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- Herausgeber: IVP Academic
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Author Sandra Morgan awarded Wilberforce Award Human trafficking is one of the most pressing social justice issues of our time, and in recent years there has been renewed interest among Christians, as many have been stirred up to take their part in the ongoing battle. This is a wonderful thing—and yet misinformed and misguided efforts can do more harm than good. Ending Human Trafficking is a handbook designed to educate churches and parachurch organizations for truly effective work. In collaboration with The Global Center for Women and Justice at Vanguard University, Ending Human Trafficking is an accessible and compelling resource for Christian leaders, written by seasoned leaders in the struggle against modern slavery. Grounded in a theological response to the issue and filled with stories, up-to-date data, and practical tools and tips, it promises to be an invaluable resource for years to come.
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WE DEDICATE THIS BOOK TO the millions of women, children, and men who are trapped in the evil of modern slavery and human trafficking, and to those who
Contents
Foreword
Ambassador John Cotton Richmond
HAVE YOU EVER FELT OVERWHELMED by an important task, perplexed about how to take action, or doubtful that your best efforts could make a difference? I have. It is a mixture of preemptive fatigue, profound confusion, and learned hopelessness. The topic of human trafficking can generate these feelings as well-intentioned groups raise awareness about the millions of people suffering in slavery and about the urgency that something must be done. Yet the call to action often seems unclear or unequal to the task.
I think people are willing to draw near to those who are suffering if they believe they can make a difference. For people of faith, there is a clear and unmistakable directive to care for the oppressed and to seek justice. But without a plan, it is hard to put empathy and compassion into meaningful action.
Having spent most of my career on the frontlines of combating human trafficking, I have witnessed this fatigue phenomenon far too often. I saw it when I lived in India working on forced labor cases with International Justice Mission. I saw it as a federal civil rights prosecutor in the United States working sex- and labor-trafficking cases across the country. I also saw it when I led US foreign policy on human trafficking as a US ambassador.
People seeking to combat human trafficking need a guide. Mountain climbers often benefit from guides or Sherpas who have studied the mountain, learned through trial and error, and successfully summited many times. A guide supports the climber and makes the overwhelming task of getting to the top seem possible.
We need guides in our fight for freedom, and this book can help meet that need. The authors have years of experience studying the issues, learning lessons, and overcoming mistakes. They can guide you beyond awareness fatigue and provide a sense of hope that comes from having a practical plan to make a difference.
The authors are calling on churches and faith communities to engage because every victim of human trafficking is created in the image of God and possesses human dignity. When traffickers force their victims to work or to engage in commercial sex acts, they are attempting to deny or diminish human dignity. By separating victims from their traffickers and providing thoughtful, individualized, trauma-informed care, we acknowledge the inherent value of each person. This is faith in action. This is the fulfillment of the Micah 6:8 mandate to “act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”
Churches have a unique and special role to play in the larger anti-trafficking movement. There is a great deal of talent within the church. If properly trained and equipped, followers of Jesus stand poised to make a huge impact for good. The church possesses some distinctives that governments do not. Followers of Jesus operate without boundaries. They do not have jurisdictional borders or “areas of responsibility”—they can serve wherever the needs exist. Also, faith communities do not operate for two-year or four-year terms. Short-term thinking is the tainted fruit of bureaucracies. In contrast, some faith communities can think longer term and work through far more flexible funding sources that do not inhibit impact.
A survivor of human trafficking once told me that the only thing her trafficker could not control was her ability to pray. She prayed to God for her pain to end. She prayed that people would do more than be informed and more than merely have distant compassion. She prayed that people would take smart, strategic action that would restore her freedom and allow her to thrive beyond her trauma. God answered her prayers by using his people in many different professions to bring hope.
Within the pages of this book, you will find the information, ideas, and strategies necessary to affect change in the realm of human trafficking. You will learn about the hope-generating importance of prevention, protection, prosecution, partnership, policy, and prayer. Instead of being overwhelmed, you will find inspiration and a practical plan to help restore liberty to those who need it most. As the Scriptures remind us, “It is for freedom that we have been set free.”
Acknowledgments
WITH PROFOUND APPRECIATION AND RESPECT, we extend thanks to the women and men who shared their expertise on human trafficking as podcast guests or in interviews. Their professionalism, paired with a heart and passion to end human trafficking, is a model to us and to the world of how we all can collaborate, learn from one another, and effectively fight this evil. This book would not have been written without the many people who shared their stories and experiences.
A special thanks goes to Louise, a survivor whose honesty and vulnerability in these pages are striking. In addition, every guest on the Ending Human Trafficking podcast has influenced the content of this book. They have pooled their knowledge to build a better understanding of the complex issues around what it takes to end the exploitation of our fellow citizens in this world. With over 250 episodes in the podcast, there are too many participants to list here, but you will meet many in the following pages. The most notable podcast guests to thank are the survivors who have shared their lived experience and expertise: Holly Austin Smith, Carissa Phelps, Harmony Dust Grillo, Shyima Hall, Stacy Jewell, Rachel Thomas, Bella Hounakey, Rebecca Bender, Amy Rahe, and Kathy McGibbon Givens.
We give thanks for the Global Center for Women and Justice (GCWJ) at Vanguard University of Southern California. We are grateful for their mission of equipping students to address the global status of women and vulnerable populations through collaborative and restorative justice principles, for their vision to develop educational resources to promote best practices and data-driven decision-making, and for serving our communities as a clearinghouse for information on women’s issues in a multidisciplinary approach. In 2010 GCWJ board member Dave Stachowiak suggested starting a podcast to reach and educate more people, and in May 2011 the Ending Human Trafficking podcast was launched. This book is a direct fruit of GCWJ’s mission and vision as well as the podcast’s influence.
We would also like to thank GCWJ associate director Derek Marsh, the law enforcement founder of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force in 2004 and Sandie’s boss while she was serving as task force administrator from 2007 to 2010. Much gratitude goes to another great supporter and podcast subscriber, Ambassador John Cotton Richmond, who consistently models support for others and strengthens connections in the anti-human-trafficking movement.
A special acknowledgment comes from Sandie, who is grateful for her husband, Jean, her best encourager in growing the work of the Global Center for Women and Justice and in life.
Finally, our gratitude belongs to our editors, Edward Gilbreath and Ethan McCarthy, and to InterVarsity Press Academic for being committed to publishing titles that facilitate broader conversations in the academy and the church and for engaging in these most important of issues. Ending human trafficking and working to set free those who are caught in this form of exploitation is one of the most important and urgent issues of our day. We are thankful for the support of IVP to assist the church and the world in fighting this evil with intention, with education, and with passion.
The King will reply, “Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
Introduction
Build a Safety Fence
Our task as image-bearing, God-loving, Christ-shaped, Spirit-filled Christians, following Christ and shaping our world, is to announce redemption to a world that has discovered its fallenness, to announce healing to a world that has discovered its brokenness, to proclaim love and trust to a world that knows only exploitation, fear, and suspicion.
A STORY FROM DR. SANDIE MORGAN
It was just before lunch when the Department of Justice official who was moderating a conference for human trafficking task force leaders announced it was time to do a table exercise. The topic: discuss one of your biggest task force challenges.
A Texas police sergeant at my table leaned his chair back and laughed. “Easy! The wacko church people.”
My colleagues at the table turned to look at me.
As the administrator of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force and as an ordained minister, admittedly, I had experienced my own share of well-intentioned yet problematic church people. But this stung.
Our task force co-chair gestured toward me. “Hey, she’s one of them.”
Trying to defuse the situation, I quipped, “Yes, I can marry you and bury you.”
Everyone laughed and the awkward moment passed, but the point was made: in the public square, when it comes to issues of human trafficking, churches and people of faith are often viewed as a problem.
In my own community there are a number of churches that are active in the fight against modern slavery, and not always in good ways. One example is a pastor who led rescue investigations in our community independent of law enforcement, which—needless to say—is incredibly dangerous and irresponsible. He even invited local news media to a rescue. The church members who joined the pastor in those efforts were not police officers or working with law enforcement and therefore could not make an arrest, so the perpetrator got away. Because this pastor had called in the media, the victim’s face was now all over the news. These well-intentioned Christians made a bad situation worse. Instead of building trust with their community, they put a victim at risk, compromised and disrupted a large joint law enforcement investigation, and wasted tax dollars.
Another example of misguided yet well-intentioned Christian involvement is the disproportionate focus on sex trafficking over labor trafficking. I know of a group of wealthy white Christian men who, broken-hearted over the sex trafficking situation in Cambodia, traveled to brothels in that country and attempted to rescue girls independent of any government, nonprofit, or church authority. This is the height of savior mentality. At best it is inappropriate and at worst it is nefarious. Sex trafficking of minors is real and horrific and must be stopped. Yet any response to modern slavery must be well-informed, transparent, and carried out in cooperation with all sectors of society.
Another reason Christians are often seen as a problem is their lack of understanding of what is actually involved in fighting human trafficking and modern slavery. One well-intentioned woman who was upset by this evil in her community called me on multiple occasions to tell me about a house that had been left to her by an aunt. She had an elaborate plan to create a restoration home for women rescued from human trafficking, and she planned to staff it with volunteers from her church. Each time she called, I explained that the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force could not send victims to her home because her facility did not meet state and county requirements. This frustrated her. But instead of being open to learning the proper processes, laws, and guidelines set by state and local authorities, she accused me of religious persecution. Opening rescue homes without proper training and licensing is high risk in our litigious society, and there are ethical concerns around victim dignity and care.
As a Christian leader, minister, and federal task force administrator, I am grieved by the missteps of some of my fellow Christians with savior complexes. I believe strongly that we must be salt and light in the world. But it is essential that we evaluate what this looks like when we are engaging in the fight against modern slavery. As Christians and churches of any size, we cannot go it alone. These convictions have prompted me to reach out and find like-minded Christians, such as my coauthors Shayne Moore and Kimberly Yim, who understand collaboration, who understand how to work across sectors of society, and who are committed to building trust within their communities.
The sergeant’s opinion of “wacko church people” who interfere and are problematic is one we have heard repeatedly in our various roles. It grieves us that well-intentioned individuals are harming our Christian reputation as a whole. It is our hope that this book will inform a collaborative and cohesive biblical response in our churches, nonprofit organizations, and ministry efforts. Ending human trafficking will require intentional strategies that equip Christian leaders to respond well to this overwhelming evil.
BUILD A SAFETY FENCE
Imagine a steep and deadly cliff. Today, most churches and nonprofit organizations working in anti-human-trafficking efforts are focused solely on the victims who have already fallen or been thrown off the cliff of modern slavery. The primary focus is on rescue, on scraping up the victims at the bottom. While this is, of course, important, we will never end human trafficking and modern slavery with this as our only strategy. Together, we must erect an impervious fence so that women, men, and children never fall off the cliff in the first place.
If you are someone who wants to help build this fence, this book will educate and assist you and your leadership in discerning what part of it you can build collaboratively with your greater community. What might be your fenceposts? What structural elements can you add? And how can you link your segment to those of others who are also building this protective fence? The following chapters will help you focus your response and resources in wise ways that create sustainable change. Perhaps your community will focus on only one fencepost, such as afterschool care for children in your neighborhood, preventing them from being easy targets for exploitation. Perhaps your church or organization will focus on cybersafety and education, going into schools to do peer-to-peer training.
The safety-fence model is one way the church can be collaborative, partnering with law enforcement and other agencies that fight human trafficking to effectively prevent it from ever happening in the first place. These types of ministries and activities may not be as attention-grabbing or sensational as rescue missions and building expensive aftercare homes, yet it is the only way to end this evil in our time. We must build the protective fence together against modern slavery, creating a force field for the vulnerable individuals who are near the cliff’s edge.
It is essential that the church and its leaders study the language and issues surrounding human trafficking and be able to engage in the public square—that they become “human-trafficking literate.” Christian communities can build their own fenceposts and ministries to fight human trafficking, but they must be aware, educated, and intelligent about what local law enforcement and social services are doing. For instance, it is necessary to know the laws in our own countries and in nations where we may support nonprofits in this work. Human trafficking is flourishing in our generation, and our safety fence must be strong and strategic.
THE SIX PS
This book is built around the Ps universally used in fighting human trafficking. In 2000 the United States passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and the United Nations passed the Palermo Protocol, which generated new global awareness of human trafficking and the need for a common language and education.1 Both focused on the same three Ps: prevention, protection, and prosecution. These guidelines later expanded to include partnership, then policy. As Christians, we add prayer. Using this globally accepted framework, we can build a comprehensive strategy for the church in our efforts to ending human trafficking.
To ensure the safety and well-being of volunteers as well as victims, we must make sure our efforts are sustainable and follow best-practice models. The TVPA authorized the annual global Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which offers guidance for community engagement in anti-trafficking work. This model identifies professional and community roles for an effective response to human trafficking. Every church and nonprofit should make a careful assessment of its expertise and resources to provide a sustainable, consistent, and compassionate response that respects the intersection of public and private roles. When churches engage in the community to work with law enforcement agencies and other secular organizations, they are following a biblical pattern of being salt and light. They are also making wise use of limited resources. One organization or one church may not have the means to set up a residential care facility, but it can provide volunteers and even pro bono professional services, such as counseling or language instruction for international victims.
Figure 1. Enhanced collaborative model for human trafficking task forces
Key to collaboration is respect for various partners’ expertise and resources. No one can do it all. Prevention requires a comprehensive community engagement plan. Protection entails long-term commitment of significant resources from multiple stakeholders. Prosecution starts when law enforcement recovers a victim and requires coordination with victim service providers. Partnership involves the whole community, which must study the issues, be a voice, and come together to discover appropriate roles. Policy respects wider community guidelines and ensures that trust is maintained. Prayer unites the body of Christ: to one another, to those caught in the evil of modern slavery, and to our God.
THE ROLE OF THE CHURCH: UNIQUELY POSITIONED FOR PREVENTION
Proverbs 31:8 reminds us of our requirement as people of faith to advocate for the marginalized and take action to make things right: “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed” (NLT). The theology of imago Dei speaks to this mandate. We are all made in the image of God. “So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Genesis 1:27 NRSV).
Human trafficking and modern slavery are pervasive in our world today. The practice of tricking, coercing, or forcing another human being into slavery steals freedom and joy and robs the individual of his or her identity as an image bearer of God. The church, Christian leaders, and stakeholders with a vision to end human trafficking must be of the mindset to do more than rescue and rehabilitate. While this work is, of course, important and essential, we must also ensure justice for those at risk of being crushed.
We believe the body of Christ is uniquely positioned for the essential work of prevention. When Christians focus on those dangerously close to falling off the cliff, a sense of urgency will rise to catch victims before they are crushed. The very nature of the church as an institution and its placement within communities uniquely enable the church to prevent human trafficking.
Biblically, we see the earliest recorded story of prevention of human trafficking in 2 Kings 4. This story, of a widow at risk of losing her sons to enslavement, contains many factors present in modern slavery, including poverty and the low status of women. We can also connect elements of this story to a sociological theory called “asset-based community development,” which strives to build on the skills and resources found within a community and mobilize individuals, networks, and institutions to come together to utilize those strengths.2 All of these elements are present in our case study from 2 Kings:
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the LORD. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”
But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” (2 Kings 4:1-7)
By studying this Scripture verse by verse we see a powerful story of prevention unfold. In Old Testament culture, a widow would not have had access to land or other resources that many married women enjoyed. Unfortunately, this is still the reality for widows in many parts of the world today. We know widows and orphans are at higher risk of being trafficked and exploited.
In this story the woman’s creditors demand to take her sons as slaves as payment for her debts. This is also a common narrative in human trafficking around the world—an individual owes a debt and must work for others to pay it off. We see it in scams where a smuggler brings someone into the United States from Latin America and now that family or individual owes the smuggler a great debt. Many of the girls rescued in our own communities could tell similar stories of indebtedness leading to their own enslavement. As churches and Christians who wish to help end human trafficking, we begin by asking how it happens in the first place. Exploitation of the marginalized in society is nothing new. It is as old as the Bible.
In 2 Kings 4, two little boys are at risk because their mother is a widow. Likewise in our modern societies, any mother trying to raise children on her own is an at-risk individual. A single mother does not have the same resources as someone in a two-parent home. Her challenges are greater, her vulnerabilities are greater, and the vulnerabilities of her children are greater.
In the biblical story, a religious leader—a “pastor”—gets involved. It is important to look at what Elisha does in this mother’s difficult and potentially disastrous situation and compare it to what the modern church might do in a similar situation. A church today might make a video to highlight the horror of human trafficking. Perhaps it would even bring in a victim to tell her story and break our hearts, then collect an offering. In fact, many churches have a benevolence fund for these types of situations.
Maybe Elisha had a fund such as this. He could have said, “How much to pay the debt? Let me write a check.” But that is not what Elisha does.
Instead he asks, “What do you have?” He starts with an asset-based approach rather than a needs-based approach. He doesn’t base his response solely on what the woman lacks.
The widow answers, “Nothing. Olive oil. A little flask of olive oil.”
At this time in history, a little flask of olive oil was just enough to put in her lamp at night to get home safely. It was the equivalent of an AA battery. It was not enough to cook with or to heat her home. Her tiny flask of oil counted as nothing to her, yet it did not matter to Elisha how small it was. She had one resource, and that’s what mattered.
When engaging issues of human trafficking and interacting with victims of this horrific evil in our modern context, it is important to learn about vulnerable populations and their communities. We must ask questions to discover what and where the assets are in a given situation. These questions could include: Is she skilled at something? Does she have any vocational skills? Did she go to nursing school? Does she live in an area where she can go to community college? Elisha shows us it is essential to start with what someone has.
After assessing the mother’s assets, Elisha makes a strange request. He instructs the woman to go out into her community and borrow empty vessels, empty jars. The ancient prophet not only involves the mother and her sons in the solution but brilliantly pulls in the community as well. This is the second step in ensuring justice for these little boys who are at risk of being sold as slaves. It is essential for the family and the community be involved.
Today, we typically think about community involvement as asking for donations and raising funds. If we are going door to door or issuing a call from the pulpit, we ask for checks and cash, not empty jars. If we were in this story, we might have asked the community to give money from their abundance for the boys’ deliverance. But that is not what Elisha asks. He instructs the mother to borrow empty jars from family and friends, and in so doing, he engages the entire community.
The next part of the story should fill us with wonder and awe. The desperate woman has been obedient and collected the jars. Now Elisha tells her to shut the door and start pouring from the little flask. In faith, she follows through and offers her small thing—and God shows up. Every single jar is filled. There is not one overlooked jar in the house.
Note that the Bible does not tell us much about the two young boys. We know they are old enough to bring their mother a jar, but we do not know their names. It is interesting to reflect on the idea that perhaps today we sometimes focus too much on the faces and the names of vulnerable children in poverty. While they are indeed suffering, the real story for prevention and change is the parents’ story.
Once all the jars are full, Elisha instructs our young mother to take the olive oil and sell it to pay her debts. She does what Elisha instructs, and it’s important to note that she is selling something everyone in her community needs—she is not selling a luxury item. This mother contributes to her community as an olive oil entrepreneur, and in her new role she can provide for her sons with dignity.
After this story in 2 Kings we never hear another word about this woman, her sons, or her debts. She has been established as a businesswoman, which has empowered her to care for herself and her children. This outcome illustrates why asset-based development must be a priority in our responses, rather than a focus on needs.
There are many parallels in today’s world with this story in 2 Kings. A challenge for leaders and communities who wish to end human trafficking is to look to this story and use it as a biblical model, a prevention strategy to be implemented in our own churches and neighborhoods. Elisha was not simply a social worker who used an ancient version of asset-based community development; Elisha was a man of God filled with the prophetic and empathetic love of God. He did not see this woman as someone to be dismissed because of her lower standing in society, although he could have done so without judgment at that time in history. Instead, he acknowledged the imago Dei in her and in her sons.
A long-term sustainable strategy is embedded in this biblical story, one that can be used as a model for partnerships and collaborations in all aspects of combating modern human trafficking. In this story the mother turns to a pastor for help, and he creates a strategy that empowers her. How do we begin to multiply a similar strategy in our churches and organizations to create space for God to work?
Today the church is uniquely positioned to prevent modern slavery because we are trusted in our communities, we have a history of relationship with our communities, and we often have existing facilities, networks, and infrastructure that can be used as assets (for example, buildings can be used for trainings, staging arenas for disasters, and so on). All these thing make the church a valuable partner in local and community efforts. It is important to understand what the church brings to the table, and any effective community assessment will include faith leaders.
Prevention is ensuring that exploitation never happens in the first place. Let’s go back to our illustration of the safety fence. Elisha’s response of empowering the mother, mobilizing the community, and then God showing up are all fenceposts that prevent the two boys from falling over the cliff of slavery. We have learned that stopping the bad guys is not enough. Rescue and rehabilitation are not enough. We must put people before programs. A biblical model of prevention that empowers a mother to take care of her children, one that empowers vulnerable populations at risk of exploitation, is the best way to avoid modern slavery.
1
Elements and Types ofHuman Trafficking
Laying the Groundwork
This is an economic crime. People do not enslave people to be mean to them; they do it to make a profit.
THE MODERN SLAVE TRADE is driven by greed. Like all criminal activity, human trafficking is underreported. It is a complex crime taking place globally and locally, both in organized and systematic ways and erratic and desperate ways. Whether the enslavement of human beings arises from a desperate attempt to provide for one’s family or a calculated desire to add millions to a portfolio, profit is the motivation. The demand for cheap labor and sexual services fuels the exploitation of vulnerable people.
There are two major forms of trafficking: labor trafficking and sex trafficking. In both cases someone is being sold to make a profit. The internationally accepted definition of human trafficking is “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or vulnerability, or giving payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation includes, at a minimum, the prostitution of others, or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or similar practices, servitude or the removal of organs.”1 Human trafficking also includes “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of a child [anyone under eighteen years of age] for the purpose of exploitation,” even if other conditions from the above definition are not met.2
This definition includes three elements: the act (what is done), the means (how it is done), and the purpose (why it is done). Let’s look at each in turn:
■ The act (what is done): Recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or obtaining a person for labor, services, or commercial sex acts.
■ The means (how it is done): Threat or use of force, fraud, or coercion.
■ The purpose (why it is done): Exploitation, involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, slavery, removal of organs. Or . . .
■ Any commercial sex act involving a minor.
LABOR TRAFFICKING
Often people come to the anti-human-trafficking table because they were told a story about a little girl. In the public imagination, a trafficked person is often a young white female who is taken for purposes of sexual exploitation. But that is actually not the most common form of human trafficking. We tend not to see the images of children working on looms making rugs, young men working in tomato fields, women cleaning up after other people’s children, or young boys digging in mines all day for minerals.
Because of the high-profile stories we do hear about, we may be more aware of the significant revenues associated with sex trafficking and the horrific trauma its victims endure. But in studying the problem of human trafficking over decades, we have learned that there are more people trapped in labor trafficking than sex trafficking. Internationally, 64 percent of trafficking victims are in forced labor, approximately 20 percent are in sex trafficking, and another 16 percent are in state-imposed forced labor.3
As in sex trafficking, females account for the majority of labor trafficking victims and, tragically, 20 percent of labor trafficking victims are children. There are many types of labor trafficking, with the largest share of victims in domestic work. About a quarter of all labor trafficking is domestic, followed by construction, manufacturing, agriculture, and fishing. Male victims are more likely to be found in mining, manufacturing, construction, and agriculture industries, whereas females are more likely to be forced to work in hospitality and food service industries as well as domestic work.4
Bonded and forced labor. There are two general types of labor trafficking: bonded labor and forced labor. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) states, “Bonded labor, or debt bondage, is probably the least known form of labor trafficking today, yet it is the most widely used method of enslaving people.” Bonded labor resembles a standard labor contract, but the laborer is rarely able to repay the principal and interest. HHS continues, “Victims become bonded laborers when their labor is demanded as a means of repayment for a loan or service in which its terms and conditions have not been defined or in which the value of the victims’ services as reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation of the debt.”5
Forced labor is when victims are forced to work against their own will under the threat of violence or some other form of punishment. The victims are seen as property and their freedom limited. Domestic servitude, agricultural labor, sweatshop factory labor, janitorial, food service and other service industry labor, and begging are common forms of forced labor.6
A number of factors make individuals, especially migrants, vulnerable to labor trafficking. The International Labor Organization explains,
Although most migration is voluntary and has a positive impact on individuals and societies, migration can increase vulnerability to human trafficking and exploitation. Irregular migrants, for instance, may be subjected to kidnap and ransom demands, extortion, physical violence, sexual abuse, and trafficking in persons. They may start their journeys by willingly placing themselves in the hands of smugglers and become trafficked along the way. Once they reach their destination, migrants who have travelled through regular and irregular channels remain vulnerable to trafficking in persons and other forms of exploitation due to language barriers, challenges of social integration, and unscrupulous employers and landlords who take advantage of their limited knowledge of local conditions and reduced bargaining power. Large-scale displacement caused by humanitarian crises such as armed conflicts, natural disasters, and protracted unrest can also create vulnerable populations who can become victims of trafficking.7
Labor trafficking predators can be found in all victim demographics, and they exploit any unique vulnerability specific to a victim, such as a developmental disorder, a history of abuse, or cultural beliefs.8 When employers use force, fraud, or coercion as tactics to control the worker and cause the worker to believe he or she has no choice but to continue the work, the work becomes labor trafficking.9
Labor trafficking and modern slavery have been known to flourish in housecleaning services, landscape and gardening businesses, households in which domestic workers are present, large-scale agricultural operations, construction sites, casinos, garment factories, hotels, nail salons, and migrant and transitional communities. Labor trafficking is prevalent in these industries due to the involvement of third-party labor contractors, which have little oversight.
Domestic labor trafficking. “One of the most insidious forms of trafficking—the enslavement of domestics and nannies—occurs under our very noses,” write Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter, authors of The Slave Next Door.10 Often working up to sixteen hours a day, victims in this industry are one of the most prevalent in labor trafficking. They can be involved in cooking, cleaning, childcare, elder care, gardening, and other household work. Trafficked domestic laborers may or may not live in their employer’s home. Most victims work for ten to twenty hours a day for little or no pay. In the United States domestic workers can be US citizens, undocumented immigrants, or foreign nationals working under specific types of visas.
Most cases of domestic labor trafficking involve women and girls, but men and boys can be victims too. These trafficked laborers may be forced to endure physical or sexual abuse, prevented from moving about in the community, restricted in their communication with their family and friends, and constantly monitored. They may also be denied medical treatment and experience sleep deprivation.
Fraud is often part of domestic labor trafficking cases as victims are promised false jobs or educational opportunities. They often experience nonpayment, underpayment, or withholding of their wages; visa fraud; and false or altered employment contracts. Coercion may also occur in domestic labor trafficking when victims face threats to family and friends, threats of deportation, document confiscation, and verbal or psychological abuse designed to elicit cooperation. Rachel Thomas, founder of Sowers Education Group, explains, “Psychological coercion is mental manipulation, mind control. Anytime you manipulate someone’s thinking in a way that eventually will manipulate their behavior, beliefs, and their whole personhood in a way that is against their own best interests is psychological abuse.”11
In the United States, 92 percent of domestic workers are women, with 52 percent being women of color. Even though most domestic workers are born in the United States, “they are more likely than other workers to have been born outside the U.S. and they tend to be older than other workers.”12 In a review of reports from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Polaris reports, “Many victims of trafficking in domestic work are recruited by traffickers and often through family or community ties. Once in the United States, traffickers often use the threat of deportation, as well as document confiscation, to maintain control of foreign national domestic workers.”13
Immigration status increases the vulnerability of this group as they often hold special visas tying their immigration status to a single employer. “If a domestic worker with an A-3, G-5 or NATO-7 visa leaves an abusive situation, he or she becomes undocumented and risks deportation. Traffickers frequently use victims’ unfamiliarity with US laws and customs to convince them there is danger in reporting a trafficking situation to law enforcement or seeking help from social service providers.”14 In addition, domestic work occurs in isolation within the boundaries of a residential home. People in domestic work have minimal engagement with others in the community and can become easily exploited.
There are approximately two million domestic workers in the United States today.15 Some domestic workers are nannies, house cleaners, and direct care workers for the elderly and people with disabilities. They can be working in car washes, doing landscaping, or working in nail salons. They can be paid directly by private homeowners or agencies or through publicly funded programs or online platforms. Domestic work represents the largest sector of all labor trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.16
Below are the types of US visas that are often connected with domestic trafficking. Individuals with these visas arrive via legal channels but are later exploited and enslaved.
■ A-3 visa: domestic workers for foreign diplomats
■ B-1 visa: domestic workers for certain categories of employers
■ G-5 visa: domestic workers for employees of international organizations
■ J-1 visa: au pairs
Those of us who want to bring an end to human trafficking can ask ourselves some important questions. For instance, do we know anything about the individuals we hire to clean our homes? Do they speak the same language as the majority of people in our neighborhood? If we are in church leadership, do we know the stories of the people who clean the facilities after regular church hours? Consider taking time to get to know all staff personally.
Servile marriage. Servile marriage is often invisible in a community. It most likely involves a woman entering the United States on a marriage visa who has actually been sold into the marriage. The Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force has encountered many cases of servile marriage. One frequent scenario involves a daughter who is offered through a marriage broker in Southeast Asia. Her family desperately needs financial resources, and a Western client is engaged by the broker. The client visits the potential bride and is provided with photos and supporting documents to apply for the visa. Once the victim is in the United States, she is controlled by threats of deportation or being reported to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The victim may refuse rescue because of the risk to her family back home, who has already accepted the money. If a child is born into the marriage, often the perpetrator uses the child as a means of coercion, refusing to allow the child to leave the home with the mother.
In one case we know of, a servile marriage victim asked a neighbor for help after being married by proxy to a developmentally disabled adult male by his businessman brother. The parents had always cared for their disabled son but now were too elderly to manage. Rather than organizing in-home care, the brother arranged a marriage through an illegal marriage broker. The young woman was forced to care for the elderly parents and the disabled son around the clock.
Agriculture. In the United States most workers are protected by the National Labor Relations Act of 1935. This law gives workers the right to organize and protects against unsafe work, guarantees fixed wages, and addresses health issues. This legislation applies to many different types of work environments but not farm labor. Due to reasons steeped in the transatlantic slave trade, history of Jim Crow laws, and Southern politics, farm laborers and household servants were excluded from full rights when this law was passed.17 This has had a tremendous impact on agricultural work standards in the United States, where competitive prices and cheap labor can quickly lead to forced slave labor.
According to the 2020 US census, there are three million farm workers in the United States.18 Agricultural workers work long hours for low wages, often in difficult or unsafe environments due to heat or pesticide exposure. Agricultural workers, particularly but not limited to migrant or immigrant workers, are especially at risk for labor trafficking and modern slavery. Immigrants may be lured to the United States with promises of jobs only to be forced into servitude. Many may be trafficked from place to place. Undocumented immigrants are particularly vulnerable to threats of deportation, arrest, and violence. Those with H-2A visas are specifically vulnerable to abuse and coercion, as employers are able to withhold wages, passports, and identification.19
