti-trafficking awareness event. Learn more about the issue of human trafficking. Encourage others to attend as well. Please check out our calendar for events in the Tampa Bay region.

4. Do you know your slavery footprint? Visit slaveryfootprint.org to find out how many slaves work for you.

5. Become a smart shopper. Visit the app store on your phone, download fair trade product apps and use them while you shop!

6. Encourage a friend to buy a Fair Trade Products. Please visit FairTradeUSA.org for a list of Fair Trade Products.

7. Shine a light on Human Trafficking awareness! Drive with your headlights on, leave your front porch light, light a candle! Show your community that we are ALL against modern day slavery!

8. Get involved! Volunteer with an anti- trafficking organization.

9. Write a blog or letter to the editor about human trafficking. Education is the key to fighting modern day slavery!

10. Wear green as a symbol of hope! Take a picture and share it on social media and encourage others to do the same.

11. Today is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day! Encourage your local library to carry books on human trafficking.

12. Go to Change.org. Visit the Human Trafficking section and sign one of the various petitions on this issue.

13. Call or write your state representative and let them know that you support the issue of fighting human trafficking and want to see more laws passed that will better help victims of human trafficking.

14. Donate $5 to an anti trafficking organization. Encourage your friends to donate to your favorite organization as well.

15. Get the issue trending. Tweet #stophumantrafficking

16. Educate yourself. Check out domestic and int. laws about human trafficking like the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 2000.

17. Give back! Donate items that your local anti-trafficking organization needs, and get the rest of your community involved.

18. Students- join or create your own club to raise awareness on the issue of human trafficking. Get your campus involved!

19. Do you know the “red flags”? Learn the red flags that may indicate human trafficking. Visit the International Labour Organizations (www.ILO.org) website for more information.

20. Request a training- If you know or are a business, law enforcement, social service agency or a state employee request a training session from a Grassroots anti-human trafficking organization.

21. Take a picture with a sign that reads, “Stop Human Trafficking” to remind people that there is still modern day slavery today. Post the picture on Facebook, twitter, instagram or other social media sites.

22. Watch a film- Invite friends and loved ones over to watch a documentary on human trafficking.

23. Drop an F-Bomb! Educate youth on the signs of human trafficking, and show them the website http://www.droppingfbombs.com.

24. Follow @freeallslaves, @DropAnFBomb on twitter, along with other anti-human trafficking organizations. Retweet them to get the word out!

25. Wear red today! Red symbolizes the action you are taking against human trafficking. It’s time to end modern day slavery!

26. Check out the Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report to see how other counties are doing in the fight against human trafficking since Human Trafficking is a global issue.

27. Do you know your rights? Look up the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Start a conversation with friends!

28. Call and your local law enforcement agency and ask what they are doing to combat human trafficking. Ask about the resources provided to survivors.

29. Put the National Human Trafficking Hotline’s number in your cell phone today! The number is 1 (888) 373-7888

30. Check out your local 211 to see what resources are provided to survivors.

31. Plan for the future! At 2:09 pm, reflect on the fact that globally there are 20.9 million victims of human trafficking that are in need of assistance. Think about what is still needed to address the root causes of human trafficking in the state of Florida, the United States and globally.

US 2014 Trafficking In Persons Report Summary

By: Nazia Hossain

The US is a Tier 1 country in the 2014 TIP report. This means that the government fully complies with Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards. While Tier 1 is the highest ranking it does not mean that trafficking is not a problem in that country or that enough is being done, it means that the country has addressed the problem and is meeting TVPA minimum standards to address and eradicate trafficking.
Both US citizens and foreign nationals can be subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Trafficking can occur in legal and illicit markets such as brothels, strip clubs, hospitality, elderly care etc. Victims may have entered the country with or without legal status sometimes through visa programs for temporary workers. The top countries of origin of federally identified victims in fiscal year (FY) 2013 were the United States, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand, Honduras, Guatemala, India, and El Salvador.
Federal law enforcement has prosecuted more cases this reporting period than the last. Prosecutions have also increased in the state level and all US states and territories have enacted anti-trafficking laws. The government is providing more comprehensive victims services, including a pathway to citizenship and decreased processing time for visas. Some challenges that still remain are NGOs critical need for funding and that some trafficking victims are being prosecuted and treated as criminals.
To increase its efforts the US should increase screening to identify trafficked victims, increase funding to relevant agencies, increase focus on labor trafficking, and increase training on indicators of human trafficking and the victim-centered approach.

Prosecution
In the 2013 Fiscal Year (FY), there was a reported opening of 1,025 investigations possibly involving human trafficking, an increase from 894 in FY 2012. During FY 2013, The Department of Justice convicted a total of 174 traffickers in cases involving forced labor, sex trafficking of adults, and sex trafficking of children, compared to 138 such convictions obtained in FY 2012. These totals do not include child sex trafficking cases brought under non-trafficking statutes. Notable prosecutions in the reporting period involved defendants, who lured adults and children through false promises, advertised the victims online, inflicted beatings, and threatened the victims with guns to compel them into commercial sex and/or forced labor. An increase in the number of state prosecutions has also occurred with over 100 prosecuted cases at the state level. Traffickers now also face longer prison sentences.

Protection
The federal government released a strategic action plan on victim services in the United States, which includes formal procedures to guide officials in victim identification and referral to service providers. Federal funding for victim assistance generally increased during the reporting period and was provided primarily by the Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) and the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR). HHS supported 138 NGO service providers across the country that provided trafficking victim assistance to a total of 915 individual clients and family members, a 20 percent increase compared to the prior fiscal year.
The United States provides trafficking-specific immigration relief to foreign trafficking victims in two ways: short-term Continued Presence and longer-term “T nonimmigrant status” (commonly referred to as the T visa). Both statuses confer the right to legally work in the United States. Victims with T visas may be eligible to apply for permanent resident status and eventually may be eligible for citizenship. More T visas were issued this fiscal year than last and processing time for the T visa has decreased. Another immigration benefit available to victims of trafficking is the U nonimmigrant status (commonly referred to as the U visa) for victims of certain qualifying crimes who are helping, have helped, or will help law enforcement.
Some concerns of NGOs are that some government officials misunderstood complex legal aspects of human trafficking cases, did not consistently take a victim-centered approach and/or lack critical training to provide services to victims. Other issues are a disproportionate amount of services are available to female and child victims, but not male victims; lack of investigation of potential labor trafficking cases and immigrant victims reluctance of approaching local law enforcement because of immigration enforcement.

Prevention
The US is making progress through continued work on federal anti-trafficking efforts and an increased transparency of federal agencies. The Department of State made adjustments to rules for employers regarding temporary work visas and implemented a monitoring program to ensure participant welfare.
U.S. embassies, the Department of Education, U.S. Agency for International Development etc. are all providing services that increase awareness and training on trafficking. The Department of Labor has updated its list of items produced through forced labor. There is still a lot to be done, but the US is making progress.

 

Prevention, Prosecution, Protection, and Partnership

The prevention aspect of the “4 P’s” dates back as early as 1904, where it was originally used to help prevent white slave traffic. Today, trafficking has taken a different meaning and claims many new victims every day. Prevention begins with awareness, especially awareness of the public eye, where small warning signs and red flags could save a life. As trafficking is evolving every day, the public needs to be aware of these signs and know the proper response to take. Governments as well, emphasizing the developing world, need to take action in enforcing common laws where the exploitation of migrant workers is rather simple to traffickers who are not being regulated properly. “People are bought and sold as commodities within and across borders to satisfy demand from buyers. Poverty, unemployment, lack of opportunity, social upheaval, and political instability facilitate traffickers’ ability to recruit victims, but they do not in themselves cause trafficking. The economic reality is that human trafficking is driven by profits.” As stated in the Trafficking in Persons Report, it is necessary for governments to take control and review many aspects of their supply and demand chain, one in which could greatly weaken a trafficker’s means of supply.
Prosecution of human trafficking has been steadily rising since 2008, but unfortunately “the number of prosecutions is far outweighed by the number of arrests and investigations. And successful prosecutions of sex trafficking offenses far outnumber successful forced labor prosecutions.” Good reason for this difficulty in proving labor trafficking is because the trafficking is often done by a respected/accomplished member of society. Despite this obstacle, countries have had an increasing number of prosecutions and convictions due greatly in part to the ongoing trainings of law enforcement, community outreach, and a greater knowledge of human trafficking evolving in society. Another key role in the prosecution process is engaging in careful interviewing strategies, strategies in which trust is gained and victims become empowered. An obstacle that has set forth in attempted prosecution, victims are made out to be the criminals, often times getting blamed for being trafficked. This is due to a lack of understanding and knowledge, and something that can make a whole prosecution fall apart.
Protection is a crucial component for anti-trafficking efforts in any country/government. It is proven to help in identification and prosecuting of traffickers, and in proactive victim identification. Having government and law enforcement proactive throughout the community has also proven to be successful in cases such as “prostitution markets, targeting of workplaces where labor offenses have been persistent, and regular inspection of businesses that get many of their workers on guestworker visas. The ability of governments to work with victims in making them feel secure can greatly assist in the identification and prosecution of their traffickers.
Partnership is often looked at as being between governments or some outside actors. The Trafficking in Persons Report states that the most effective anti-trafficking partnerships are within governments. With such an array of victims and experiences, a government must be able to coexist in assisting these victims. Federal governments and local law enforcements must all work responsibly and effectively together, making sure needs are met. NGO’s are also a significant factor in ensuring victim recovery, organizations which do indeed need federal funding in order to continue on their positive path. NGO’s contribute in ways such as referrals, feedback, and valuable information used to get victims on the right track and traffickers put to justice.