Celia Williamson, Ph.D.
University of Toledo
419-530-4084
Celia.williamson@utoledo.edu
 Second
largest criminal industry in the
world and the fastest growing
 Modern day slavery in which men,
women, and children are bought and sold
for sexual or labor purposes.
 Victims
may be U.S. citizens, Legal
Permanent Residents, or Foreign Born.
 The largest group of trafficking victims in
the United States is now thought to be
children who are U.S. citizens or legal
permanent residents.
 “Severe
Forms” of human trafficking are:
(a) sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is
induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which
the person induced to perform such an act has
not attained 18 years of age; or
(b) the recruitment, harboring, transportation,
provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or
services, through the use of force, fraud, or
coercion for the purposes of subjection to
involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage,
or slavery.1
 12.3
slaves worldwide
 Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims annually
are trafficked across international borders
worldwide
 Between 14,500 and 17,500 of those victims are
trafficked into the U.S. (U.S. Department of State).
 Domestically between 100,000 to 300,000 children
are runaways in the U.S. and are at risk of being
trafficked.
 100,000 domestic minors are trafficked into the sex
trade each year in the U.S.
 Estimated
783 foreign victims of labor or
sex trafficking any given year
• Massage parlors
• Nail salons
• Food buffets/Restaurants
• Small industrial companies
• Agricultural work
 Recruitment
Countries
 Destination Countries
 Bi-Directional Countries
 Trafficking
victim must pay his/her
traffickers back for travel, room and
board, hygiene and other personal items
etc...
 Amount to be repaid is set by the
traffickers.
 Organized
Crime Networks e.g. Japanese
Yakuza, Russia Mafia etc..
 Mom and Pop Shops
 Legitimate businesses
 Traffickers, Recruiters, Groomers,
Connectors, etc..
 Do
not speak English & are unfamiliar
with U.S. culture
 Confined to a room or small space to
work, eat, sleep
 Fear, distrust health providers,
government, police (fear of being
deported)
 Unaware that what is being done to them
is a crime (do not consider themselves
victims and blame themselves for their
situation)
 May
develop loyalties & positive feelings
toward their trafficker as a coping
mechanism (May try to protect their
trafficker)
 Sometimes victims do not know where
they are because traffickers frequently
move them to escape detection
 Fear for safety of family in home country
 Helplessness
 Shame
 Humiliation
 Denial
 Cultural
shock from finding themselves
in a strange country
 Difficulty
communicating because of
language or cultural barriers?
 Accompanied by another person who
seems controlling?
 Have identification? Does person
accompanying potential victim insist on
hold pertinent documents?
 Detect physical abuse?
 Seem submissive or fearful?

Before questioning potential trafficking victim:
◦ Isolate individual from person accompanying
◦
◦
◦
◦
her/him without raising suspicion (may be a
trafficker posing as a spouse or friend)
Enlist trusted translator
Ask questions in safe, confidential, trusting
environment
Limit number of staff that come in contact with victim
Indirectly and sensitively probe to determine if
person is a trafficking victim (the term ‘trafficking
victim’ will have no meaning
 Can
you leave your work or job situation
if you want?
 When you are not working, can you come
and go as you please?
 Have you been threatened with harm if
you try to quit?
 Has anyone threatened your family?
 What
are your working or living
conditions like?
 Where do you sleep and eat?
 Do you have to ask permission to eat,
sleep or go to the bathroom?
 Is there a lock on your door or windows
so you cannot get out?
 “We
are here to help you”
 “Our first priority is your safety”
 “If you have been brought here against
your will to work, you will not be
deported”
 “We will give you the medical care that
you need”
 “You will receive the assistance that you
need to be safe and rebuild your life”
 Federal
Rescue and Restore Campaign –
Trafficking is known as “Modern Day Slavery”
 Victims who agree to testify against their
trafficker will receive a - T-Visa – and not be
deported
 Victims will receive Social Services and
Resources
 Call the National Rescue and Restore Hotline at
1-888-3737-888
(U.S. Citizens trafficked in the
U.S.)
3,016 Ohio youth at risk
1,078 domestic minors in the sex trade
 Includes
victims who are adults or
children
 Trafficked for the purposes of labor or
sex



Any person under the age of 18 and involved in a
commercial sex act where someone else is
economically benefiting off the child.
Occurs when children are kidnapped, coerced,
forced, manipulated, or appear to have entered
the sex industry by choice
Includes:







Street-level prostitution
Strip Clubs / Private Dancing
Massage or Escort Services
Convention Centers / Sporting Events
Tourist Destinations
Moved to apartments
Truck Stops

Average age of recruitment is between 12-14 years of
age nationally. 15-16 in Ohio

Recruited from inner cities, suburbs, and small towns
(National Center for Missing & Exploited Children)

Approached 48 hours to 2 weeks

Vulnerability is the common denominator across
trafficked youth.

Pimps are masters at identifying the
vulnerabilities of a specific child and exploit
them.

Once seduced, pimps use physical and
psychological torture and control

Tactics lead to complete obedience and a
breakdown of personal autonomy.

Pimps use the increased glamorization of
pimp/ho culture, as well as cultural acceptance
of demand for child victims, to help maintain
control of the child.
•Other
underage girls
•Young boys
•Adult women
Traffickers
Bottom
Recruiters, Groomers
Security
Connectors, Watchers
 Hang
out Spots
 Friends/Family Houses
 Malls
 Court Houses/Juvenile Centers
 Corner Stores
 Schools





Physically and/or psychologically controlled by pimps
Trained by pimps to tell lies and false stories
Victims’ distrust of service providers & law
enforcement
Frequently moved from place to place
Traffickers issue victims fake I.D.s
 Hotel
room keys
 Numerous school absences
 False ID’s and lying about age
 Having large amounts of cash, jewelry, new
clothes
 Recurrent STI’s/STD’s and/or need for
pregnancy tests
 Signs of physical assault including: branding or
tattooing, broken bones, black eyes, etc
“Child Prostitutes Sell Themselves on Craigslist”
“Sacramento police have nabbed nearly 70 underage girls for child prostitution since 2005.”
www.cnn.com/2008/crime/06/27/child.prostitution/index.html

Donna M. Hughes Professor & Carlson Endowed Chair
University of Rhode Island , Citizens Against Trafficking
RESCUE
CHILD
•
R
Runaway
•
C
Child Abuse/Neglect
•
E
Education
•
H
Homelessness
•
S
Sexual Assault
•
I
Influential Others
•
C
Court Appearances
•
L
•
U
Using Drugs/Alcohol
Loving someone much
older
•
E
Emotional Abuse
•
D
Difficulty making friends
Rescue
• D
Detect the presence of high risk factors
using RESCUE CHILD
• I
Intervene by detaining child long enough to
respond
• V
Value the child y recognizing his/her
strengths & ability to survive thus far
• E
Educate child about trafficking & your
responsibility to report
• R
Report to Child Protection & Police
• T
Trafficking Hotline 888-3737-888
A-B-C-D
• A
Complete an “Assessment” to understand needs
• B
Get “Buy in” from the youth
• C
Provide Intensive “Case Management”
• D
Engage youth in “Diversion Programming” that
involves trauma treatment and rooted in trauma
informed care.
manipulation, and Green (far right) represents victims involved by force.
Buyers who Purchase Sex
50
40
30
20
10
0
Blue (far left) represents those involved in prostitution in Ohio, Red (middle column)
N= 328
Reported in percents Note: In some cases, predators interested in raping and /or robbing will pretend to be a police officer. In addition, most street level sex workers (93%) have
represents
those
victims
sex
through
worked
both inside and outside
of Ohio. Ninety-one
percentof
of those
whotrafficking
currently have a pimpinvolved
and 89% of those who
are currently manipulation,
forced, reported working both and
inside andGreen
outside of Ohio.
Therefore
unknown inrepresents
which states subjects had
paid sex with involved
those in the professions
(farit isright)
victims
byabove.
force.
2012
Toledo Blade - May 27, 2012 - Customers from the suburbs of Toledo
arrested for buying sex. Two were 44 years old, one 59, and one 72
years old. One was a member of the Toledo Opera Guild, one was a
business man, one was a lawyer, and one was a builder. The two
women, age 18 and 28 were sellers.