Human Trafficking: Do You Really See Me?

Theresa Flores is a human trafficking survivor.¹ If you have not watched her TED Talk², I urge you to do so now.  

As I listened to her heartbreaking story, I was overcome by three terrifying realities:

1)      at some point in my life, and without knowing it, it’s possible that I lived next to, went to school with, or worked with someone who was being trafficked.
2)      many of us are clueless about domestic trafficking within our own communities.
3)      human trafficking does not just affect its victims. From a health perspective, it has the potential to harm whole communities.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that globally, about 21 million children, women, and men are victims of human trafficking (2012).³ These ILO statistics show the most vulnerable populations, business sectors where exploitation is most prevalent, and the illegal profits annually earned by traffickers.⁴

The Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons (ITEMP) states that 100,000 children in the U.S. are trafficked each year, and 1,000 between the ages of 13 and 17 are trafficked internationally.⁵

Let’s look at trafficking from a health perspective using a fictional victim named Anna. While being trafficked across state lines to a brothel for sex work, Anna contracts TB disease that becomes active, but goes undiagnosed and untreated.

She is in contact with other workers, 10-20 clients daily, and periodically frequents public venues, all the while talking, coughing, and sneezing.  She is also likely having occasional unprotected sex.

Anna’s clients could be single, married, with children, and have jobs. How many people will eventually be infected with, and spread, TB disease and STDs? What happens when those with active TB disease travel (via cars, trains, planes, buses) to other cities and states without a proper diagnosis and treatment? How much would it cost each community to test and treat patients, and trace the origin and spread of the disease?

Theresa’s story made me ask myself these questions:

- Why are so many of us ill-informed about domestic human trafficking?

- Would I know where to find the resources to help them?

- Would I recognize the less obvious signs of a trafficking victim?

The Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force’s June 27, 2012 report highlighted something crucial -  domestic human trafficking has flown under the radar for a long time, because much of the data (especially at the federal level) has, for years, been more focused on international human trafficking.⁶ As such, many of us may associate human trafficking with foreign nationals being shipped against their will across borders and state lines, without considering the possibility of our neighbors, family, and friends becoming victims of this illegal trade. In addition, as seen in Theresa’s case, many believe that these young women choose to become prostitutes, and as such, they cannot be trafficking victims.

The Ohio Department of Health⁷ states that, “Ohio has ranked as high as fifth among all states in total reported human trafficking cases with Toledo being identified as the fourth highest ranking city in the nation for recruiting victims into the illegal trade (2016).” Fortunately, Ohio now has various organizations that: (i) research the prevalence of domestic trafficking, (ii) provide resources to raise awareness, and (iii) provide services for victims and survivors.

To name a few, organizations like the Central Ohio Rescue and Restore Coalition⁸ and the Ohio National Human Trafficking Resource Center⁹ work with service providers and other professionals, law enforcement, and volunteers, etc by offering education, training, advocacy, and legal representation. Nonprofits like The Daughter Project¹⁰ and Grace Haven¹¹ offer rehabilitative group homes for trafficking victims (girls). Others like Freedom A La Carte¹² give survivors training and jobs, which is critical for their integration back into society.

Local citizens can get access to these resources at their local library, online, or from departments that offer human services, and be a part of the process in raising awareness, while providing support for victims and survivors.

There is one absolute truth that we cannot ignore – anyone can be a victim of human trafficking. Anna could be you or me. It just takes the wrong person to see the right circumstances and opportunity to destroy your life.

References

1.      TraffickFree – About TraffickFree (2016). Retrieved February 16, 2016: https://www.traffickfree.com/about.php 

2.      TEDx Columbus – Theresa Flores – Find a Voice with Soap (2011). Retrieved February 16, 2016: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QW_nsAjweE

3.      Forced Labor, Human Trafficking, and Slavery. (2012). Retrieved February 16, 2016: http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/lang--en/index.htm

4.      Statistics and Indicators on Forced Labor and Trafficking. (2012). Retrieved February 17, 2016: http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-labour/policy-areas/statistics/lang--en/index.htm

5.      Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons (ITEMP) (2016). Retrieved February 19, 2016: http://www.itemp.org/humantrafficking101/humantraffickingfacts.html

6.      The Ohio Human Trafficking Task Force (2012). Retrieved February 18, 2016: http://humantrafficking.ohio.gov/OhioHumanTraffickingTaskforce.aspx

7.      Ohio Department of Health – Human Trafficking Resources (2016). Retrieved February 18, 2016: http://www.healthy.ohio.gov/sadv/htraffick.aspx

8.      Central Ohio Rescue and Restore Coalition (2016). Retrieved February 18, 2016: http://www.centralohiorescueandrestore.org/

9.      Ohio National Human Trafficking Resource Center (2016). Retrieved February 18, 2016: https://traffickingresourcecenter.org/state/ohio

10.  The Daughter Project (2016). Retrieved February 18, 2016: http://thedaughterproject.org/#/welcome

11.  Grace Haven (2016). Retrieved February 18, 2016: http://gracehaven.me/

12.  Freedom A La Carte (2016). Retrieved February 13, 2016: http://freedomalacart.org/news/

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The Medina County Coalition Against Human Trafficking. (2015). Human Trafficking By The Numbers [Image], Retrieved February 19, 2016: https://traffickjamming.wordpress.com/2015/06/24/june-2015-meeting-agenda/