Human Trafficking: 21st Century Involuntary Servitude

Unfortunately, no country, including the United States, has developed a comprehensive response to this massive, growing crime.

To learn more, please visit: trc.polarisproject.org

(SAN FRANCISCO) - In 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified abolishing slavery in the United States: "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Yet, over a hundred and forty-five years later, thousands of human beings are trafficked and forced to become sex slaves, domestic workers, child soldiers, or agricultural laborers.

The worldwide statistics are startling: about 27 million enslaved people worldwide; about 800,000 are trafficked across international borders each year; about 80 percent are women and young girls; about 100,000 children are exploited in the commercial sex trade each year; human trafficking is about a $32 billion industry growing faster than drugs or arms; and about 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year.

Most trafficking victims do not speak English and have little or no confidence in the police based on their experience back in their home countries. Traffickers usually confiscate the victims' passports if they have one. And often traffickers threaten to hurt family members back home to prevent escape or their cooperation with police.

In October 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) (22 U.S.C. § 7101 et seq.) was enacted to protect victims and prosecute traffickers. The TVPA has been reauthorized in 2003, 2005, and 2008 with each authorization enhancing and strengthening the law. The U.S. also utilizes special visas known as "T" and "U" visas, which are intended to protect foreign-born trafficking victims from being deported if they cooperate with police and prosecutors.

That same year, the world embraced international standards, known as the Palermo Protocol, to combat modern slavery. Currently, 137 countries have adopted it.

Prior to the TVPA, no comprehensive federal law existed to protect victims of trafficking or to prosecute their traffickers. Although cases such as U.S. v. Flores (1997), a case of agricultural slave labor; U.S. v. Mahtani (1996), an example of domestic servitude; or U.S. v. Kim, Phan, and Ortiz (1998), a case of forced prostitution and sexual exploitation could have been called human trafficking cases.

Portland, Oregon has been named as one of the main hubs in human trafficking. Routes I-5 and I-89 are easy pathways for pimps and prostitutes between British Columbia/Seattle and Los Angeles and other California destinations in between.

In 2007, Oregon passed its own human trafficking laws, which makes it a class B felony to take part in human trafficking (ORS 163.266) and to induce others to take part in prostitution (ORS 167.017). A class B felony conviction is punishable by a maximum of prison for 10 years and a maximum fine of $250,000. In March 2010, House Bill 3623 was signed into law. HR 3623 requires the Oregon Liquor Control Commission to include informational materials regarding human trafficking with certain license renewal notices, if the materials are supplied by a nonprofit organization. The federal and Oregon laws, however, punish violations, but do little about prevention such as training for law enforcement and tracking human trafficking.

Unfortunately, no country, including the United States, has developed a comprehensive response to this massive, growing crime. To learn more about human trafficking or to find a local human trafficking center, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center at 1-888-373-7888 or go to its website at trc.polarisproject.org.

To help you learn more about the issues and horrors surrounding human trafficking, the following films are recommended: "Lilia 4-Ever," a Swedish film depicting the struggles of Lilja, a 16-year-old girl living in an unidentified ex-Soviet republic; "Children for Sale," a Dateline documentary shot by a film crew that went undercover with a human rights group to uncover sex trafficking in Cambodia; "Promised Land," a film by Amos Gitai about human trafficking from Eastern Europe to Israel; "Trading Women," this film investigates the trade in minority girls and women out of Burma, Yunnan and Laos into Thailand; and "The Day My God Died," a documentary about young girls whose lives have been shattered by the child sex trade in Nepal and India.