Can Educators Prevent Human Trafficking Of Their Students?

In the neighborhood of Little Village in the southwest side of Chicago, a woman was found to have operated several brothels in the community. Rubicela Montero, a 38-year old mother, had not been able to find young girls to meet the demand of her clientele. However, she met a 16-year old girl student at the Roberto Clemente Community Academy through her son, and hired her into prostitution. Montero even picked up the 16-year old girl at her high school and transported her to the brothel while still donning her school uniform.

Perhaps if the student’s teachers had noticed signs of change in her behavior, this transaction between trafficker and victim could have been avoided. Even if there were no noticeable signs, would students be cognizant of the ways in which traffickers target them?

In 2011, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimated that 100,000 American children were at risk of being trafficked into commercially sexually exploitative acts. Girls are being targeted at as young as 12 to 14 years old, and boys, 11 to 13 years old.

Traffickers exploit school children because of their vulnerability and because the market demands young victims. Traffickers target children on the way to and from school and at school-sponsored events. They also use teenagers who have already been solicited to recruit their peers and friends or seduce girls with the “loverboy” approach. A particularly insidious way that traffickers recruit is through skip parties.

Educators and the school staff are in strategic positions of influence to address domestic human trafficking because they spend considerable amounts of time daily with the same students and are able to build relationships with them, if they so choose. They also have the responsibility to report suspected exploitations of their students to law enforcement. The importance of school teachers, administrators, and staff to know how to identify signs of vulnerability for trafficking and how to address them is undervalued.

Some identifying signs of trafficking include:

• Truancy
• Runaway behavior
• Mentions of frequent travels to other cities
• Signs of physical trauma, withdrawn behavior, depression, or fear
• Limited control over one’s schedule or identification documents
• Hungry, malnourished, or inappropriately dressed for the weather and school
• Sudden change in behavior or material possessions (owns and displays expensive items)
• Referencing sexual situations or terminology of the commercial sex industry that are beyond age-specific norms
• Having a “boyfriend” who is significantly older (10+ years)
• Engaging in sexually promiscuous behavior

Schools can collectively respond while also inviting their communities to participate in awareness. With an increase number of community members who can identify warning signs, traffickers will be more wary of their actions, which could lead to a decrease of trafficking activity in that area.

Here are ways that schools implement protective and preventative measures:

• Find out the reasons for each student’s decrease in school attendance & engagement
• Train school staff on how to identify and report warning signs
• Train counselors and social workers on how to educate students on the subject of trafficking and work with student victims through creative and supportive outreach
• Implement protocol on computer and cell phone use in school
• Ensure that the campus structure is secure and safe for students
• Inform the community surrounding the school and coordinate a community response
• Incorporate restorative and transformative justice

Esther Liew

Program Development Intern 

Sources:

Chicago Tribune. Little Village House Becomes Home to Brothel.

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. 2011 Annual Report.

 Education Week. Schools Can help Combat Sexual Exploitation, Trafficking of Children.

 U.S. Department of Education. Human Trafficking of Children in the United States: A Fact Sheet for Schools.

Littrell, Jenee. Protecting Children: The Role of Schools in CSEC Prevention and Intervention.  

More Than Exchanging Drugs and Weapons as Gang Activity

Gangs in the U.S. have generally been known for drug trafficking, the exchange of weapons, and violent crimes that result in shootings and deaths. However, according to the FBI’s 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, they have shifted from activities which are more dangerous and risky to less visible ones such as human trafficking, alien smuggling, and prostitution. At the time of the report, 35 states and U.S. territories have reported gangs in their jurisdictions who are complicit in these activities. These crimes involve a lower risk of detection and are also more profitable because humans are considered a more expensive commodity. After all, the criminal exchange of humans has become the second most profitable industry globally after the drug trade. If the traffickers are out of sight, the trafficked are the ones who will get into trouble with the police because they are positioned vulnerably on the front lines.

Some gangs have combined the trafficking of drugs and humans, where girls and women will transport drugs and at the same time, engage in commercial sex. Gangs in the U.S. are both locally based but also have transnational ties, enabling the movement of trafficked victims across state and international lines. Gang members act as pimps who first lure young girls into their care, then will control them through physical and psychological abuse. Gang-related human trafficking, many cases of which are sex trafficking, is evidence of the escalating prevalence of the domestic sex trade in both U.S. cities and suburbs.

Gang members have used social networking websites to recruit girls. They prey on girls by complimenting them on their looks, asking to get to know them better, and extending offers for opportunities to make monetary profit with their good looks. If these girls, who are mostly young teenagers, agree to meet their solicitors, they will be asked to provide a cell phone number where they can be contacted for an in-person meeting. The girls are quickly taught the ropes of commercial sex, sometimes by older girls who have had more experience in this work.

Sometimes, girls are recruited through “skip parties”, where young girls succumb to the enticing option of going to a party instead of sitting in a classroom during school hours. The masterminds behind these parties, knowing that girls like to travel in groups, conveniently encourage them to invite friends to the skip parties. Girls are then passed on from member to member, until she is “seasoned” for the streets and deemed ready to work.

The FBI has identified Asian gangs, Somali gangs, Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples, MS-13, Sureños, Vice Lords, and Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs to have engaged in human trafficking. 27-year old Justin Strom, leader of the Underground Gangster Crips in Fairfax, Virginia was convicted in September of this year for recruiting high school girls online, then trafficking them for commercial sex. MS-13, the first gang that the U.S. has named as a transnational criminal organization in October, has been notoriously known for its violent crimes, numerous murders, beatings, and infamous attacks with machetes. The presence of MS-13 is most heavily felt in LA County and the Washington, DC area. One of its mottos is “Mata, roba, viola, controla”, which translates to “Kill, steal, rape, control”. To ensure payment from the girls’ customers and that the girls were not hurt, MS-13 members would carry weapons while accompanying the girls to work.

Young boys are no exception to being victims of trafficking. They are considered low cost, low risk, and expendable to gang members who traffic them for labor purposes. While girls are more likely to be subject to sex trafficking, boys at age 7 are recruited to transport drugs, steer customers toward designated drug exchange locations, and as lookouts when law enforcement investigates suspicious drug-related activities. These boys are offered protection, food, and shelter when they cooperate, but are deprived of them when they do not. They will be socialized to gang norms, desensitized to violence, may grow up to belong to the gangs themselves, and will likely be incarcerated.

The nation’s first ever state-based wiretap investigation targeting human trafficking involved a case in Chicago that lasted one and a half years in 2011. Operation “Little Girl Lost” resulted in charging nine individuals with ties to street gangs who trafficking children and young women, some as young as twelve years old. The nine were charged with Involuntary Sexual Servitude of a Minor and Trafficking in Persons for Forced labor, punishable up to 30 years. Throughout the investigation, police found dozens of young women and girls who had suffered extensive emotional and physical abuse and were then provided social services that could give them safety from their traffickers. IOFA played an important role in this case as a partner with the State Attorney’s efforts to refer victims to recovery and after-care services, and at present continues to be an important presence in the city as a co-collaborator on the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force.

With the involvement of gangs, human trafficking is becoming an increasingly organized and networked crime. Although some tactics that gang members use to coerce girls into working for sex are similar to non-gang affiliated traffickers, it behoove anyone whose work involves interventions to reduce and prevent gang violence to address human trafficking. Three San Diego professors have received a $399,999 federal grant to explore the intersection of gang activity and human trafficking in their region. Although this issue is relatively new in comparison to other gang-related activity, it will continue to be a fast-growing business if there is not a concerted effort to target these specific victims. We cannot let the drugs, weapons, and shootings overshadow human trafficking, for this is a vile human rights violation.

Sources:

Aguilera, E. (2012). Experts to Study Region's Gangs, Sex Trafficking. U-T San Diego.

Cook County State Attorney’s Office. (2011). State’s Attorney Announces Charges In Joint Undercover Human Trafficking Investigation: Operation “Little Girl Lost” Targets Chicago Street Gang Members.

Fox, E. (2012). Child Drug Traffickers: What Can Be Done? InterAmerican Security Watch.

Lederer, L. (2011). Sold for Sex: The Link Between Street Gangs and Human Trafficking.The Witherspoon Institute Public Discourse.

National Gang Intelligence Center. (2001). National Gang Threat Assessment: Emerging Trends.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation. Teen Prostitution: Gang Used Social Media Sites to Identify Potential Victims.

Esther Liew

IOFA Asian American Trafficking Outreach Project program development intern

Sex as a currency: the phenomenon of survival sex and what we can do about it

“She drank his money.” It’s an expression in South Africa used to imply that when a woman accepts alcohol from a man, she owes that man sex in exchange for consuming his drink. This toxic attitude exists in the Western world as well, and is presently a serious issue for homeless youth in America.

Homeless youth are often left with no options and
resort to exchanging sex for basic resources

The numbers are horrific. Studies indicate that more than a third of homeless youth exchange sex for housing, food, and often drugs, a practice commonly known as “survival sex.” This type of behavior marks the beginning of a slippery slope to full-blown prostitution, abusive relationships, and more. What’s worse is that once girls begin engaging in more traditional prostitution, they fall into legal sinkholes and are oftentimes treated as teenage criminals rather than victims of exploitation.

Pimps are often aware of the vulnerability of homeless youth, in some cases driving around schools after hours to seek out girls with low self-esteem and nowhere to go. These exploiters play the role of a father figure or boyfriend as a guise for imposing prostitution. As a convicted pimp Harvey Washington said, “With the young girls, you promise them heaven, they’ll follow you to hell.”

Indeed, the bonds girls form with their pimps are often complicated and abusive on many levels. They become attached to their captor and may even continue to work for a pimp after he is incarcerated. After significant abuse, the girls soon begin to trust no one, including authorities who can help. These trust issues are not helped by the present systems in place in the State, which include recent state cuts to mental health services, poorly trained child welfare agencies, and a lack of housing options with support systems.

Research indicates that almost all of the juveniles involved in prostitution are runaways of some kind. It’s also important to remember that the issue of survival sex is not unique to girls. In a survey of LA homeless youth, about half of homeless males engage in survival sex. According to one study, LGBTQ youth are three times are likely to engage in survival sex, and transgendered youth are the most likely of all.

Despite the disheartening reality of the troubles facing homeless youth, awareness is beginning to spread, and so too are effective initiatives. A new system implemented by a Dallas police force showed remarkable success in deterring prostitution by targeting repeat runaways in a unique and sensitive manner. (You can read about it here). There are ways you can help too. Here are three starting points (as recommended by this report):

1. Learn about youth homelessness in your community. Find out how many homeless youth are enrolled in the public schools and what kinds of resources are available to help them. Be informed about the realities of your community.

2. Be a vocal advocate for increased housing resources. Youth are less likely to be exploited when they are off the streets and in stable housing. There are model youth housing programs that can be developed in rural, suburban, and urban neighborhoods. Is there enough affordable housing in your neighborhood for older teenagers and young adults who are fleeing abuse and neglect?

3. Make sure that local law enforcement is targeting the businesses (pimps, strip clubs, escort services) and customers (johns) of the commercial sexual industry and not the victims (youth and young adults) for prosecution.

Become an advocate for their cause. Empower them to seek alternate resources. Support programs that are working. Homeless youth in America should not feel this helpless.

Nikhitha Murali, Intern

Asian American Trafficking Outreach Project (AATOP)

IOFA is pleased to announce the launch of the Asian American Trafficking Outreach Project (AATOP)! Through AATOP, we seek to work with Asian American-serving organizations in Chicago to better identify and serve the Asian American victims of human trafficking.

While Asian Americans are a small minority of trafficking victims, the need to focus on this particular population is nonetheless significant, especially since the largest number of people trafficked into U.S. come from East Asia and the Pacific.[i] Unfortunately, there currently exists a critical cap in the outreach efforts to potential trafficking victims in Asian American communities in Chicago. This is evidenced by the fact that, while agencies serving trafficking victims have been receiving considerable numbers of Asian clients, Asian American-focused organizations are underrepresented in anti-trafficking coalitions and task forces.

AATOP aims to fill this gap by 1) providing Asian American-serving organizations in Chicago with strategic training and technical assistance and by 2) integrating them into existing anti-trafficking networks. We envision a solid program that, in partnership with various cultural organizations, will have the organizational capacity, technical knowledge, cultural competency, as well as the linguistic skills to effectively identify and serve the unique needs of Asian American trafficking victims.

Our first step is to understand the currently existing outreach efforts in Asian American communities in Chicago and to get a comprehensive picture of the available resources out there. As part of that effort, we have sent out a survey to a number of Asian American-serving organizations in Chicago to inquire about their past and/or current involvement in anti-trafficking work as well as their interest in collaborating with IOFA on AATOP. We will keep you posted on the results. In the meanwhile, if you are interested in participating in AATOP or in learning more about Asian American victims of human trafficking in general, feel free to post a comment below! You can also email me at mkim@iofa.org

Everyone here is eager to get AATOP going. It will be the first time ever for an Asian American-focused anti-trafficking initiative to be launched in Chicago. Check back frequently for more information about this exciting project!

Meesoh Kim, Intern

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[i] U.S. Department of Justice, 10 Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons, available at http://www.justice.gov/archive/ag/annualreports/tr2004/us_assessment_2004.pdf (June 2004).

Is it Trafficking? The Telltale Signs.

Summar Ghias, IOFA Program Development Intern:

I was on the bus. Per the usual rush hour traffic, I was standing sandwiched between countless others on my way home from work. As I stood awkwardly close, infringing on the personal space of those who had been fortunate enough to get a seat, I noticed one young girl in particular. She sat forlorn, staring out the window and then at her phone as she texted. Her left hand had a tattoo etched on it; weaved between her thumb and index finger was a man’s name. Unable to look anywhere else because of the lack of space on the bus, I saw her read a text from an unknown number, which said, “I want to help you”. Seconds later, a woman who sat diagonally in a seat a row ahead snatched the phone away. The woman responded to the text for her with “what did you say?” Standing over them on the crowded bus, my curiosity piqued. Was this girl okay? Who was the woman and why were they not sitting together or speaking at all otherwise? Was the girl's tattoo a form of branding or did she simply have a tattoo of her boyfriend’s name?

Identifying victims is a vital step in the fight against human trafficking. An estimated minimum of 16,000 to 25,000 women and girls are victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Chicago every year.[i] While I didn’t have enough information to gauge the situation on my bus ride, there are telltale signs that you can look out for to identify victims of human trafficking.

At IOFA, we train law enforcement, legal service providers and social service agencies on some of these indicators. If the age of an individual has been verified to be under 18, and the individual is in any way involved in the commercial sex industry, or has a record of prior arrest for prostitution (or related charges), then he or she is a victim.

Some other signs are below:

• Avoids eye contact
• Evidence of being controlled (rarely alone)
• Persistent fear, depression, anxiety, submissive behavior
• Hyper vigilant or paranoid behavior
• Loss of sense of time and space
• No passport or other identifying documentation
• Not speaking on own behalf and/or no English speaking
• Evidence of inability to move or leave job or take time off
• Unpaid for work or compensated very little
• Lives with co-workers and "employer" - no privacy
• Untreated illnesses and infections
• Signs of physical abuse or substance abuse
• Secrecy about whereabouts
• Unaccounted for time, vagueness concerning whereabouts, and/or defensiveness in response to questions or concern
• Keeping late night or unusual hours
• A tattoo that he or she is reluctant to explain

If you suspect an incidence of human trafficking, please call the 24-hour National Hotline at (888) 3737-888 or IOFA at (773) 404-8831.

[i] O'Leary, C., Howard, O. "The Prostitution of Women and Girls in Metropolitan Chicago:A Preliminary Prevalence Report. Center for Impact Research. Chicago, 2001