About Human Trafficking
Overview of Human Trafficking Issue
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. Victims of
human trafficking are young children, teenagers, men and women.
Approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims annually are trafficked
across international borders world wide. Victims of human trafficking
are subjected to force, fraud, or coercion, for the purpose of
sexual exploitation or forced labor.
After drug dealing, trafficking of humans is tied with arms dealing
as the second largest criminal industry in the world, and is the
fastest growing.
Many victims of human trafficking are forced to work in prostitution
or the sex entertainment industry. But trafficking also occurs
in forms of labor exploitation, such as domestic servitude, restaurant
work, janitorial work, sweatshop factory work and migrant agricultural
work.
Traffickers use various techniques to instill fear in victims
and to keep them enslaved. Some traffickers keep their victims
under lock and key. However, the more frequent practice is to
use less obvious techniques including:
- Debt bondage - financial obligations, honor-bound to satisfy
debt
- Isolation from the public - limiting contact with outsiders
and making sure that any contact is monitored or superficial
in nature
- Isolation from family members and members of their ethnic
and religious community
- Confiscation of passports, visas and/or identification documents
- Use or threat of violence toward victims and/or families of
victims
- The threat of shaming victims by exposing circumstances to
family
- Telling victims they will be imprisoned or deported for immigration
violations if they contact authorities
- Control of the victims' money, e.g., holding their money for
"safe-keeping"
In October 2000, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
(TVPA) made human trafficking a Federal crime. It was enacted
to prevent human trafficking overseas, to protect victims and
help them rebuild their lives in the U.S., and to prosecute traffickers
of humans under Federal penalties. Prior to 2000, no comprehensive
Federal law existed to protect victims of trafficking or to prosecute
their traffickers.
What We Do
-
Service provisions to victims of
human trafficking – Per-capita contract
In April of 2006, the ATIP Program awarded a Per-Capita Victim Services contract to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) to provide comprehensive support services to victims of human trafficking. The contract is designed to provide “anytime, anywhere” case management while maintaining a high level of care for victims of human trafficking. Awarded through the Anti-Trafficking In Persons (ATIP) Program in the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), the contract award reflects President Bush’s commitment to assist victims of human trafficking and is designed to centralize services while maintaining a high level of care for victims of human trafficking. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is uniquely qualified to fulfill this commitment because of its history of service, community involvement, national presence, and its capacity to manage a diverse network of over 85 Non-Governmental Organization subcontractors in 115 locations.
Differing from other contract arrangements, and working in concert with HHS’ ongoing Rescue & Restore public awareness campaign, USCCB’s subcontractors are reimbursed for each human trafficking victim actually being served. This per-capita contract ensures provision of efficient, high-quality services to victims of human trafficking. It also streamlines support services in order to help victims of human trafficking gain timely access to shelter, legal assistance, job training and health care, enabling them to establish lives free of violence and exploitation.
If interested in receiving reimbursement for services
provided to victims of human trafficking, please contact mrs@usccb.org.
- Victim Identification - Rescue and Restore Regional Program and Street Outreach
The new Rescue and Restore Regional Program serves as the focal point for regional public awareness campaign activities and intensification of local outreach to identify victims of human trafficking. Each Rescue and Restore Regional partner oversees and builds the capacity of a local anti-trafficking network, sub-awarding 60 percent of grant funds to grassroots organizations that identify and work with victims. By acting as a focal point for regional anti-trafficking efforts, Rescue and Restore Regional partners encourage a cohesive, collaborative approach in the fight against modern-day slavery.
Street Outreach Grants
In 2006, HHS awarded street outreach grants to 18 organizations to support identification of human trafficking victims among populations that the organizations are already serving. For its street outreach awards, HHS targeted groups who were already engaged in current direct and/or community outreach among trafficking vulnerable populations. Populations that grantees conduct outreach among include homeless and at-risk youth, women and girls exploited through commercial sex, and migrant farm workers.
- Public Awareness Campaign – Rescue and Restore
National Human Trafficking Resource Center
The National Human Trafficking Resource Center is a 24/7 toll-free hotline: 1.888.3737.888. The Resource Center’s multi-lingual operators help Good Samaritans, law enforcement agents, and social services providers determine whether they have encountered a victim of human trafficking. The hotline also stands ready to connect victims to resources and coordinate with national and local anti-trafficking organizations and law enforcement entities to protect and serve victims of trafficking. In addition, The Resource Center is the focal point for training, technical assistance, and strategic planning intended to increase levels of victim identification through the creation of improved direct outreach strategies, enable localized best practice strategies to be shared on a national scale, provide around the clock technical assistance from leading human trafficking experts, and be a resource for strategic planning assistance at the local, State, and Federal levels. Services will be provided via a centralized online clearinghouse of training and technical assistance resources, on-site training and consulting services, and a peer-to-peer training and strategic planning event.
Rescue and Restore
HHS leads the Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking public awareness campaign, which established Rescue and Restore coalitions in 19 cities and the states of Illinois and North Carolina. These community action groups are comprised of NGO leaders, academics, students, law enforcement agents, and other key stakeholders.
