California Family Minute

by Rebecca Burgoyne,
CFC Research Analyst

Eleven-year-old Ibrahim wanted a bicycle. A man he knew told the boy from Mali stories of the wealth that could be his working on a cocoa farm. He could buy a bicycle! Ibrahim found himself in another country, doing backbreaking, dangerous work with little to eat. Azade, 22, from rural Azerbaijan, went to work at a massage parlor in the big city; the massage parlor fronted for a brothel. Eight-year-old Julia was taken from her native Balkans to a neighboring country, where she was forced to beg and eventually enter prostitution. (June 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), U.S. Department of State)

There’s a modern-day slavery epidemic – human trafficking – in which thousands of men, women, and children are forced into involuntary bondage and reduced to commodities. The United States is not immune, and has become a prime destination, primarily on the West Coast, for thousands of men, women, and children transported primarily for labor and sexual exploitation. Most of these trafficked persons originate in Mexico, but many also come from other Latin American countries, Asia, Africa, and Europe. (TIP)

Human trafficking involves the recruiting, transporting or selling of persons for forced labor. Traffickers use threats, coercion, and physical violence to deprive persons of their liberty and force them to work in the sex trade, domestic labor, factories, agriculture, and even begging on the streets. Seventy percent are forced into sexual slavery. Women and children comprise the majority of victims. An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 women and children are trafficked into the United States annually from other countries, and 100,000 to 300,000 American teens are at risk for sex trafficking annually. (Citizenlink.org)

The Clinton administration first developed policies countering human trafficking in 1998, and federal legislation followed in 2000. During the past decade, federal trafficking law has been expanded and augmented, but the lack of cohesive state laws enabled traffickers to transport their victims within a state – across county lines – and escape prosecution.

In 2005, legislation, introduced by former California Assemblywoman Sally Lieber (D-Mountain View), created the felony crime of human trafficking in state law and established a 23-member task force to examine the issue. In its final report, released in 2007, the task force found the need for stiffer penalties for traffickers, stronger tools to prosecute those who prey on the innocent, and financial aid for non-governmental entities that help the victims. 

Since that time, awareness nationwide has grown, and the California Legislature has incrementally expanded its anti-trafficking laws. While in 2006 only eight bills dealing with human trafficking were adopted, this year, according to the Polaris Project, more than 40 bills have been adopted so far – of around 350 introduced. A total of 42 states now have passed criminal and anti-trafficking laws. (Washington Post, July 19, 2010)

Human trafficking is pervasive and largely hidden, but progress is being made in combating this modern-day scourge. In 2003 the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Department of Justice, and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children launched the Innocence Lost Initiative in an effort to address the growing problem of sex trafficking in the United States. Working together with local law enforcement, this cooperative effort has since recovered over 1,000 children.

Many of the efforts with victims have fallen to charities and non-governmental organizations. Churches and local ministries have gotten involved as the issue has grown. One Sacramento-area ministry – Courage To Be You (CTBU) is raising money to build a safehouse for girls rescued from sex trafficking. CTBU wants to provide trauma counseling, schooling, and other services to victims, to provide opportunities for healing and emotional restoration. Founder Jenny Williamson told KCRA.com, “It seems kind of trite, but what did you want to be when you grew up before this happened to you? And we want to help make their dreams come true.”

It could be your child, your neighbor, your friend. Sacramento County finds itself number two in the nation in sex trafficking. California – with its borders and ports – is home to a lot of trafficking activity. What can you do to help? Find out more about this huge moneymaking plague on society. Many churches are starting ministries centered on the human trafficking issue, and local and national charities are providing care and resources for the victims who escape. 

For more information: 
Focus on the Family, Citizenlink
Polaris Project
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Human Trafficking Resources Center
Shared Hope International           
June 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), U.S. Department of State