Running head: MODERN DAY SLAVERY 1

Modern Day Slavery: The Lack of Resources Available for Human Trafficking Victims

Lauren E. Crane

First Colonial High School

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Abstract

This paper covers specific resources that are necessary for human trafficking victims and

the lack thereof. The author begins by introducing human trafficking and the effect of social

media on present day trafficking. The author also discusses how Trump’s administration's

decisions have affected victim procedure for rehabilitation into society and how important it is to

spread awareness of the available resources to the victims. Finally the paper talks about the

importance of cooperation between agencies and corporations and the need to reintegrate victims

back into society. The reintegration programs and services allows the victims to be able to

recover and move on from their terrible experiences and reintegrate into their communities and

families.
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Modern Day Slavery: The Lack of Resources for Human Trafficking Victims

Human trafficking, what is considered now modern day slavery, a crime that was

abolished over a hundred years ago, continues to be a pressing international issue, with almost

every country in the world affected by it ​(​Human Trafficking,​ 2008)​. Imagine you have just

gained your freedom from some of the most inhumane and dangerous living situations an

individual can endure. You have not seen your friends, family, or loved ones, due to the fact that

you have been trafficked for the past eight years: transported all across the country, sold from

pimp to pimp, with no consideration for your well being or will to live. You have survived the

past eight years of your life to come home and find that your government and community are not

doing everything they can to make sure that you will never lose your freedom again. The lack of

funding and services available for human trafficking victims leads to detrimental effects on both

the victim and community.

Social Media

Human trafficking is not a new issue in today’s world; it has been a key issue for

centuries, but in recent years it has taken a more complicated and dangerous development. With

the increase in social media presence among all ages has allowed perpetrators to select victims in

an infinity more ways. Recently a lawsuit was filed against a facebook, a common social media

site, by a human trafficking victim alleging that Facebook is a place for perpetrators of human

trafficking in an, “un restricted way to stalk, exploit, recruit, groom and extort children into the

sex trade”​(Lozano, 2018).​ The human trafficking victim is a 15 year old Jane Doe, who was

sexually assaulted in 2012 as a result of allegedly being targeted by a sex trafficker on Facebook,

and she is asking for $1 million in damages ​(Lozano, 2018). ​Tony Talbott, director of Abolition
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Ohio, a University of Dayton group that works to combat human trafficking, said “Facebook has

the technology to be able to potentially develop algorithms to look for the indicators and the red

flags of potential (trafficking) exploitation and abuse” ​(Lozano, 2018). This means that there are

so many different procedures and steps that these social media platforms can take in order to

ensure the safety of their users. Sadly, there have been many cases similar to Jane Doe’s, but it is

difficult for the prosecution to prove these allegations because Facebook and other social media

platforms argue that the traffickers are exploiting the site.

Trump Administration

In the past few years there has been a change to legal services for human trafficking

victims prompted by the Trump administration. In the report it stated that, “ the agency’s belated

announcements for $77 million of fiscal 2018 human trafficking funding included language for

the first time ever prohibiting the use of grants to help survivors clear their criminal records that

resulted from their victimization”(Jr., 2018). This means that even if a victim was arrested due to

human trafficking, they cannot get it cleared from their record after they are freed, even though

this is an extremely important part of victim’s reintegrating into society and starting a new life. A

survey done by the National Survivor Network in 2016 found that there was an extremely high

percentage of victims arrested when they are trafficked. More than 90 percent of the victims said

that they had been arrested while they were trafficked, and more than a fourth of the victims said

they had been arrested more than nine times ​(Vance & Mogulescu, 2018​). The only way to fix

this is for states to pass laws that provide survivors a way to clear their record of charges they

were convicted of due to being trafficked. Many lawyers now are coming together to point out

the importance of this funding and of making sure there is less burden and work for survivors.
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There was a case in Manhattan in 2013, where a young women testified against a man that had

sex-trafficked her for the past five years. In the case it was revealed that she was first trafficked

when she was only sixteen years old, and like many other victims, she was arrested and

convicted of prostitution six times. This was a major burden that was always following her

around now, and it was brought upon her due to human trafficking, but because our system now

acknowledges their abuse she was able to clear her record ​(Vance & Mogulescu, 2018​). This is

only one struggle that thousands of victims have to go through everyday, and if the funding is

restricted in the way the DOJ intends for it to, many victims will remain troubled by their

records. In some cases it may even lead to further exploitation.

Types of Funding and Services

Common Needs

There are many different groups of victims including international or domestic, and then

there are different types of human trafficking. Human trafficking is not just sex labor, there is

forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, and so much more. Some individual victims may

need different services than others may need due to their situation, but most of the victims are in

need of common services. The emergency needs, that are necessary to a majority of victims,

could include safety needs, food, and clothing. Safety needs could include medication or

prescriptions for medical issues. They also may require housing, legal assistance, advocacy,

health screenings, vaccinations/immunizations, medical treatment for physical injuries, dental

care, child care, education, life skills training, job training, finding employment, financial

management, and family reunification (​Clawson & Dutch, n.d.)​. Some victims also need
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additional trauma counseling, and for domestic minor victims some need anger management,

conflict resolution, and family counseling.

Differences In Needs

The extent of the common needs can be different for each victims depending on their

circumstances. International victims have more urgency to get employment; most to send money

back to where they live to support families. Emergency needs are also a little different, they still

need safety needs, food, and clothing, but they also may need to include translation service, in

order to make sure the victim does not feel isolated. They may also need help with obtaining

identification documents, indicating they are a victim of human trafficking. Now some

international victims have more complex legal needs due to the fact that most victims are in the

United States illegally. This may include legal representation for “deportation hearings,

assistance with applications for T visas and derivative visas, and renewal applications”​(Clawson

& Dutch, n.d.).​ Due to the the extremely influential environment, the majority of domestic

victims report that have substance abuse problems. Some international victims have substance

abuse problems, but it is not as common as domestic victim, but many do not report this or make

it known because they are afraid that it will be used against them. A solution that could fix this is

to make sure that all workers involved with the victim must make it clear to the victims that they

are not the only ones that have gone through this and it is not their faults.

Services Available For Victims

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 is federal legislation that helps prosecute

traffickers, prevents human trafficking, and helps victims. It also made human trafficking and

other related offenses a federal offense, it also helps international victims by helping victims
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establish a T visa, which allows victims and their families temporary U.S. residents and eligible

for permanent residents (“Current Federal,”n.d.). Even if a victim is eligible for some of the

services, the availability for the services are very limited because there are waiting lists and some

services have fees associated with them that some victims can not afford. For example, free

clinics are not always available. One provider explained that you can spend a lot of time waiting

to be seen and there are often some unexpected charges associated with most of the services

(Clawson & Dutch, n.d.). This relates mostly to mental health services and substance abuse

treatment. There is also a correlation between the lack of services available and the lack of

reported problems. The most common was assessing specialized medical treatments mostly long

term medical needs like diabetes, cancer and other illness with prescriptions (Clawson & Dutch,

n.d.). Which in return could interfere with the prosecution of a victims trafficker.

Local Organizations

Two of the most involved organizations in Virginia Beach is the Samaritan House and

Virginia Beach Justice Initiative. Both of these organizations help provide resources for human

trafficking victims. The Samaritan House’s goal is to, “foster personal safety, growth, and

self-sufficiency in adults and their children through the freedom from sexual assault, domestic

violence, human trafficking, and homelessness” ​("Our Mission," 2018).​ The Samaritan House

just received a new grant from the federal government; there are three different branches that the

money will be given too. First legal, it will go towards finding loopholes in different laws and

cases, as well as helping pro bono cases. This is very important because it is a very difficult

service that the Samaritan House struggles to provide. The second is law enforcement, which

will help teach law enforcement officials on how to talk to and handle victims of human
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trafficking. This will help show victims that enforcement is there to help in any way they can.

Third the Samaritan House, where the money will help provide more services. The Virginia

Beach Justice Initiative goal is to end “human trafficking in Hampton Roads through awareness,

prevention initiatives and intervention strategies that meet the needs of trafficking survivors. We

have the privilege of introducing trafficking victims to the possibility of a new beginning through

advocacy and our innovative jail program”​ ​("About Us," 2018)​. Every community across the

United States has some sort of outreach or non-profit organization to help victims but the hard

part is making all of these places aware to the victims so they can take advantage of every

opportunity.

Challenges and Barriers

The lack of knowledge and understanding is what interferes with most human trafficking

victims, among service providers, law enforcement, and event victims themselves in some cases.

The victims lack the knowledge in what services are available or what services that they are

eligible for. It was found that even some prosecutors struggled with knowing what their clients

are eligible for which highlights the need for effective case management. The lack of knowledge

in where organizations can receive grants if a major contributor to the lack of funds available. It

is not that there is not enough money out there; it is that the government does not provide enough

information to inform organization on how to receive certain grants because everyone helps.

When the grants are identified, another struggle is that organizations are not writing there

proposals for there grant well enough to indicate that they need the grant. This comes from the

lack of understanding and education of this from the government's end ​(K. Ashford, personal

communication, November 15, 2018)​. So many of these challenges could be avoided by simply
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educating and spreading awareness of the different types of grants that each organization is

eligible for and what they need to do in order to ensure that their program or organization will

receive the grant.

Programs Being Proposed

The Child Protection Compact Act is meant, “​to protect and rescue children from

trafficking by the establishment of Child Protection Compacts between the United States and

select eligible countries with a significant prevalence of trafficking in children” (Klarevas &

Buckley, 2009). The point of this act is to provide funding to foreign governments so they can

improve national child protection strategies in order to try and put a stop to human trafficking of

children. There are seven programs or initiatives that are being promoted by this act they include

“evaluating programs and and legal standards in order to increase prosecution, training

anti-trafficking police and investigators, work with law enforcement to help identify and rescue

human trafficking victims, make sure that our legal system, specifically the courts, are victim

friendly, develop appropriate after-care facilities for rescued victims, development of data

collection systems, and develop plans with neighboring countries to prevent cross-border

trafficking”(Klarevas & Buckley, 2009). Although the CPCA does not do enough, they plan on

only providing $50 million to these programs and initiatives over a three year span, which is only

$16.7 million available annually. If all countries on the watch list decide to enter the Child

Protection Compact Act with the U.S. then that would mean on average only $130,000 will be

available to each country each year and it will cost a lot more in order to enact al seven programs

and initiatives (Klarevas & Buckley, 2009).

Cooperation Between Groups

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Victims and Law Enforcement

One of the most important steps to helping and providing assistance to human trafficking

victims is that the law enforcement agencies and victims cooperate with each other. Law

enforcement agencies say that the victims are one of the most important links to gathering

evidence and prosecuting cases. Many prosecutors say that it is almost impossible to prosecute a

human trafficking case without victim cooperation with the prosecutors and officers. It was

found by prosecutors that when there was a lack of services offered or available for the victims

there was also a lack of cooperation with the victim (Owens, 2013). Trials that involve human

trafficking are some of the longest cases which is another reason why it is so important for their

to be services in place and ready for the victims. Most victims are dependent on their traffickers

so many individuals do not want to cooperate because they are scared of the traffickers

retaliation, which could cause the victims to lose their only source of income or shelter.

Therefore if there are already steps put in place and ready for the victims they will feel more

comfortable and safe leading them to be more cooperative. Human trafficking victims run away

a lot of the time in fear or lack of services available in their current area which makes it

extremely difficult to prosecute most human trafficking case. In international trafficking some

victims fear deportation or getting arrested by law enforcement if they make contact. There was a

study done based off of criminal professionals that found that, “35 percent of victims were

arrested by law enforcement” (Owens, 2013). It was also found that there is a lack of service

culturally appropriate for some victims which had a great effect on the number of victims that

cooperated with law enforcement.

Cooperation Between Agencies

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It is extremely important for different community and government agencies to work

together and keep the needs and lives of victims the top priority. Different departments in the

government are in charge of certain things. For example, the department of state is in charge of

international anti-trafficking programs and the department of justice is in charge of ​training and

technical assistance for victim service providers and allied professionals who serve crime victims

("Federal Government," 2018). Another name for this can be multi-agencies corporations, and it

is not an easy thing to do. To be successful, a management and operational framework needs to

be laid out, therefore it needs to be agreed on for managing any specific initiative or intervention

(United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, 2008). The key point to realize is that the national

governments cannot do everything by themselves. The communities are what are mostly

impacted; therefore, they are the one most committed to the issue, so by supporting the

communities in ways that would be hard to address from a distance. After all, community

members are often the eyes and ears for most cases. Then national governments can begin to

address the individual trafficking cases that make up the larger global issue ("Local Solutions,"

2018). It has also been found that traffickers target vulnerable communities that have a fear of

engaging law enforcement officials, sometimes due to a reputation for corruption. Due to this,

“the dynamics that facilitate human trafficking will be unique in almost every instance and each

jurisdiction will face its own challenges related to culture, environment, resources, and

knowledge” ("Local Solutions," 2018).

Responding to Victims

Awareness
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Human trafficking is a local and international social problem that affects almost every

country in the entire world. Over the past few years, human trafficking has been getting more

and more much needed attention and awareness. With the spread of awareness for it, the number

of agencies grow as well, but even with this growing attention, there is still so much that is

unknown about human trafficking. The basics and the literature that has been done on the topic

is known, but there are very few studies that have extensive research. Unlike any other top

criminal activity, like drugs, humans may be sold repeatedly. Carissa Phelps is an example of a

victim that was able to escape from the “circular trap” that is human trafficking. This was due to

encouragement from a counselor and a teacher at a continuation school. It was not easy for her,

and it was a very long road, but in the end with the help from many people, she was able to

graduate degree college completing a law degree and an MBA and UCLA. Even though she was

able to accomplish a lot, the effects of human trafficking became something that affected her for

the rest of her life ​(Baker & Grover, 2013).

Housing Services and Spiritual Care

Not only is it important to providing services for victims, but advocating for safe housing

for all victims of human trafficking continues to be in high demand. There was a survey done

that asked participants to say what they believe to be the greatest needs for victims of human

trafficking. The question was open-ended, meaning that the participants could list more than just

one need. The survey found that housing was the most commonly answer by the agencies

(Baker & Grover, 2013)​. This survey shows us how important it is to provide victim housing

when the victim escapes out of their trapped life into a new one. In this same survey one

participant identified spiritual care as a n important need for victims ​(Baker & Grover, 2013). ​It
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is very important for social workers to provide this as something for each victim to explore,

social workers must address personal faith with each client. This could a detrimental affect in a

victim's life, especially if they are questioning their self worth, and having faith as another

support technique will help them start new lives.

Ensuring Sustainable Resources For Victims

The Three Strategies

The support for the reintegration of funds and services into the lives of human trafficking

victims has hit a major barrier over the past few years. There are a few strategies currently being

advocated that have found some have found different degrees of success. These strategies

include “advocating for government funding, leveraging private-sector funding and

contributions, and establishing social enterprises to fund reintegration services” ​ (Surtees &

Kerchove, 2014).​ This can be done by closely working with civil societies (a group of people

that are considered a community because they share a similar interest), the government, and the

private sector and donors, but in order for them to be effective the reintegration services need to

be put into place and created in ways that are sustainable and will provide support to trafficked

persons. There has been an increase money spent on anti-trafficking efforts in the Balkans, most

of which has come from international donors. Most of the money has been toward the prevention

of trafficking and to support law enforcement but this means that there has been less money put

towards the victims protection, specifically the long-term reintegration services for the victims

(​Surtees & Kerchove, 2014).

Effect
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The reintegration programs and services allows the victims to be able to recover and

move on from their terrible experiences and reintegrate into their communities and families.

Reintegration is the “process of recovery and economic and social inclusion following a

trafficking experience”​(Surtees & Kerchove, 2014).​ It not only provides assistance to victims it

takes a step further and provides the victims with safe and reliable efforts to integrate them into

society and normalize their lives as much as possible. The reintegration services provide the

victims abilities to recover and move on with their lives and for some victims this is the main

source of support, one women that was a victims explained this:

As I am alone, without family support, without a place to live, starting life from the

beginning, it is very important for me to have long-term support. In addition to training, I

needed a place to live and, in my opinion, rent support is something that makes us feel

well and secure, at least to give us time to save some money from salaries and be able to

start to pay rent. All of that costs a lot. But there is no other way to economically

re/integrate a trafficking victims. (Surtees & Kerchove, 2014)

This shows that there are some efforts being done in order to reintegrate victims and provide

funding but there seems to be an uneven balance on the amount of support being put into each

individual service. It is good that the amount of money has increased on trafficking prevention

with law enforcement but without the reintegration services it is hard to help the victims recover

from what has happened to them.

Conclusion

“Human trafficking involves recruitment, harbouring or transporting people into a situation of

exploitation through the use of violence, deception or coercion and forced to work against their
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will” ("What Is Human," 2018). This means that it is the process of enslaving an individual and

forcing them to complete tasks for them with no way out. In some situations the victim is able to

escape, but they do not always have a support system to go back to so they need help. ​The lack

of funding and services available for human trafficking victims leads to detrimental effects on

both the victim and community. One major solution that everyone can do is help spread

awareness, there so many resources going into stopping human trafficking from the beginning

but because it is an international crime it will always happen. That is why we need to spread

awareness about what happens when a victim is able to escape and what they need. According to

Katherine Ashford, a spokesperson at the Samaritan House, it is not that there is a lack of

funding does not necessarily mean that there is no money out there but that the access to it is

very complicated and the biggest cause of this is the lack of education and awareness. Ms.

Ashford explains that most of the times in order to be eligible for certain grants the most

important part is the wording of the organizations reasoning for the grant and how they propose

why their organization should receive it​ ​(K. Ashford, personal communication, November 15,

2018). Another solution can be an increase in education, not just among victims, but with law

enforcement, medical workers (ER nurses), and social workers. By education these groups in

what services are available out their and how victims can obtain these services will make it easier

for victims to find out what resources they are eligible for.
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