Human Trafficking

This is such a sad topic but I believe it's important to address once and awhile, and I think the FBI's missing child day is coming up - so thought I would wrote a bit on it. I've had some experience with human trafficking - with chance encounters, relatives and friends who track this stuff for a living, and one in depth study.

Some estimates of the scope of the problem:

Most youth trafficked are estimated to be between the ages of 8 - 18 with the majority detected to be 12 and older. Toddlers and preschool aged children are trafficked as well. The greater the social taboo the more well hidden the child will be. A 4-year old will be hidden away while a 16-year old may not - so numbers are impossible to compile for the younger ages. For younger children (aged 3-4) they mainly come from parents in poverty who either give them away or are tricked - or from the offspring of trafficked victims. There are also those who have disappeared and are still missing across the world - some of whom are likely trafficked due to the high price they can bring. They are easy to control and transport due to fake passports and global travel.

Of those detected between 2007-2010, children made up 27% of trafficked victims in the U.S. while for Africa and the Middle East children made up the majority of victims at 68% (p. 31). This might be explained by children being more out in the open in the later regions due to extreme poverty and corrupt police who more readily accept bribes.

www.unodc.org...

Number of children exploited by the global commercial sex trade - 2 million.
50% of transnational victims are minors (those taken across borders).
www.handsacrosstheworldmn.org...

"In 2006 U.S. attorneys handled 82.8 percent more child pornography cases than they had in 1994." Much of this is due to the internet.
www.missingkids.com...

While girls make up the majority of those trafficked boys are not exempt with roughly 10% detected from reports through 2010. The true percentage is likely higher - boys are less likely to share what has happened to them.

www.unodc.org...

This business is not limited to men - women traffic children too.

Who are the customers - (as reported by victims) -attorneys, judges, police officers, social workers, truck drivers, priests/pastors, construction workers, Etc - you name it; from all backgrounds and professions.

Why it exists and persists:

Demand
Poverty
Lucrative business - low overhead, endless supply, big money.
Low awareness - by those who use services and the public.
Low ability to detect.
Corruption within the chain of command.
Lack of enough safety nets for escape.
Inconsistent laws to protect victims.
Victims not likely to seek help due to conditioning and/or threats.

Surprisingly - a low percentage of men are thought to drive this industry (with a very tiny percentage of women) - about 20% of the population. Yet it is growing and spreading.

Some of the explanations by those caught.

Didn't know or deny knowing the person was under aged.
Deny or did not know the person was trafficked.
The person seemed willing - mutual consent.
See it as a a norm and therefore acceptable - might be a party where such things are offered (yes - these parties happen).

Some facts associated with those seeking out minors specifically.

Seek control and domination.
Don't see the person as human in some cases.
Especially with very young children - believe the child loves them and enjoys it.

In almost all cases -
Are ashamed - they know it is wrong

The victims are everywhere - not just in South East Asia or in better known areas of proliferation. Even if it seems it is only spreading across a certain area this is an illusion. It is not far from any of us.

The victims - could be in your neighborhood. In the US - hotspots are San Francisco, New York, Atlanta, anywhere along the Mexican border, and all along the coastlines. It has been spreading into more remote spots in recent years. Maps differ on how they report this so couldn't find a good one that matched what I was told.

The rest of the world - It is just about everywhere and spreading - growing. Hot spots are anywhere there is poverty and opportunity to exploit, such as high tourist areas. Mexico, SE Asia, The entire Mediterranean area, etc.
As an example of a non touristy area. - Tennencingo Mexico is a town devoted to trafficking. A festival is held each year for trafficking rivals that is beyond belief. I won't get into those details.

Here are some indicators you might be seeing a trafficked victim. This would be a basic observation or chance interaction with a victim from child on up. Common sense comes into play with these indicators as they are age and situation dependent (intuition is a good thing).

*Comings and goings from a home where persons appear to be controlled or escorted by others at all times. If men come and go frequently and windows are opaque or barred this is obviously suspicious.
*Don't have money or possessions.
*Are never alone - someone is either with them at all times or close by.
*The person with them does all the speaking for them.
*Language seems scripted and rehearsed.
*Don't know where they live or where they are from.
*Don't know what city they are in.
*Give inconsistent answers.
*Evidence of self harm or abuse by another (bruises in various stages of healing, cuts). Brands or other scaring.
*Behavior - secretive, nervous, anxious, fearful, dissociative features, submissive, seem confused - anything that seems off that may or may not be coupled with indicators above. There are more but the overall idea is that these can be indicators if something else seems off.

Here are some kids featured on the FBI's list in 2013. Many look to be stranger abductions.
www.fbi.gov...

There is also missing kids link.
www.missingkids.com...

It is evil reality when one human does that to another. How can the trafficked one ever find some semblance of sanity or peace? It is overwhelming to think that there is a place that celebrates this kind of crime. I have truly not sufficiently appreciated how lucky I've been in life. My heartfelt prayers go out for those victims. Thanks for posting.

The traffic in children knows no social barriers.....
A native boy in Kamloops has accused the queen and her consort with taking children from the residential school to fondle on a visit to Canada.....
The police in the UK are covering up all kinds of buggery for the high and mighty lords and ladies...it seems the old country has a well entrenched child trafficking hierarchy....

In 2009 I reviewed the book "Somebody's Daughter" for Publishers Weekly and Amazon and was literally thrown out of the country by the scalding comments that I was 'not addressing the problem' by attacking the work and it's inconsistency.

The biggest complaints came from my blistering comments on the cover photo-that showed a very young model-dressed provocatively-the girl was barely 12 years old.

I said then-and I say the same thing now-that over dramatization and a feeble attempt at suggestiveness is no way to attack the problem. The facts were bloated and the entire essay was what I consider-a tabloid attempt at sensationalism.

A very public trial here of 7 members of a trafficking group from San Salvidor-mostly young girls and some young boys-that ended in acquittal was a huge blow to some. I felt the court did the right thing and people hated me even more for that.

These crimes are simply hard to prove without the subjects turning against the people that have been providing them with things they otherwise could have never received.

The center piece of the work was a trial of notorious 'pimps' forcing young girls-and young boys-into prostitution. Again these accusations are very difficult to prove in a court of law.

Many felt that they should have been sent to prison anyway-as a menace to society.

Let me know if you have read the book. I have an enormous amount of data on this subject.

reply to post by spooky24


I've not read that book. I have stuck to the psyc and statistical literature for my reading. While I'll need to take a look at it to see how it fits on the drama scale I will initially say it is a problem that stirs up strong feelings or denial/avoidance so it would be difficult to not see drama come from it.

Sexual abuse has the ability to shatter the identity of a person. They have to live in the body but the body isn't theirs in a sense. If ownership can be integrated into the psych an abuser or abusers succeed(s) at gaining some sort of relationship. If you think of a young person, identity formation doesn't come until the adolescent years so I can see why a young child wouldn't turn on their oppressor. Even adults trafficked become conditioned as a way of survival.

I suppose all I have to think of are the abundance of video archives of what goes on in Asia with this - right out in the open, and reports from those who have spoken up and reclaimed their identity. Stories from the Dutroux affair, as an example are pretty horrific and therefore unbelievable but photos accompanied these stories. If you speak with investigators of these crimes they report an endless sea of evidence on the internet but they cannot locate the victims. It's important to not overly react with drama as this can't be helpful but to simply be aware.

stirling
The traffic in children knows no social barriers.....
A native boy in Kamloops has accused the queen and her consort with taking children from the residential school to fondle on a visit to Canada.....
The police in the UK are covering up all kinds of buggery for the high and mighty lords and ladies...it seems the old country has a well entrenched child trafficking hierarchy....

The well known Madeleine McCann case - my initial gut feeling was the police knew something more. I still feel that. It will likely never be proven sadly. Victims do report all walks of life - rich/poor, powerful and authorities/average authority of just being an adult.

Trading *Humans like Cattle

you might be interested in looking at some of the info in the above link.

I finally found it. As far as the drama goes I was not trained to research fiction.

This is an example from the book. The first half concerns a girl name Maria and a 'pimp' named 'Knowledge'

Speaking in the first person Maria says:

"I waited until he(knowledge) was asleep and then I sneaked out the door. I quickly turned a trick in half hour and made $500. I felt all that cash in my pocket so I just got on the bus and was gone"

Preposterous

If you have never been there Jersey is a dump that unlike other American dumps this one is stuffed with a million people.

A 4'11" 17 year old girl says she turned a trick for $500 in Jersey where the going rate is in crack rocks of $10 and $20 is fiction pure and simple.

However, when I pointed this out I was bashed for being 'uncaring' 'insensitive and downplaying the problem. The common tacit of drama based on fiction to 'arouse persons interest' is fine for television or the movies. This is real life not TV and I was incensed by this form of 'advertising' for lack of a better word.

This is what really made people mad.



I have seen 100's of teenage prostitutes and crack, meth or opiate addicts and this is NOT how they dress. This is a model posing for the advertising agency that assisted with the publication.

I though this was sensationalism, fabrication and tabloid.

I was told that my 'adherence to facts' was detrimental to the issue that must use all means to highlight the problem that most Americans or anyone else for that matter don't know exist.

In other words-lies

reply to post by spooky24


I can see why you reviewed it as a poor choice and it seems a lot like the movie with Liam Nelson "taken". Unrealisitc because they show that they can be quickly rescued (yea - it's hollywood). In your example it's almost as if this portrayal can be detrimental - suggesting victims are in some sort of control - the mindset of seeing escape as a possibility.

Most have stockholm syndrome and won't leave when offered in some cases. There is that much fear and even attachment. This is what makes it so hard. With regard to the way she is dressed - I've seen this in Reno with prostitutes and even high end dress for escorts in Vegas but they can also be dressed in ripped jeans and a tshirt - dirty and disheaveled looking. There is no one look, and to convey that there is is to not properly educate.

This problem is never going to go away. What I want to know is why about 20% of the population can disconnect to such a degree that lust and the need to degrade override a conscious. I'm referring specifically to those who hire to beat and torture. I get "why" in theory and from the research but it isn't good enough. Also - if the interne is clogged with images of kids being exploited why can't they catch those who do this.