Human Trafficking - BPOC 736, Module E, Chapter 21, Units 4-8

Question 1

What is “economic marginalization?”

Answer 1

Groups of people or countries are excluded from participating in the economic system

Question 2

What is “globalization”?

Answer 2

Extending to all parts of the world; worldwide integration and development

Question 3

What is “instability”?

Answer 3

Tendency to behave or react violently or erratically

Question 4

What are “profit margins”?

Answer 4

Difference between the cost of buying or making something and the price at which it is sold

Question 5

How has law enforcement made a positive impact on human trafficking?

Answer 5

Awareness and prevention initiatives, coupled with law enforcement efforts to actively look for situations where trafficking is occurring

Question 6

How has free trade helped with the proliferation of criminal enterprises?

Answer 6

The drug trade was the first to profit from a global economy in the 1960s; the trade of weapons and humans followed in the last half of the 20th century

Question 7

How has economic marginalization impacted human trafficking?

Answer 7

Some countries get richer while others suffer from extreme poverty; criminal activity becomes one of few options to make a living with a high profit margin; Extreme poverty means women and children become targets of exploitation; Individuals seek employment abroad, where the potential for exploitation is greatest; When job opportunities are limited, the jobs tend to go to men, leaving women and children exposed to deceptive employment ventures

Question 8

What are some contributing factors to crimes committed on a larger international scale?

Answer 8

High profit margins; advances in communication and technology; relative ease of global travel; deregulation of trading opportunities around the world

Question 9

How does political instability and war contribute to trafficking?

Answer 9

Weakens already strained social protection issues; increases vulnerability to exploitation and abuse through trafficking and forced labor

Question 10

How does demand contribute to trafficking?

Answer 10

Wherever there is a commodity to sell, there must be a customer looking to purchase; countries that profit from free trade or deregulation of trade have the financial ability to support transnational crimes; the US ranks very high as a destination country for victims of human trafficking

Question 11

What contributes to the difficulty in ending human trafficking?

Answer 11

Traffickers realize the gains to be made from trafficking humans; traffickers also know the risk of detection and apprehension by law enforcement is relatively low; if gains outweigh risks, human trafficking will continue to thrive

Question 12

How can we increase the risk so it is greater than the reward?

Answer 12

Reducing the risk requires more eyes looking for and catching criminal activity. Choice 1 is to hire more law enforcement officers; Choice 2 is to educate not just police officers but the public at large what to look for, asking them to help identify potential offenders and report them to the police

Question 13

What is the UNODC?

Answer 13

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

Question 14

What did the UNODC list as the characteristics of victims?

Answer 14

Women and girls under 17 years of age; low level of education or no education; unemployed; limited employment opportunities in their countries of origin; dire economic circumstances; social and economic inequality in countries of origin; armed conflict, military occupation, and/or regional conflict in countries of origin

Question 15

Who is most vulnerable to human trafficking?

Answer 15

Recent migration or relocation; substance use; mental health concerns; involvement in the child welfare system; being a runaway or homeless youth

Question 16

Why are men less likely to be victims of trafficking?

Answer 16

Much less is known about male victims of trafficking; trafficking is underreported and labor trafficking is not considered as serious an offense as sex trafficking; male victims are often a forgotten population; in some countries men are not considered victims

Question 17

What are the most common forms of trafficking in Texas?

Answer 17

Sex and labor trafficking; domestic servitude; forced marriage; forced criminality; child soldiers; organ harvesting

Question 18

What are risk factors for youth being exploited by the trafficking industry?

Answer 18

History of physical and sexual abuse, neglect, or sexual assault; youth who have run away or are experiencing homelessness; history of teen dating violence; history of parent/guardian or personal drug use

Question 19

What is the relationship between poverty and human trafficking?

Answer 19

Living in dire circumstances, hopelessness, and longing for a better life can leave one vulnerable to human trafficking schemes. Poverty predisposes people to search for economic opportunities without fully considering the risks. This demographic fall prey to promise of “great jobs” in other countries.

Question 20

What did the UNODC list as the characteristics of trafficking offenders?

Answer 20

Trafficking operations may be run by male/female teams, male-only teams, female-only teams, or husband/wife operations; traffickers are usually associated with the victim in some way (acquaintances, neighbors, family members, spouses or girlfriends); ages vary from late teens to older adults; educational and occupational backgrounds vary, but some have advanced educational degrees; most have criminal histories (money laundering, extortion, child pornography, and drug trafficking); many use legitimate business as cover for their illicit activities

Question 21

What are the job requirements for entrepreneur offenders?

Answer 21

To know the local area, its customs, and features, as well as its people; to manage the recruitment process; to make travel arrangements for victims; to participate in all areas of the trafficking operation; capitalizes on the skills of different players (those with knowledge of the area recruit victims, those with computer skills falsify travel documents, another group bribes immigration officials)

Question 22

How are “mom and pop” organizations set up?

Answer 22

They employ about one dozen people: a driver, one or two crew members acting as enforcers during travel; others in charge of rounding up customers; collecting money; transporting passengers to secret departure points; acting as lookouts

Question 23

How do “network operations” work?

Answer 23

Networks make it possible for anyone, even with no criminal experience, to enter the business; can vary in size and sophistication; exist in any part of the world

Question 24

What problems do network operations create for law enforcement?

Answer 24

Authorities have found it difficult to crack down on trafficking; lack of resources to fully investigate human trafficking; fluid and diverse roles make it hard to pinpoint players or even detect human trafficking is taking place; because of large profit margins, new players enter the market all the time

Question 25

What is “recruitment-by-persuasion”?

Answer 25

Recruitment begins with a local recruiter familiar with the culture and vulnerability of the victims; often friends or relatives of the victim; often victims themselves; exaggerated stories of how much money can be made are used to lure victims; newspaper and online ads may be used to attract victims; help-wanted ads are most common manner victims fall prey to this crime; recruiter must gain confidence of the victim; lays the foundation for control during subsequent stages for the beginning of exploitation and enslavement; gains consent from the victim to travel abroad; tricks the victim into believing the offer is legitimate; convinces them to consent to illegal activity such as obtaining a fraudulent passport; persuades the victim to give a small downpayment to facilitate travel abroad

Question 26

What is “recruitment-by-force”?

Answer 26

Using force to abduct victims; exploitation may begin immediately; travel documents are confiscated; they are sold to a trafficker

Question 27

What makes one vulnerable to recruitment-by-force?

Answer 27

Refugee camps; displaced by war, political strife, natural disaster

Question 28

What does life as a trafficking victim look like?

Answer 28

Routine physical beatings; rape; psychological torture; confined living quarters; monitoring by technology; confined to living quarters or work location

Question 29

How does life as a trafficking victim end?

Answer 29

Some die trying to pay off their debt, from physical torture, from STDs; some escape but have nowhere to go (family rejects them) so return to the “life” voluntarily to survive; many live with life-long health and psychological problems

Question 30

What is the profile of consumers of human trafficking?

Answer 30

May be men or women; occupations range from businesspeople, doctors, lawyers, and politicians

Question 31

What is “document control” or “document servitude”?

Answer 31

Passports and Identification Documents are confiscated; without them, they have no legal status

Question 32

What is “psychological control”?

Answer 32

Lying to or brainwashing victims; reminding them they are illegal and police are not their friends; tell victims their families have forgotten about them and they have no one to help them; isolation convinces victims escape is futile; victims become addicted to drugs and alcohol giving traffickers more control

Question 33

How is escape and disobedience controlled?

Answer 33

Violence or threats of violence; rape is used to “break in” victims; routine violence maintains control; fear of violence gains compliance; threats of violence against their families; armed guards and supervision

Question 34

What is Society’s View of Victimization?

Answer 34

Do accept someone who has been forced or abducted as a victim; not as kind if they started by smuggling in and then were exploited into trafficking; controversy over whether victims contribute to their own victimization; should consent be a consideration in whether they are victims

Question 35

What is the Palermo Protocol and U.S. Law view of victimization?

Answer 35

Any smuggled migrant becomes a victim of human trafficking when they are forced into employment against their will; any earlier consensual decision becomes irrelevant

Question 36

What factors complicate identification of victims?

Answer 36

They are trafficked into the destination country with fake credentials which makes their immigration status “illegal”; in cases where the trafficker made them sign an agreement to pay for their travel expenses, this agreement sets them up as willing accomplices in the eyes of the destination country; the payment of travel expenses makes consent a factor that will delay a decision whether to assign them “victim” status.

Question 37

What factors complicate victims approaching police for assistance?

Answer 37

Most victims are severely punished for the mere attempt to escape, so running to authorities rarely occurs; victims fear the police because the authorities in their countries of origin were very corrupt; armed guards constantly supervise them; victims may not speak the language of the destination country; victims may not be aware of their legal rights; victims may not even realize they are victims of human trafficking