Human Trafficking

1.   Background

 About Human Trafficking

Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world today after drug trafficking.  By means of fraud, deception, force and coercion, victims are hurled into sexual and labor exploitation.  Every year between 600,000 and 800,000 individuals, mostly women and children, are trafficked throughout the world, far away from safety and the comforts of home and community.  In the United States alone, between 14,500 and 17,500 individuals are trafficked into the country, according to the U.S. Department of State.  Human trafficking has been a long-standing international humanitarian issue that has affected hundreds of thousands of men, women and children from many regions of the globe.  As victims are trafficked from their native homelands to other nations, they become isolated and marginalized members of communities who are unable to communicate with service providers, law enforcement officials and others who would be able to provide them with the immediate assistance they need to escape from their traumatic circumstances.

 What is Human Trafficking

Human trafficking occurs in two main forms: sex trafficking and labor trafficking. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)

 Sex Trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act, in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which the person forced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years

 Labor Trafficking is 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

 

 2.   Related Links about Human Trafficking

 

3.   2008 Conference on Combating Human Trafficking in Asia

On Saturday, September 6, the ISC organized the 2008 Conference on Combating Human Trafficking in Asia at the Harrisburg Area Community College in Harrisburg, PA.  The conference was focused on the “Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Trafficking Victims.”  This conference was the third of a series of three national conferences on trafficking in person.  The first conference, “Prevention, Protection and Prosecution,” was in 2006 at the U.S. Congress in Washington, DC.  In 2007 the second conference was held at Chapman University in Orange, CA and was entitled “Legal Labor and Human Rights Implication of Human Trafficking.” 

 The conference was open to government officials, religious leaders, non-governmental organization, community-based organizations, the media as well as the general public, and was purposed to accomplish five goals:

1.      Raise public awareness of human trafficking

2.      Advocate for the formulation of policies to prevent, suppress and punish traffickers of human beings

3.      Advocate for the needed services and assistance to victims of trafficking

4.      Advocate for the rehabilitation, reintegration and restoration of human dignity to trafficking victims

5.      Advocate for the abolition of human trafficking in Asia and worldwide

 

Conference Speakers

 Ms. Kelly Ryan

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Washington, DC

Ms. Ryan addressed the situation of trafficking victims in Vietnam and other countries of Southeast Asia. In her presentation, Ms. Ryan described the efforts of the U.S. Department of State and Department of Health and Human Services toward alleviating trafficking in persons as well as the achievements these government entities have made in reuniting families of trafficking victims.

U.S. Department of State Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons http://www.state.gov/g/tip

 Dr. Nguyen Dinh Thang

Executive Director, Boat People SOS (BPSOS), Falls Church, VA

Dr. Thang detailed the advocacy work of BPSOS to eliminate the exploitation of Vietnamese workers in Jordan and Malaysia. He shared the commendable work of BPSOS in incorporating law enforcement, legal and social service providers in the rescue and reintegration of the exploited workers.

Boat People SOS http://www.bpsos.org

Ms. Stephanie G. Freed

U.S.A Director, Rapha House, Cambodia

Ms. Freed shared the mission of Rapha House, an organization which liberates girls from situations of human trafficking and provides them with a safe place to rehabilitate and prepare for reintegration to their communities. At the Rapha House, the girls are taught vocational skills to be self-sufficient in their new lives after trafficking.

Rapha House  www.freedomforgirls.com/RaphaHouse/NEWhome.htm

Ms. Diep N. Vuong

President, Pacific Links Foundation, Oakland, CA

Ms. Vuong reported on the challenges faced by victims trafficked between the border of Vietnam and Cambodia. Through the ADAPT program of the Pacific Links Foundation, these victims—once freed—are provided with the needed services of vocational training and job placement, educational and health insurance scholarships, and reintegration support for victims returning to their home communities.

Pacific Links Foundation www.pacificlinks.org

Ms. Trang Pham Kelly

PhD Candidate, City University of New York

Ms. Kelly presented her work with trafficked Southeast Asian children living on the streets of Vietnam. Ms. Kelly emphasized the desperate need for these children to receive support from governmental and non-governmental organizations, and she presented possible solution for the children’s rescue, rehabilitation and reintegration.

 

Recommendations for Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Trafficking Victims

The following recommendations were generated by participants of the conference after having learned from the speakers about the problem of human trafficking in Asia. The recommendations were directed to the Government of Vietnam, the U.S. Government and International NGOs working in trafficking.

Recommendations for the Rehabilitation & Reintegration of Trafficking Victims, September 6, 2008

 

4.   Network to Combat Human Trafficking

During the 2008 Conference to Combat Human Trafficking in Asia: Rehabilitation and Reintegration of Trafficking Victims, the ISC was charged with the task of coordinating a national/international Network to Combat Human Trafficking.  The Network serves as a resource for both learning about trafficking in persons as well as mobilizing communities to get involved in counter-trafficking efforts.  Updates will be sent via email to members of the Network on a weekly basis with information on events taking place regarding human trafficking, as well as news stories from around the world focused on this issue. See the links below for the latest updates from the Network.

10/29/2008    Let’s Combat Human Trafficking TOGETHER!

11/05/2008    Latest Updates from the Network

 

If you are interested in joining the Network mailing list, please email tuan@isc76.org