The end of slavery was one of the most celebrated developments of the 19th and 20th centuries as people heralded a new era of tolerance and coexistence. Although the use of people for labor was abolished, the illegal transportation of individuals to other places away from their homes for work continues, albeit with a significant amount of secrecy. Human trafficking has often been termed as the modern slavery given that most of the victims are either unaware, coerced, or defrauded with promises of getting new jobs and better lives (Bromfield, 2015). The cartels and human trafficking rings have become so intricate in their maneuvers such that it is hard to offer justice to found victims or even identify the people involved. This study aims to explore the law, punishments, justice systems, and plight of victims involved in human trafficking. The study evaluates and supports the argument that the human trafficking trade is so complicated for the state, federal, and sometimes international laws, regulations, and systems to offer the requisite justice to the victims.
Definition and Background on Human Trafficking
The understanding of human trafficking differs according to the entity discussing the issues associated with the 21st-century vice. According to the US Department of State (2019), human trafficking, trafficking of persons, and modern slavery are umbrella terms employed to refer to the moving of individuals for compelled labor and sex work. Other names associated with the forced service are involuntary servitude, slavery, debt bondage, and forced labor (Sanchez & Stark, 2014). In their definition of human trafficking, the Journal of Anti-Slavery (2019) sought to make a critical distinction and clarify the popular misconception that there must be movement or transportation of people in human trafficking. Primarily, it is the offenses of force, coercion, fraud, manipulation, that describe modern slavery and not necessarily movement. For example, both the US Department of State (2019) and the Journal of Anti-Slavery agree that trafficking of children into exploitative conditions rarely involves any movement, but coercion and lies, which still constitutes the offense.
The Department of Homeland Security (2019) and the State Department (2019) have a similar definition of human trafficking, albeit with a difference in geographical perspective. While the state department is more inclined to dealing with the vice internationally, the DHS records rampant forced labor and other offenses domestically. UNODC (2019) is also more prone to the international perspective in their claim that procurement of finances and material for the unlawful smuggling into a country constitutes human trafficking, a view adopted by Elie & Leila (2009). Therefore, it can be argued that while the victims of THB are tricked into coerced labor and sexual exploitation, they often start as innocent and willing business partners with a given agenda that could be equally illegal as the traffickers (Doezema, 2000).
The geographic distribution of THB victims is unevenly distributed around the world with countries such as Dominican Republic, Thailand, Mexico, India, Philippines, El Salvador, Haiti, and Honduras having the most victims, as per statistics by the US Department of State (2011). The US also has an internal movement of people for forced labor and sex work. However, given that America is considered one of the most democratic countries with a view of protecting human rights, the State Department notes that the states of Texas, Florida, New York and California have the largest concentration of victims of sex and forced labor trafficking (State Department, 2011). Unlike the DHS, State Department and the UN whose analysis is based on general figures on trafficking, Bromfield (2015) conducted a gender-driven study, noting that women are more likely than men to victims of sex trafficking, including excessive rates in the US. In retrospect, the traditional form of slavery was mostly based on economic labor, which required the men over women. However, the prevalence of women and young girls as the objects of sex trafficking is inextricably predicated on the rise and prominence of professional social workers in the 20th century (Bromfield, 2015).
A significant difference exists between publications by government and other global agencies and the research by authors and researchers in human rights and the field of law. For instance, while DHS and the US Department of State are only inclined to the generalized figures, authors such as Bromfield (2015), Weitzer (2007) and Marcus & Ric (2014) are more inclined to objective analysis of the effects on men, women, children, countries, and economies. Others such as Doezema (2000) adopt an even more radical view as they seem to criticize women who agree to be part of a movement caravan to other countries, calling them either “loose women or lost women.” This background offers the foundation for the literature review based on the following purpose.
Significance of the Study
The current understanding of human trafficking is laden with misconceptions and inconsistencies that call for more research into the subject. According to Bacon (2018), most of the current studies on human trafficking are lacking in research methodology and are also filled with lack of consistency in the definition of TBH, mistakes in the statistical data estimation in data and overall lacking in efficiency. Rankin & Kinsella (2011) researched the information passage about human trafficking and realized that research on the subject is critical to enable state, federal and international agencies plan on a strategic and tactical level the various methods of countering the vice of modern slavery. While Bacon (2018) views the significance of Trafficking in Human Beings (TBH) studies as primarily removing the various misconceptions, Rankin & Kinsella (2011) are inclined to the notion that every review should contribute to the solution. However, both studies agree on the need to harmonize the current data, and definitions for national action strategies.
Research Questions
- What are the prevailing laws, statutes, and legal precedents to counter TBH?
Aims of the Research
Data from both the Global Slavery Index (2018) and the National Human Trafficking Hotline (2018) indicate that despite the multidisciplinary efforts to institute laws and statutes to counter human trafficking, the number of people, especially women and children, sold into slave labor and forced work continues to rise. The study submits that while the findings of this research may not offer a definitive solution, the analysis and recommended ideas can help current and future researchers in their bid to find a definite cure for the vice. A gradual approach to finding the solutions for human trafficking is also the mode of operation for the US Department of State (2018) and the DHS (2019).
Objectives of the Research
- To analyze the current state and federal laws on TBH in the United States.
- To explore the weakness of the justice department in their efforts to counter the human tracking domestically.
- To determine the vulnerabilities of the victims.
- To evaluate options that can reduce the influence of forced labor and sex trafficking rings.
Problem Statement
The primary issue with TBH is the mismatch between the prevailing circumstances and the desired goal of both national and international agencies. Primarily, the current construct of the justice system is such that it may not have the capacity to deal with the growing influence of human traffickers, some of whom may be deeply ingrained into the national governments. Rankin & Kinsella (2011) are more precise in the submissions when they state the search for justice in the TBH is often politicized, and the judicial system does not have the necessary independence to find solutions. Therefore, this study is tasked to evaluate, explore, and determine whether the justice department’s current laws and punishments can serve justice for victims while seeking to eliminate modern slavery.
Chapter II: Literature Review
The current findings on human trafficking strongly suggest an increase in the demand for a better life, working conditions, and health services have led to the vice becoming a global concern. According to Greenbaum (2017), most of the human trafficking victims are fraudulently lured with the prospect of getting better-paying jobs. On the side of victimized children, it has been found that many need medical services, which prompts coyotes to pounce on the vulnerable situation to coerce people into the lurid activities. Greenbaum (2017) also acknowledges that physical and behavioral issues enclose the problems associated with the trafficking of people. In their study, Zimmerman and Kiss (2017), contend that the issues related to human trafficking have turned into a global health concern with reports indicating that physical and sexual abuse is common among those being trafficking. Findings show that close to 215 million workers under the young age bracket are in industries that are exploitative such as sex and forced labor. Zimmerman and Kiss also report that the issues associated with language and poverty have escalated the increase of the human trafficking problem with many victims unable to communicate, which affects their ability to negotiate minimum wages (2017). Besides, the gang affiliations found to be profound in the lucid activity has made it dangerous with the victims often facing death and having their families subjected to coercion and fear (Greenbaum, 2017). Consequently, there are increased the mortality rates with the legal frameworks unable to punish all cases since victims are coerced into concealing the identities of the captors.
According to McGough (2013), the efforts made by the US Department of Homeland Security have seen an increase in awareness about the problem of human trafficking. Though these measures, justice programs are being extended to communities to help in ending the crime. McGough (2013) notes that due to organized crime, gangs gain financial power; it becomes hard to prosecute the cases as they leave a trail of victims through kidnapping, imprisonment, and death. McGough (2013) states that over 50000 people are getting trafficked into the US yearly. The number has recently grown as political and economic instabilities have led to people trekking to the U.S. in search of a better life. Given the vulnerability of most people, the prevalence rate of human trafficking has skyrocketed as people opt for the easy way rather than the legal approach. In Measuring Human Trafficking: A research note, Zhang (2012) points out that after analyzing hundreds of cases reported in the media and government sources, Free the Slaves, an anti-slavery organization based in California, identified modern-day slavery as most prevalent in U.S. economic sectors such as prostitution and sex services, domestic service, agriculture, sweatshop/factory, and restaurant and hotel work; and victimization is most concentrated in states with large immigrant populations such as California, Florida, New York, and Texas. Whereas in the past slaves were expensive to purchase and difficult to transport, today’s slaves are cheaper and their labor more profitable. Moreover, because of their abundance, today’s slaves are disposable and can be easily replaced as soon as they cease to become productive or profitable”.
Human trafficking often involves violence and other crimes, which includes drug operations, gang activity, forced labor, and sexual exploitation. Moreover, it involves trading people through recruitment, harboring, and transportation through deceptive or coerced means. It consists of the exploitation of human dignity through cruelty or fraud, domestic servitude, organ removal, and children exploitation. On balance, human trafficking is a violation of state, federal, and international laws and has been described as modern-day slavery. It is caused by economic, social, and political factors that include poverty, corruption, family disruption, and lack of employment. The perpetrators of the vice gain monetary benefits on the expense of others’ pains and ordeals through physical and psychological manipulation.[1]According to a 2011 report, the states of New York, Texas, Oklahoma, and Texas had the most significant number of people who were the survivors of human trafficking.
Women oppression results in the phenomenon. In America, poor females are stigmatized, which causes them to venture into carnality as the only possible means to escape social discrimination. The desire among men to control women sexuality has led to widespread trafficking. Violence and threats characterize females’ conditions of living, which compels them to leave their homes and engage in easy exploitation by others. The usage of the disadvantaged in society is another reason that has seen widespread sex trafficking (Cullen, 2016).
According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the phenomenon is defined as the situation in which a person is coerced into performing degrading acts. They are taken to another country for the purposes of recruitment, transportation through the application of pressure, fraud, or slavery. However, an individual can become a victim of human trafficking without having to move from one place to another. In the United States, the Justice Department has created a particular prosecutorial unit that provides expert evidence on the issues of sex trafficking, forced labor, and child trafficking cases among others. The specific group is under the Civil Rights Division.
Victims of Human Trafficking in the US
The US categorizes victims of human trafficking under three sections namely: commercial sex induced underage children of below 18 years; adults above 18 years forced that are coerced, and fraudulently induced into commercial sex; and adults and children lured to perform sex roles under coercion, fraud, and force (McGough, 2013). According to the Global Slavery Index (2018), there were 403,000 people to have been subjects of slavery conditions in the US as of 2016. Alternative figures from the National Human Trafficking Hotline (2018) indicated that over 8524 suspect cases of THB were reported in the US alone, a further testament to the growing problem worldwide.
Notably, the Global Slavery Index (2018) highlights the victims of TBH in the US under four significant categories, namely forced labor, state-imposed forced labor, sexual exploitation, and forced marriages. By the estimates of the Human Trafficking Hotline (2018) that 40.3 million people globally are modern slaves, the US constitutes only one percent of all the victims of TBH. Although there are no deterministic figures on the prevalence of people forced into sexual exploitation and labor distinctly, data from the Global Slavery Index (2018) suggests that forced labor is more rampant in the US. Human Trafficking Hotline (2018) reports that victims of TBH from other countries are found all over the US states, suburbs, and cities in search of places to hide. However, reports continue to emerge that even the US government may be a culprit to the trade as evident in the cases of human trafficking against The GEO Group, Inc. which is linked to the government through the DHS.
As intimated in the background section of the study, one of the limitations of the current studies in the inconsistencies in the estimation of data and different approaches to analysis. Sanchez & Stark (2014) disagree with the Global Slavery Index (2018) when they state that there are 14500 to 17500 people trafficked in the US annually in a $12 billion industry. Notably, the above numbers represent all the people in the process of victimization by traffickers and smugglers, which is often a two-stage process of initiation and indoctrination. There is a gap in the literature in that watch groups such as National Human Trafficking Hotline (NHTH) (2018) do not indicate which phases constitute trafficking. On the contrary, Sanchez & Stark (2014) note that the pretense of love and care by the perpetrators is a common trend which makes it hard for people to identify if they are in danger. Therefore, the inconsistencies of defining what constitutes trafficking stages also affect the possibility of putting mechanisms that offer lasting solutions.
The tendency of government agencies to discuss human trafficking generally informs the need to analyze the vice and how it affects men, women, and children separately. According to Greenbaum (2017), 28 % of the over 17000 victims of TBH in the US every year are underage children forced, lured, or tricked into sex trafficking. Greenbaum (2017) agrees with the findings of the Journal of Anti-Slavery (2019) in that the definition of child sex trafficking (CST) transcends movement and includes acts such as using children in pornography, exotic dancing, soliciting sex from minors in person or online, and influencing children to perform sexual actions with other people or objects. The detailed nature of such a definition differs from the generalization of the UN and the US Department of State (2019). Denton (2016) strongly disagrees with government entities and international agencies such as the UN and the DHS due to the limited nature of their empirical research, which completely distorts the definition of TBH concepts. For example, if a father, mother, or relative forces a child into any sexual act at home, Denton (2016) agrees that, by the logic of Greenbaum (2017), such actions may be considered to be CST.
Despite a unanimous agreement that human trafficking is a reprehensible norm in the US and the globe, the evolution of the practice has been radical, affecting the approaches to TBH (Bonilla & Mo, 2018). For instance, while traditional slavery mostly focused on men as the subjects of trade, the initial stages of human trafficking mostly involved women who were sold into sexual labor and social work. Zimmerman & Kiss (2017) contend that women and young girls are the primary subjects in most reported trafficking cases. Sexual exploitation, forced marriages, and home keeping and other social employment jobs are the main reasons for women trafficking in the US. The NHTH (2018) agree with Zimmerman & Kiss (2017) when they add that racial and societal backgrounds also affect the movement of women and minorities, immigrants are at the most vulnerable to being sold into modern slavery. The Global Slavery Index (2018) attributes the vulnerability of immigrant female persons to their lack of proper understanding of the English language, unfamiliarity with the employment and labor laws in the country, and working in places hidden from public view.
Men are underrepresented in discussions and research on human trafficking. Zimmerman & Kiss (2017) cite how men are often trafficked for hard labor that includes fishing, mining, agricultural and plantation work, construction, and factory labor. The overemphasis on sex trafficking usually leads to the conclusions that only women and girls can be victims, but research from various non-governmental authorities have indicated otherwise. Similarly, Raney (2017) from the American Psychology Association, provide statistics showing that 3000 of the 24000 cases on THB and CST in the US from 2012 to 2016 involved men and boys. UNODC also states that 25 % of all trafficking victims globally are men, and one in every three children of sexual and forced work is an underage boy. In her analysis of the figures provided by International Labor Organization (ILO) on sex trafficking, Lille (2014) noted that the shame to be associated with rape and forced sexual acts render men silent, which has led to the limited research on their plight as victims of TBH. The systems in the US have also been reluctant to focus on men. A gap in research exists because, despite the recognition of the plight of men in the trafficking studies, there is still no article on state and federal government efforts towards supporting the male gender.
One of the most peculiar aspects of the research on the victims of human trafficking is the many peer-reviewed journals showing the defects with existing research instead of proving the proper and accurate information. For example, besides Denton’s (2016) mention of the disaggregated data by state and federal agencies, Logan, Walker & Hunt (2009) contend that increased media attention on human trafficking has not influenced research to be more empirical and authentic. Ironically, both Denton (2016) and Logan, Walker & Hunt (2009) steer attention away from the victims and instead focus on the flaws in the system of research. If the researchers are accurate in their estimation, then the study submits that even the judicial and justice processes may not accurately counter the effects of TBH, for having inaccurate information coupled with data inconsistencies. Furthermore, is the US is involved in state-forced labor as indicated by the Global Slavery Index (2016), then any efforts by the state and federal governments to eliminate TBH do not seem authentic, and may not receive support from the public. All the mentioned research papers on the defects of TBH studies may have prompted Sweileh (2018) to suggest a bibliometric analysis of all previous studies to identify inconsistencies and provide accurate data henceforth. Ortelli & Burlingame (2018) support Sweileh (2018) when they conclude that for the state and federal governments to break the cycle of human trafficking, the responsible entities must first rectify the existing data and information passage process that continues to distort the essence of the problem and cast aspersions on any remedy efforts.
Laws and Punishments Associated with Human Trafficking
According to UNODC (2019), human trafficking is a culmination in modern slavery that the United Nations considers a crime against people globally, which then must be deal with accordingly. In the United States, both federal and state laws prevail in cases reported to be involving the trafficking of human beings. The regulations go a further distance of punishing businesses involved in the importation of products suspects to have been a result of forced labor. According to Greenbaum (2017), the punishments handed out according to the US Code due to crimes related to human trafficking vary with a 20-year maximum term given to cases involving peonage, which if it culminates into death, carries life imprisonment. While the laws extend to include business found to engage in human trafficking cases, they include but not limited to fines up to one million dollars, license revocation, and closure of the business and life sentences for child sex traffickers with imprisonments with a minimum of ten years (Greenbaum, 2017).
The US has laws at both the federal and state levels aim at combating human trafficking. Federal and state statutes may be different, but they all offer guidelines in situations deemed culpable with acts such as the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 (“Current Federal Laws,” 2019). The mentioned law is the cornerstone of the national government’s efforts of curbing forced labor and sex trafficking through the imposition of fines and policies for prevention. Besides labeling trafficking as federal crimes punishable by equally hefty fines and penalties, TVPA established the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (OMCTP) which has, among other roles, the mandate to restitute the THB victims. Toney-Butler & Mittel (2019) notes that the TVPA pioneer role as one of the first laws on human trafficking was critical for differentiating trafficking from smuggling, an equally illegal operation that is rampant in the US. Primarily, the Bill Clinton-TVPA defined trafficking as the “exploitation of a person or persons for sex or labor using “force, fraud, or coercion” while smuggling constitutes the cooperation of the smuggler and the person being trafficked, usually across international borders (Toney-Butler & Mittel, 2019; (“Current Federal Laws,” 2019). For example, in United States vs. Glenn Marcus, the defendant met the victim, Jodi, in an internet chat room and convinced her to move to Maryland to be with him in a consensual relationship, which she agreed. However, upon expressing the desire to terminate the relationship and leave, the defendant used force and threats, which led to his conviction on forced labor and sexual exploitation.
The Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2013, as well as Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act 2015, are the recent additions to the legal precedents that attempt to counter TBH (“Current Federal Laws,” 2019). The above statutes provide definitions to forms of trafficking that is sex and labor trafficking. Although the TVPA was essential in laying the background for the formation of subsequent laws and statues, the study submits that the punishments enshrined in the newer laws were more diverse and accounted for most of the aspects of TBH. For example, according to the National Law Center (2019), The Customs and Facilitations and Trade Enforcement Act (2009) sought to attack the economic aspect of TBH by prohibiting the sale and purchase of all products made and packaged by modern slaves or through any form of force. Toney-Butler & Mittel (2019) confirm the same when they assert that as of 2019, the Financial and Global Statistics showed human trafficking to be a $150 billion industry globally, with a significant portion of the figures coming from the sale, purchase, and distribution of goods made by modern slaves.
An essential factor that has helped with the efforts to curb TBH is the tendency of the federal government to strengthen laws when traffickers develop new trade secrets. For instance, the 113th US Congress (2013) passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2013 which sought to strengthen programs and offices such as OMCTP, eliminate child marriages and provided provision for the emergency response of state agencies to places in the US with the most vulnerable persons of THB and CST. Despite the seemingly high strength of the established laws, a gap exists in the use of federal laws given that some of the violations associated with TBH emanate from within the government. The submission of the Global Slavery Index (2018) that groups linked to the DHS were forcing people in detention facilities into labor shows the insignificance of federal laws such as the National Defense Authorization Act of 2013. When the 113th Congress (2013) passed the law, the primary intention was to limit trafficking associated with government agencies and contractors. However, if the 2013 bill states that a contract with a company such as the GEO group is terminated without any penalty, then there is evidence of laxity in the federal government and major corporations may continue to be part of trafficking rings that make it challenging to eliminate modern slavery. The mismatch between the federal government’s establishment of laws and the prosecution and TBH curbing trends is reflected in figure 1 below which shows a plateau of trials since 2014 and irregular data of suspects referred to the US Attorney for prosecutions.
Figure 1: Suspects referred and prosecuted by the U.S Attorney in 2011-2015.
Note: Adapted from Motivans (2018) of the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
The Office of Justice Programs (2019) informs that every state in the US has distinct human trafficking laws. The National Conference of State Legislators (2019) notes that Washington was the first state to outlaw and establish penalties for TBH in 2003, setting a precedent for the other countries who have equally developed procedures to curb the practice. For example, the states of Wyoming, Kentucky, North Dakota and Nebraska have acknowledged that young people are the most vulnerable and thus have civil protection and immunity if they are identified to be victims of TBH (“Human Trafficking Overview,” 2018).
One of the ways to ascertain whether states and federal governments progress in the fight against TBH is to examine the court cases in the same effect. Martin, Weller, Lederach, Yoder, and Price (2013) contend that the state courts have evolved and realized that human trafficking could be manifested in numerous ways including drug sales by TBH victims, child thieves in the juvenile system, and mostly the sexually abused and neglected children. FitzPatrick (2019) agrees with Martin, Weller, Lederach, Yoder, and Price (2013) and adds that the states of Florida, South Carolina, Texas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Oregon, New York, and Maryland have the most criminal and civil cases associated with TBH with a majority of 95 % being cases of CST. From the comparison of the reports by Motivans (2018) and FitzPatrick (2019), it can be argued that the states are more active and engaged in eliminating human trafficking. However, the study acknowledges the complexities if the federal government in their bid to cooperate with the other global nations to identify trafficking and smuggling rings. The convictions in the states’ criminal and civil cases often employ the national laws on THB and CST. For example, the US Department of Justice (2013) sentenced a San Diego man to 12 years plus ten years supervised release for CST. However, in another case with the same facts, the Department of Justice at the Western District of Washington sentenced a Seattle man to 33 years for predatory and exploitative schemes geared towards CST. The difference in convictions shows that laws and punishments continue to be stricter as the nature of TBH changes at both the state and federal levels.
Limitations of Judicial Processes on THB and the Justice System
The understanding that law is a form of social control is an important facet when delving into the limitations of any justice system in its bid to uphold truth and justice. According to Rutz-Burri (2018), the law is limited in its very nature because different people have varying forms of social control as characterized by culture, traditions, norms, expectations, and permissible. Therefore, it can be argued that even if the state and federal laws were correctly instituted to eliminate the existing vice of THB, there would still be technical limitations that would render the justice system incapable of fully delivering justice to the victims (Rutz-Burri, 2018). For example, Elie & Leila (2009) published an UN-sponsored dossier in which they faulted the various judicial processes for the rampant insecurity and fears of victim-witnesses in cases of THB. Primarily, although the criminal methods depend on the victim testimony to prosecute and punish those who propagate the trade, they are massively unprofessional in their mechanisms of protecting witnesses. Rutz-Burri (2018) notes that criminal cases and judicial processes cannot gain community support without the support of social institutions. Therefore, if the justice systems of the world do not socially protect the witnesses, they cannot succeed in their bid to eliminate modern slavery. There is a consensus that although the law may be limited in its nature, failure to accomplish the basics such as protecting witnesses can render any operations against trafficking rings incomplete (Elie & Leila, 2009; Rutz-Burri, 2018).
The National Center for Victims of Crime (2019) educates people on what constitutes the justice department and what to expect in judicial processes. The primary components of law enforcement, prosecution, defense attorneys, courts, and corrections are too complicated individually such that the collective web of the system is rendered disabled. The study notes that long judicial processes delay justice for victims, with minor cases of incomplete processes. The United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (2008) had earlier sought to determine the causes and effects of the lengthy judicial process in the US and other countries that prosecute cases of THB. The convention realized that there are very few willing witnesses and victims who report THB crime due to the vulnerabilities involved. Primarily, the number of human trafficking cases reported in a country represents the collective anti-trafficking efforts. By the above logic, Clawson, Dutch & Cummings (2006) note that the US justice system continues to be heavily invested in the fight against THB, but there is limited support from other countries. The US Department of State (2011) noted that countries such as El Salvador and the Philippines have the most cases of human trafficking, yet they cannot handle the cases. Therefore, the US justice system alone cannot manage to counter the spread of trafficking rings without the help of the victim countries, most of which are incapacitated. Clawson, Dutch & Cummings (2006) wrote the report in 2006 predicting the possible failures, which are seemingly evident today.
Just as researchers have dedicated a considerable amount of time to critic the research tendencies concerning THB, legal and policy experts have shown the various limitations and strengths of the justice department when dealing with CST and THB. For the reader to understand the current problems in 2019, the study explored the policy and legal limitations written by various authors between 10 and 15 years ago. For example, Potocky (2010) wrote an article titled “a decade of failed US policy,” referring to the mismatch between legal interpretations and the development of policy on THB on the state and federal levels. Primarily, policymakers and ideological groups, continue to make distinctions between the two factors of THB, namely forced labor and sex trafficking, which has been the primary influence for the development of laws. For example, business groups have lobbied against the inclusion of labor as a form of trafficking, while church groups have vigorously campaigned for the inclusion of commercial sex work as a form of sex trafficking. Potocky (2010) rightly contends that the bifurcation of THB has steered attention away from the real justice and restitution issues and instead become a political issue for interest groups. Previously, Chacon (2006) had written that the US judicial and security systems could not adequately contain the vice of THB if they do not develop proper immigration policy. In retrospect, the development of the US immigration policy is yet to have a strategy that grapples with the global forces that drive migration, one of which is THB. Essentially, the justice system is limited by policy development, a factor that continues since the final years of the 20th century as documented by McGrath (1969) and Norrie (1996). There is a consensus in the literature that US foreign policy, and especially on immigration significantly affects the ability of the justice system to investigate and prosecute culprits of modern slavery.
The identification of the problems ailing the justice department is not enough sand some researchers have attempted to offer lasting solutions or the first approaches to strengthening the already working aspects of the law. For the elimination of CST and movement of underage children for labor, the US can first attempt to connect THB to the child welfare system. According to South Cross University (2014), Subsections 8 and 24 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) mandate countries to protect children from the abuse of children, and the DOJ can take advantage of the welfare system to protect children. Parsons & Clay (2014) support the above sentiments when they assert that one of the hardships associated with the cases of THB is the overlapping of systems and the bloated mandate of law enforcement and various agencies. A research gap exists in that both Parsons & Clay (2014) and the South Cross University (2014) do not address how to match the domestic and internal legal requirements, which can facilitate the prosecution of trafficking cases.
Farrell & McDevitt (2008) differed with the approach of Parsons & Clay (2014) concerning how to improve the success of the DOJ in solving THB cases. In their submission report to the Institute of Race and Justice, Farrell & McDevitt (2008) were adamant that the policing authorities are the starting point of most judicial processes and also constitute the most challenges in THB and CST. Therefore, by the logic of Farrell & McDevitt (2008), the recommendations of Parsons & Clay (2014) to break down the system and form a multi-disciplinary approach to attacking THB cannot succeed if the state and federal governments do not first improve the policing strategies. Bales & Lize (2005) collaborates Farrell & McDevitt (2008) when they say that the police officers are sometimes engaged in smuggling and trafficking and therefore any efforts to prosecute at the court level are undermined by corruption in the lower levels of the judicial process.
Prosecution through a fair judicial process is the ultimate factor that can contribute to the dismantling of smuggling and trafficking rings to offer justice to the victims. Harris & Goncalves (2017) advice law students and lawyers to be vigilant in research on legal precedents to ensure that court cases are not overthrown on technicalities, leaving the culprits free and the hirelings in dangers. Cases such as the 2004 ruling in Crawford v. Washington (541 US 36) mandate the cross-examination of a witness even if there is overwhelming corroborating evidence (Farrell et al., 2012). Therefore, current and future attempt to rectify the justice department should be conducted with the victims as clients and at the center of legal and policy developments.
A book by (Kara, 2009) is one the rare inclusions in this investigation. Specifically, the book was included in this investigation as it helps to contextualize other studies and peer reviewed articles in the research. Basically, Kara (2009) explores modern slavery from a global and economic perspective. Kara (2009) uses an ethnographic approach to research where the investigator immerses him/her in the lives of victims and survivors of modern slavery to draw key insights that may offer an unparalleled view of the actual situation. The narration by Kara (2009) may be subject to bias due to the apparently non-scientific approach used to collect data; however, the book provides adequate information to lay a foundation for the investigation. Kara (2009) reinforces the idea that current judicial systems are not adequate to tackle the ever-growing prevalence of modern slavery. To put this into context, Kara (2009) claimed that there existed more than 24.8 million slaves globally by 2009 and the number had shown a sharp acceleration. In addition, out of the 24.8 million slaves about 1.2 million were young children and women coerced in prostitution and forced labor. To further highlight how legal structures had failed to address the problem, Kara (2009) claimed that more than 5% of the coffee used worldwide was harvested by modern-day slaves in different countries. Even though, Kara(2009) lists many countries, an overview of the study showed that most of victims of modern slavery came from nations in South East Asia such as India and Thailand. Human trafficking rings had managed to set up concrete businesses all throughout the world. Kara(2009) also highlighted individuals that were prone to modern slavery such as those in refugee camps. With regard to the US, which is a primary theme of this investigation, victims of human trafficking were used to perpetuate the prostitution business and other sex related avenues in Texas, Carolina, Florida and California. A concrete instance of human trafficking for sex is given by Kara(2009) who cited the case against the” Cadena Family” from Mexico that was involved in trafficking of close to two dozen girls under the age of fourteen. The girls were forced into prostitution using threats, actual physical harm and unending monitoring. Confessions from a few interviews by Kara(2009) indicated that the girls were forced to lay with at least thirty clients a day. The aforementioned statement serves to highlight how modern slavery works and the ways through which victims suffer even in leading democracies such as the US. Kara(2009) serves to show the context of modern slavery in the US, ten years ago. These statistics and explanations are beneficial to link with contemporary research and other peer reviewed articles.
Bales and Soodalter(2009) looks at the question of slavery and human trafficking in the context of the United States of America. Moreover, they Bale and Soodalter(2009) claim slavery to be the third most profitable criminal enterprise in the world, after guns and drugs. In their introduction, they tell the tale of Maria who underwent a callous and inhuman treatment when she worked for Sandra Bearden, as a slave, sometime having a garden tool being used to assault her by the reproductive organs. Again, this study shows the extent that modern slavery has encroached even leading democracies such as the US. Similar recounts where women become victims of sex trafficking and extreme torture were reported by Kara(2009). Bales & Soodalter(2009) make a comparison between the new slavery and the old slavery. Today, slavery manifest itself in a different form from the previous, following the fact slave traded was officially made illegal in the 1800s (Bales & Soodalter, 2009). However, there are still traces and a legacy of bondage in the contemporary slavery. Further, Bales and Soodlalter(2009) argue that modern-day human traffickers engage in an evolved method where the traffickers and the slaveholders keep the slaves in great concealment and secrecy thus, making it an uphill task in locating the slaves and making efforts to subject perpetrators to justice futile. A key distinction from old age slavery and modern slavery perpetuated globally is that no specific race being target, in fact individuals from diverse backgrounds form modern slave victims. In their research, Bales and Soodalter (2009) highlight the fact some of the slaves even in the modern America have their roots in America, having been born and brought up in America. The aforementioned statement demonstrates the nature of modern slavery. By highlighting this fact, Bales and Soodalter(2009) introduces another important sphere of modern slavery and human trafficking within the US. This sphere is interesting because it helps to identify the trends of perpetrators of modern slavery and human trafficking. Specifically, by discussing the patterns observed in research studies on individuals susceptible to human trafficking. Human trafficking and modern slavery are often discussed in the context of individuals being moved from distant locations into democratic nations such as the US and being forced to participate in risky business. Thus, by highlighting modern slavery within the US where US citizens are fall victim to crime rings Bales and Soodlater (2009) help to provide information that can be compared with activities of perpetrators of modern slavery in other locations globally. In the end, similar patterns can be used to discuss how crime rings involved in human trafficking and generally any form of modern slavery evade justice and legal structures; this is a primary concern of this review.
The author examines the macro-level research examples and further does an assessment of the micro-level studies which show an enormous variation between the structural and the individual lived experiences of an individual. (Weitzer, 2015) highlights that macro-level is more advantaged than grand in three ways which are qualitative, quantitative and are is also well suited to formulation of policy and enforcement responses that are contextually appropriate.
(Davidson, 2010) looks into the issue of human trafficking as slavery in the modern times in connection to the various social and legal fetters that have for long (and still are) been enforced against the people that have been perceived to be ‘free’ in the social sense. The author argues that it is hard to draw a distinction between slavery and freedom. According to (Davidson, 2010), slavery does not necessarily have to be literally forcing one to provide labor for his master. It involves giving the victim two or more unfavorable options, leaving him to choose a “lesser evil”. The author argues that until 2000, there was no good definition, but the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime gave a more elaborate definition of trafficking. (Davidson, 2010) makes a finding that the modern British law does not protect the workers who choose to curtail their freedom to move from place to place, from employer to employer and from an employment type to another. Different legal statuses, however are assigned setting different limits on the freedoms enjoyed by migrants in the UK. The author finally discusses the work of a slave in the cultural politics. Citing Brace 2004), (Davidson, 2010) argues that the slave is portrayed as a mirror image of the freeborn. He is therefore used to symbolize the general sense of fear towards objectification, engulfment, infantilization, exclusion and dishonor.
(Kevin, Olivia, & Siverman, 2015) seek to analyze the number of the victims in the slavery problem, thus looking into the gravity of the problem of modern slavery. They argue that slavery in the modern-day society poses a challenge to both the makers and the enforcers of the law. In addition to their acknowledgement of the severity of human impact of slavery, the authors critique the estimates of the slavery index, claiming that estimating the numbers are faced with a number of challenges including the premise that most estimates are based on secondary information. These challenges are likely to lead to underestimation of the victims following the fact that slavery is a hidden enterprise. After critiquing the previous methods that have been used for estimation of slave numbers, the authors give a better approach in doing the estimation. They recommend the multiple systems estimation (MSE) to be used in such estimation which involves more complicated calculations. It is the argument of (Kevin, Olivia, & Siverman, 2015) that the MSE approach has been used in the context of human rights violations and it has proved appropriate.
(Androff, 2010) makes a revelation that slavery is still prevalent in the modern times in spite of the widespread claim that slavery has been eradicated. He argues that the only difference between back then and now is in the definitions, estimates and responses to this issue. This author puts forth the definitions of the contemporary slavery. In doing this, he categorizes them into both scholarly and policy definitions. (Androff, 2010) further provides various types of slavery in the modern world to include: chattel slavery, debt bondage, contract slavery, state slavery, domestic servitude and religious slavery. (Androff, 2010) also discusses the scope of the modern-day slavery amid the argument that it is difficult to estimate the number of estimates in the world. Towards concluding his paper, (Androff, 2010) looks at the responses that a made in regard to this modern-day threat to human dignity. He categorizes them into social service responses, community-based interventions, harm reduction, legal responses and economic responses. While concluding his work, the author recommends that there is need for more research in order to understand the different economic, political, cultural, exploitative, poverty and violence-related factors which are an enormous contribution to the continuous prevalence of slavery.
Theme 1: The structure of laws and punishment for human trafficking.
SLR suggest that there are enough and properly structured laws to foster anti-trafficking efforts. The past and current anti-trafficking laws are modeled with the state, federal, and international stature with intricate details that aim to cover all the aspects of TBH. For example, figure 2 below shows the components of TVPA which include the offenses of harboring, recruiting, transporting, providing, obtaining, patronizing and soliciting persons in the THB business (Smith, 2013). Therefore, if the only crucial variable needed for the success of eliminating of THB and CST was laws, both the state and federal levels have the proper structure, which is also supplemented by the international provisions of the UN. The DHS also published new policy regulations and showed their relations to TVPA and other anti-trafficking laws, a factor that creates harmony in the DOJ. Non-governmental organizations such as the Women’s Environmental and Development Organization (2018) also interpret new legislation to help the general public understand the meaning of every law to assist in the fight against modern slavery. The study considers laws and punishment to be a positive factors in the fight against modern slavery because the government is also active in new legislation from the future. For example, President Trump allowed for the allocation of $430 million for anti-THB efforts when he signed into law the Frederick Douglass Trafficking Victims Prevention and Protection Reauthorization Act (Sadowski, 2019).
Figure 2: The Detailed Components of TVPA
Theme 2: The DOJ approach to the restitution and justice for victims.
The study asserts that the DOJ is not properly structured or capacitated to provide justice and restitution for victims. Although there are proper laws that help in the apprehension of criminals, the attorneys and prosecutors do have the right capacity to provide justice to victims. Farrel & Kane (2019) wrote on the responses of the law enforcement to human trafficking and determined that the prosecutors are massively challenged not only to restitute victims but also protect victim-witnesses. Although UNODC claims to support states in their witness protection programs, Farrel & Kane (2019) are adamant that almost 50 % of the THB and CST cases fail because victims fear and refuse to be witnesses as they do not trust the government to protect them. The transnational nature of trafficking complicates the DOJ’s efforts to looks for the victims across borders, mainly because the smuggling rings operate detailed and complicated rings worldwide (David, 2008). Therefore, the state and federal governments do not have the right structures to maneuver third world countries in search of witnesses to crimes, which limit the possibility of justice to the affected families. Warpinski (2013) notes that most prosecutors do not take the time to know their victims, and therefore, rarely give maximum effort in search of justice.
Theme 3: The level of efficiency for the DOJ to handle THB cases and eradicate trafficking entirely.
The DOJ does not have the capacity to eradicate the influence trafficking rings completely. The complicated nature of THB and any illegal operations that occur across international borders is the primary reason for the determination that DOJ is incapable of promoting human freedom through eliminating modern slavery. In his admission, The US Secretary of State Department (2018) wrote in their website that the government is challenged to deal with the issues of trafficking because terror groups such as ISIS and Boko Haram are using proceeds from the trade to disrupt global peace and security. Therefore, it can be argued that THB and CST are a fundamental problem of terrorism, which is the greatest threat to safety in the 21-st century. Fish (2017) supports the state department when he notes that there is rampant impunity and corruption within the government, such the people mandated with removing THB cannot be trusted. Smith & Verdaman (2010) contextualized anti-trafficking efforts as a problem of demand in a space where the supply of solutions is significantly limited. Even if the US succeeded in eradicating smuggling and trafficking domestically, the problem is still common globally, which affects all nations (Roby, Turley & Cloward, 2008)?
Chapter III: Methods
Research Design
The exploratory research design is determined as the most effective in conducting this study because of its capability to explore more information regarding the topic of study. The thesis aimed at evaluating the prevalence of human trafficking in the United States, as well as comparing the contributions that legal statutes and laws have with regard to reducing its prevalence in the country. As such, with the explorative research design, it was possible to evaluate the contribution of the federal laws towards curbing the vice, the contribution of state laws, as well as the injection of the justice system in bringing the perpetrators culpable of engaging in this crime to book. In the same regard, the explorative research design also facilitated the evaluation and comparison of various case laws regarding Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) that were heard and determined in the United States, and how these form precedence for other cases relating to the same crime.
The study has three primary themes with three interrelated factors, and the results from the analysis of each premise will determine the capabilities of the US justice system. The use of secondary data is justified by the need to analyze the position of various researchers on the subject of THB and CST. Below are the themes that are evaluated in the systematic literature review as seen in appendix 2.
Themes
Theme 1: The structure of laws and punishment for human trafficking.
Theme 2: The DOJ approach to the restitution and justice for victims.
Theme 3: The level of efficiency for the judicial system to handle THB cases and eradicate trafficking entirely.
Procedure
After choosing the relevant articles for the systematic review from the government portals and the legal databases and Google scholar databases, the researcher identifies the variables that explore whether the premise is accepted or rejected. For instance, in determining whether the DOJ can restitute the victims of THB and CST, variables such as the number of solved cases, impediments to the judicial process and implementation of policy are critical. The review contains distinct themes (victims, DOJ processes, and law), which, collectively, will determine the capacity of justice the state and federal justice system to eliminate modern slavery depending on the analyzed information from credible secondary sources. After evaluating the variables, the researcher will then either accept meaning the DOJ is incapable or reject, showing the US justice system can counter the effects of human trafficking rings.
The study used the qualitative research method, given that its’ provisions were in line with the principles set by the explorative research design adopted earlier. In this regard, the qualitative research method was instrumental in facilitating the collection and analysis of ordinal data required in answering the questions raised in the research study. However, since the study focused on establishing the contribution of federal and state laws as well as the US judicial system in relation to stopping and controlling the growing prevalence of Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) in the country, the focus of the qualitative data required for this study shifted from primary to secondary data. As such, secondary data sources were prioritized for this study, including published journal articles, peer-reviewed sources, as well as government statutes and legislation relating to human trafficking and CST. The comparative analysis of these materials helped to establish the reasons why people engaged in Trafficking in Human Beings (THB), who were the victims, how were the laws protecting them, and what the Department of Justice was doing to correct the prevalence of the vice within the American society.
Data Collection and Analysis
Obliviously, as is the norm in conducting systematic reviews, many of the studies were not aligned to the context of the current investigation. In addition, the exploration of the current topic aimed to restrict itself within peer reviewed research studies due to the cost and time required to systematically analyze books and other longer publications. With the above restrictions in mind, additional publications relating this work were accessed through examining the “related articles” section of selected peer reviewed articles. Even though this study prioritizes research publications over books, extremely compelling books that address the concerns of the topic of interest, its objectives, and the research questions were included.
Since the study was mainly dealing with secondary sources of data, a comparative review of findings and results from each study was the perfect approach for data collection. As such, the data from various scholars was compiled and evaluated in line with various variables in order to address the primary goal of the research study, which aimed at establishing whether or not the Department of Justice in the United States was capable of restituting victims of Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) and CST in the country. Some of the variables used in data collection included the number of solved cases, impediments to the judicial process and implementation of policy is critical.
On the other hand, thematic analysis was used in the analysis of data collected from these sources. Distinct themes, including victims, DOJ processes, and law were established, along which the studies’ findings were analyzed to determine the capacity of the state justice system and the federal justice system to address the growing prevalence of modern slavery in the United States, whereby most victims of Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) and CST were used for sex or labor. The study has three primary themes with three interrelated factors, and the results from the analysis of each premise will determine the capabilities of the US justice system. The use of secondary data is justified by the need to analyze the position of various researchers on the subject of Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) and CST.
Search Strategy
For the sake of narrowing a study to the specific factors of research, the search strategy uses key phrases, and words to query the primary databases of Google Scholar, NCBI and JStor journals. The main keywords and phrase employed in the search for thus study include modern slavery, human trafficking, child sex trafficking, forced labor, human trafficking laws, and the US justice system. As evident in the PRISMA flow chart in the appendix section, every query provides numerous results, and it is incumbent on the researcher to screen for eligibility to determine the articles of inclusion or exclusion. A search strategy is vital for giving the systematic review objectivity.
Given that the study relied on secondary data sources as opposed to primary data sources, sampling of research participants from the study population was not required. On the contrary, the sampling engaged in this case entailed searching of literature databases to locate quality sources that could be used in addressing the questions raised in the study. As such, this entailed searching various professional, legal and academic databases on articles and publications about human trafficking, particularly in the United States. The search topic used for identifying quality articles included the variables of law, study, punishments and limitations of the judicial process with regard to addressing Trafficking in Human Beings (THB) menace in the country. In addition, it is notable that an inclusion and exclusion criteria was also applied to facilitate the effective selection of sources required for the study.
Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
As the research is based on secondary data collection, reliance was made on journals that were authentic and legitimate. A common theme was identified from governmental reports and the same were analyzed from independent reports on the same subject. Published reports by state and federal governments, laws and statues were included as being the official version of the state. Any white paper published by political opponents was excluded as it may not provide an accurate picture of the matter. The independent research in this area was included which have been referenced by more than 25 scholars in their papers.
A search using the keywords “modern slavery” in Google Scholar yielded close to 2 million search results. Because of the large number of articles resulting from the search, research studies and publications relevant to this investigation were sourced from the first 10 pages of Google Scholar Search results. Again, the “related articles” section was explored due to the immense time it saves in identifying appropriated articles for the topic under investigation. Therefore, 100 articles were relating to the term “modern slavery” was screened and 40 selected for further analysis. Out of the 40 studies, books and publications only 19 studies passed the inclusion criteria.
| Inclusion Attributes (64 References) | Exclusion Attributes (1954 articles) |
| – Research that considers a relationship between THB victims, laws, and the justice system | -Research without any of the three themes of research. |
| – Written in English | -Non-English articles and publications |
| – Fully written articles | -Articles showing abstract or introduction alone. |
| – Must be empirical research, government publication, article from a reputable source or news report. | -Opinion pieces unsubstantiated with data from relevant authorities. |
| – The scope of the articles falls in any of the research questions. | -Articles unrelated to THB in any way. |
| – Articles that complete the eligibility evaluation of the PRISMA flowchart | -Articles eliminated at the screening process of the PRISMA chart. |
Limitations of the Study
Despite the use of critical analysis and systematic review to test the validity of the premise, the study is still prone to limitations in the discussion, recommendation, and conclusion. For example, the exploration of the subject may be accurate, but the final determination may be incorrect due to the thematic analysis misled by inaccuracies of data alluded earlier in the study. Lack of survey or experiment to provide primary data for analysis may render the study invalid if the government publications and articles used are incorrect or biased. Furthermore, the legal and political nature of the subject means that the review will not have a mathematical, scientific or empirical support, which can limit the conclusion. The researcher has relied on secondary data from institutes and recognized organizations to verify research findings and government publications, an approach that invariably eliminate the above limitations. As such, the best way to overcome this challenge is by integrating findings from primary data sources.
In order to complete the thesis, it has been ensured that all the ethical requirements are fulfilled. The sources used for the paper were only obtained from reliable and authentic databases. Furthermore, the information obtained has been provided without any biasness or partiality.
Chapter IV: Results
In this chapter, a detailed and thorough discussion would be conducted of the prevailing laws, statutes, and legal precedents to counter TBH. The various state laws that are focused on stopping and controlling the human trafficking would be discussed in-depth.
The three main laws or statues in the state of Arizona focused on human trafficking are the “Unlawfully Obtaining Labor or Services; classification”, “Sex Trafficking; classification (AZ)” and “trafficking of Persons for Forced Labor or Services; classifications; definitions (AZ)”. The first law prohibits any person to obtain the labor by means of force in such a way that disobedience may lead to physical injury to that person. The law also prohibits any person to restrain without having any official or lawful authority. The law prohibits forfeiting the passport or other identity documents of a person without his will or permission (Justia.com, 2019). The law provides that any person found guilty of such an offence would be considered guilty of class 4 felony. As a result, the person can be incarcerated for a period of 10 years with potential maximum fine of around $10,000. The Sex Trafficking; classification (AZ) provides that, trafficking any adult is unlawful if the object behind such trafficking is forced sexual performance, or the trafficking person has the knowledge that as a result of the act, the other person would be forced to perform forced sexual performances (“13-1308 – Trafficking of persons for forced labor or services; classification; definitions”, 2019). The person found guilty of such acts would be charged for class 2 felony. It may be important to note that class 2 felony is a more serious crime in nature as compared to class 4 felony. “The trafficking of Persons for Forced Labor or Services; classifications; definitions” provides that it is unlawful to traffic a person with the knowledge that the other person would be subject to coerced or forced labor with willful intent. The law also suggests that if a person engulfs in such types of acts and receives any benefits from it thereof, he would be considered guilty of class 2 felonies. As a result, the person would be incarcerated for an aggregated period of 12.5 years.
The laws discussed above suggest that the statue of Arizona has set special punishments for the criminals who involve in any type of human trafficking whether it is for the purpose of forced sex or forced labor, the laws not only exist but precisely define what human trafficking refers to. The Arizona statute has termed the person involved in human trafficking as class 2 felonies. This is the second most serious type of class after class 1 and the potential imprisonment in such a case is greater than 12 years. The research however could not identify any particular law that may be designed to rehabilitate the victims of human trafficking. The Arizona legislature therefore needs to work on regulations that along with penalizing the criminals may also be focused on improving and uplifting the victims of such crimes.
The Californian statue from time to time has gone through evolutionary steps in bringing effective laws against human trafficking. In 2005, the California assembly introduced the Bill 22. The main aim of the bill was to increase the penalties for the criminals involved in human trafficking. One of the most effective features of the law was the financial restitution. The victims of the human trafficking would be provided financial rewards due to all the pain and agony that they had gone through as result of the crime. Furthermore, the law also enables the victims to file civil action law suits against the criminals. “The transparency in Supply chain act” was enacted in 2011. The law makes it mandatory for certain companies to disclose their efforts to eradicate completely the human trafficking from their supply chain. All the large retailers having excess of $100 million and annual California sales exceeding $500,000 would be bound by the law to show their efforts towards the non-existence of slavery or human trafficking in chain of operations. In the year 2013, another initiative was taken in the form of senate bill1193. The law requires and specifies certain businesses that are bound to introduce a human trafficking hotline at public places.
The California criminal code specifically requires the Attorney General that cases related to human trafficking should be given priority over other cases. In 2015, the state government of California introduced the bill 83. The basic objective of the bill is to provide financial assistance to the organizations which hare working for the eradication of human trafficking. The bill is introduced to reimburse the costs that non-governmental organizations may have incurred in their efforts to end human slavery in the form of trafficking (Sundaram, 2019). In 2016, the state government of California introduced the bill 1276. The basic objective of the bill was to ensure that minors of 15 years could also testify in court in a case related to human trafficking. The senate bill 1322 was also passed in the year 2016. The bill created a difference between performs of commercial sex acts into adults and minors (Sundaram, 2019). The distinction did not exist in the previous law. The minors under the age of 18 years if found performing commercial sex acts could only be taken by the law enforcement on limited custody only if they were caught performing the acts.
California
In California, human trafficking is rampant because of the booming economy of the country, and according to California Against Slavery, it is amongst the three states where the phenomenon is common. Sex trafficking is a lucrative industry with criminals exploiting vulnerable people. In Los Angeles, on average, a person can make much money on a victim. Many come to California because of the easy access to the Mexico border, which makes it possible for a culprit to bring casualties to exploit them for cheap labor. The latter are coerced to work in farms sand sweatshops in California (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” n.d.). In the year 2013, the state changed section 52.6 of the Civil Code which assumes that business establishments must post a model notice that was created by the office of the attorney general. It should have necessary information that relates to the services and support available to the victims of human trafficking.
According to the regulations, the notification must be posted in a place that is conspicuous and can be viewed by the public. In the year 2017, the state enacted the Assembly Bill 260 and the Senate Bill 225 that further added that the document must contain a number which people can send text messages to in case they want to report some data or need help. The 260 Bill required the inns and motels to be included to the list of businesses that were forced to have the notice in place. Failure to comply with the regulations would result in civil penalties which were aimed to show how rampant the issue became. Most of the cases go unreported because victims fear that they would be victimized by the traffickers if they report information to relevant authorities. However, they can communicate anonymously, and all details will be secured to protect their privacy. Different states should have statewide campaigns and evidence-based programs to ensure that the public is sensitized on the dangers of human trafficking and harsh punishment that any person charged will obtain. It is crucial to initiate arrangements to build resilience among possible victims to prevent high-risk cases and possibly reduce the number of people that are trafficked.
The criminals teach individuals that they should trust no one and, therefore, most of them believe what they are told. The move is often perpetrated by traffickers who mostly come from the same cultural background as the victim, and they use their power and hierarchy to ensure that the sufferers comply with them. The United States Attorney Office for the State of California (USAO) works in close connection with the federal government to conduct investigations and prosecute cases of both labor and sex trafficking within its borders. The USAO deals with all forms of the menace and uses tools available at its disposal to ensure that it prosecutes traffickers in the Central District and protects as well as saves people from being further exploited. According to the Human Trafficking Hotline in California, 76.3% of cases on human trafficking are reported by women, 3.9 % by males, and 26.9% by the minors. In the year 2018, 5,147 instances were declared in California. The numbers could be higher because most of the cases go unreported as the majority of victims are females and children who are trafficked as sex workers.
The Californian statute provides a contrasting example of human perspective. Unlike the Arizonian statute discussed above which has defined punishments for the committers of human trafficking, the Californian statute wants to ensure that the crime is stopped from being committed in the first place. The difference could be termed the most important contrast in Arizona and California statute. On the other hand, it may also be noted, that defined set of punishment in California could not be implemented before 2015. This was the year when as a result of the reforms, the penalties for human trafficking were increased. However, these are still less than that of the Arizonian law. According to the California statue, a person found guilty of human trafficking would be charged for period of 3 4 or 5 years. The time period of the punishment would range between 3 to 5 years depending on the intensity of the crime. The same for the trafficking of minor is set at 4, 6 or 8 years for trafficking of a minor. The study provides the main differing factors between both the Arizona and the California state law.
According to the Florida Statute 787.06, Human trafficking has been defined as an act where a person benefits from the transporting, soliciting, recruiting, harboring, providing, enticing, maintaining, or obtaining another with complete knowledge of the fact that he will forced into labor and or sexual acts(Greenbaum, 2017). If the victim is an adult, it is the responsibility of the prosecutor to prove that the person indulged is a victim. On the other hand, if the victim is a minor, the prosecutor is not responsible to prove the same. The penalties for human trafficking are conditional to the facts that whether coercion has been applied in human trafficking, whether the same was done for labor or sexual activities, or whether the person was a minor or mentally impaired.
Under the Florida’s Criminal Punishment Code, human trafficking is a first degree felony and therefore serious of all crimes (Logan et al, 2009). The person found guilty of human trafficking could be imprisoned for a period up to 30 years, could be put on probation for a period of 30 years and a fine of $10,000. In case the trafficking person is a child or minor, the sentence could term into a life imprisonment.
After passing the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act in 2000, a project was initiated in Florida by the Department of Children and Families Office of Refugee Resettlement in the year 2002, which was focused on identifying the ways through which the federal act could be implemented with its fullest spirit in the state of Florida. As a result, the Statewide Council on Human Trafficking was initiated by the Florida legislature (Bromfield, 2015). The prime objective of the council was to develop the policy and develop recommendation to completely control the human trafficking, prosecute the criminals as well as provide support to the victims. The council consists of 15 members including attorney general, legislators, prosecutors, social service experts and other members (Greenbaum, 2017). One of the objectives of the council is allowing certification to the safe homes that will provide shelter to the victims of human trafficking. Furthermore, the recommendations would also be provided in to prosecute the criminals who participate and are found guilty of recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of persons through coercion.
After carefully analyzing the statute for human trafficking in Florida, it could be argued that Florida is one of the states where punishment for human trafficking is quite severe. Unlike Arizona and California where human trafficking is ranked as a lesser level of felony, in Florida the same has been termed as the highest level of Felony. Furthermore, the initiatives by the State of Florida to initiate a committee setup to ensure that the federal laws are effectively implemented shows seriousness from the side of the government. The same has not yet been observed in other legislature where a statute for human trafficking has been analyzed. The establishing of safer homes is another example that shows that Florida is following the footsteps of California in adopting a more humanistic approach to deal with the issue of human trafficking. The state of Florida however is particularly focused on punishing the offenders similar to Arizona. They should also ensure that the crime is controlled at the earliest stages so the same could not be repeated in the state.
In the state of Georgia OCGA 16-5-46 is the main statue that deals with the offence of human trafficking. The punishments are severe if the trafficking of minors is done. In 2015, the State of Georgia passed a new law termed as SB8 and SR7. Under the law, the human traffickers are required to register as sex offenders and pay into a state fund which will provide financial support and benefits to the victims of human trafficking (Greenbaum, 2017). The fund would be spent on providing education, health, job facilities and social upbringing of the victims. Another law focused on penalizing the offenders is termed as HB 200. The law was enacted and implemented in 2011. The law categorizes the trafficking of adults and minors. In the case of minors, the punishment is severe. The offenders could be imprisoned for a period of twenty years and may be charged for an amount of $100,000. The law also specified the age of consent and the same have been set at 16 years. Due the determination of the age of consent, the offenders cannot defend their self on the plea that they did not have the knowledge of the ager of the offenders (Logan et al, 2009). It may be important to note that the laws in existence are revised after a certain period and legislature works on ensuring that the laws are able to counter human trafficking in the state of Georgia (Bromfield, 2015). The deciding of the age of consent is one such example where in past, offenders provided the defense that on account of disinformation about the age of the victim, they cannot be penalized according to the prevalent law.
The above information suggests that similar to other states Georgia too has strict actions in place that are focused on curbing human trafficking. Georgia is therefore among those states where the punishment for the offence is extremely severe. Furthermore, the policy that differentiates Georgia from other states is SB8 and SB7. While every state has penalties on the offenders of money laundering, in the case of Georgia, the legislature has gone one step further, and has made the offenders bound to continuously pay for the crime. The fund established by the State of Georgia to support victims of the human trafficking could be termed a model law which should also be followed by other states. The maximum imprisonment period for offenders is twenty years which is though less than that of the state of Florida, it is nevertheless still severe then many of the states. On the basis of the facts collected it could be argued that Georgia has strict laws in place to counter human trafficking and the establishment of fund is another positive step towards the financial and moral support of the victims of human trafficking.
New York
New York is a large state, and its proximity to international ports makes it a destination for many criminals who bring the victims to work in the formal and informal sectors where the violation of labor rights may be undetected. New York is among the places with high rate of sex trafficking as it acts as a transit destination. According to a 2017 report by Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking, the phenomenon is a severe crime because victims are not exposed to public view and are subtle. It is, therefore, crucial to ensure that all relevant law agencies and organizations join their efforts to facilitate the implementation of legislation in a coordinated manner. Human trafficking is considered to be modern-day slavery, and in the year 2016, the state of New York implemented a plan to raise awareness, increase advocacy, and boost help in the identification of victims (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” n.d.).
The international community has increased human trafficking. It has focused on developing legislative, institutional, enforcement, and criminal justice response that aims to protect sufferers. The worldwide bodies have adopted laws that prevent further sex trafficking to suppress the vice and punish the offenders. They have created regulations and protocol that seek to address this issue. International legislation has resulted in criminalizing the illicit purchase of sexual services, and the underlying logic is to criminalize the buying of original series that will reduce the demand for prostitution (Strom, 2009).
New Jersey
In the state of New Jersey, Human Trafficking Hotline is put in place, is confidential, and does not disclose statistics that talk about information, venues, or industries where the victims work. According to the information obtained, most of the top sectors where the sufferers operate are agriculture, health and beauty, domestic services, and restaurants. Some of them are also coerced to work in sex trafficking industries and engage in pornography, illicit massage parlors, and escorts for little pay. Cases of the phenomenon do involve citizens, and some of them are the minors (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” n.d.).
Alaska
The state of Alaska has been on the headlines because of the increased instances of sex trafficking reported. It has covenant houses where victims can find a haven away from criminals (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” n.d.). Most of the situations reveled are of people who are homeless. The state has a high number of such individuals, which is one of the reasons why the vice is rampant. Traffickers exploit an already desperate situation to lure others into engaging in the industries where they are utilized and have no freedom, which usually means that they will operate under degrading terms and be exploited for the benefit of criminals. Most of them do not know how to properly speak English because it is not their first language. They fear that if they report the menace, they may be deported back to their home country.
Discussion
Alaska amended its criminal code to define human trafficking in the 1st degree, whereby a person induces another individual to engage in prostitution through the use of force. Trafficking is heavily punished, with a criminal who benefits from the vice facing the charge of 2nd-degree human trafficking. A culprit who is found to have been directly linked to the crime faces a 1st-degree charge. Despite the changes made by the state to address the issue, federal laws remain more comprehensive in dealing with such cases. According to a briefing by the FBI and the Police Department in the year 2010, 305 instances reported on sex trafficking were of Alaska natives (Alaska Gov, n.d).
Texas
In the state of Texas, the instances of the phenomenon have been described as a modern form of slavery. In the year 2016, through the office of the Attorney General, it developed a Human Trafficking and Transnational Crime section (HTTOC) that was tasked with combating cases of human trafficking. With the help of joint efforts with federal stakeholders, the state has facilitated the shutdown of some of escort services that were available online, such as Backpage.com. The section has initiated the training of people across the state on the matters of human trafficking to better equip them with the tools of identifying the cases and reporting them to relevant authorities (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” n.d.). However, the situation is still not positive as many instances are still being experienced. Texas recognizes sex trafficking, labor trafficking, child trafficking, and smuggling as forms of human trafficking, which are outlawed. The criminal is the one who faces charges upon being discovered. Houston had the highest number of cases nationwide. The growing number of the situations that are reported is a huge concern as it shows that the efforts made towards eliminating human trafficking are not adequate.
Discussion
The Harris County Juvenile Probation Department in the State of Texas is focused on providing strategies that are family-oriented and friendly to protect children who are the victims of human trafficking. All enforcement officers are also required to receive the requisite training on the issue.
Oklahoma
Trafficking in the state of Oklahoma is a crime that is punishable under legislation. It ranks number 28 nationwide for the number of such cases that pass through the federal court. Modernization of the jurisdiction to effectively deal with human trafficking is ongoing and raising awareness on the situation that is critical to the elimination of crimes (“National Human Trafficking Hotline,” n.d.).
Discussion
The offender faces a minimum sentence of five years in prison if the victim is above the age of 18 years. However, if the latter is a minor, the law is more severe and comes in the form of a sentence. Trafficking of children under the age of 16 is considered to be an atrocity, and the felony carries a minimum sentence of 10-year imprisonment together with a $20,000 fine. Human trafficking in Oklahoma is a violation of the state law, but it can also be decided as a breach of federal legislation.
Chapter IV: Discussion, Recommendation & Conclusion
Discussion
The first theme was rendered positively effective on account of the high number of laws, policies, and regulation that are passed at the state, federal, and international level. The proposals developed subsequently since the passing of the first legislation in 2000 also support the TVPA structure presented in figure 2 (Toney-Butler & Mittel, 2019) There is a consensus between research findings and the literature review in that both laws experts and the government agree that the development of laws has improved consistently (Greenbaum, 2017; Sadowski, 2019). Therefore, under the rules and stipulated punishments alone, the justice departments and the structures at the state level are adequately equipped to handle human trafficking. An alternative argument is that the DOJ may complain about limitations in other areas except for the laws in the US, as supported by international bodies, primarily the UN (Sadowski, 2019). The acceptance of the first premise cannot lead to a conclusion but must also consider the other two themes.
While the country may have the requisite laws and precedents to counter the effects of trafficking, the structure of the judicial system is massively flawed and incapable of restituting the victims of THB and CST. From the literature review, (Sadowski, 2019) and Motivans (2018) share the same view that human trafficking has evolved and equally complicated the judicial processes. Elie & Leila (2009) differed slightly and noted that the failure of the government to offer the needed protection to victim witness is the primary reason that courts do not provide the required justice. From the review and the results of the systematic analysis, it can be argued that although the DOJ and the DHS have attempted to work together during investigations and prosecutions, the current data indicates that federal and state institutions cannot provide justice. The fear of testifying coupled with the psychological toll of trafficking hinders witness testimonies, which is a significant part of the fair prosecution (Farrel & Kane, 2019).
The third and final theme was also deemed ineffective on account of the complexity of the smuggling and trafficking rings that operate across borders. The position about the deficiencies of the DOJ is supported by the logic of Chacon (2006) that the US immigration policy is structured such that foreigners have access to the country without rigorous inspection. If people illegally enter the country and then leave at the knowledge of being identified as aliens, the maneuver through foreign customs to follow the trail of trafficking is complicated. Smith & Verdaman (2010), as well as the State Department, agree that the demand for anti-trafficking efforts does not match the hindrances which include terrorism.
Given that only one theme, laws and punishments, had a positive influence on anti-trafficking efforts, the study can determine that the justice department is not adequately prepared to eradicate smuggling rings. There is overwhelming heterogeneous evidence suggesting that some of the hindrances to anti-trafficking come from within the government as politicians and businesspeople are engaged in illegal trade (Chacon, 2006; Farrell & McDevitt, 2008). The existing literature unanimously agrees on the existence of many challenges in anti-trafficking efforts, albeit with a difference in data estimations regarding the extent of the problem (Sanchez & Stark, 2014; Global Slavery Index, 2018).
Recommendations
Given that one of the issues with the DOJ and the DHS is a bloated mandate that makes it hard to track criminals, the study recommends the use of various entities such as the child welfare system to determine the validity of individuals. Parsons & Clay (2014) support the same approach when they contend that multidisciplinary efforts may be flawed by interdepartmental wrangles, and therefore, the breakdown of the system is worth trying in search of new solutions. Secondly, the researcher did not identify significant studies on public participation in matters of THB and CST. The government has put measures to address the efforts of curbing human trafficking through policies that are aimed at preventing, protecting, and prosecuting criminals. Most countries lack anti-trafficking legislation that is necessary to tackle the issue[2]. While human trafficking is a problem that permeates globally in developing and developed nations as it prevents human beings from achieving equality. It is a challenge that is hidden from the public view and, thus, cannot account for definitive statistics.
Human trafficking strives even with the presence of activist groups and government initiatives, which is largely attributed to greed and poverty mentality. The existence of a market is a problem faced by the advocates against the vice. Business seems to flourish because there are consumers who are willing to unethically source products in shops that encourage child labor exploitation. The market has adopted a regulatory environment that supports the presence of labor trafficking[3]. The existence of free market policies also plays a significant part in encouraging the problem.
Major effects of human trafficking include suffering from health complications, such as HIV/AIDS, negative psychological and social impact, for example, trauma, depression, and shame. Children are more prone to emotional development issues that can lead to committing suicides or depression. Victims of trafficking are normally rejected by the population and are often ostracized, hence, experiencing isolation, which can pose a further challenge.
People who do not know English should have language access programs, whereby different state agencies have services that are tailor-based to ensure that they are given a channel of communication to be able to report their grievances. There is also the need for training to be conducted to ensure that all the stakeholders, such as judges, prosecution, and police, know how to treat such victims. Through respective agencies, state government should put in place assessment, funding, and enforcement to guarantee that all stakeholders come on board to collectively act towards eliminating the cases of human trafficking in different states.
Policing authorities have not adequately addressed the public on the subject of THB and CST specifically, which makes it hard for the public to identify trafficking scenarios or victims. Therefore, the introduction of civic education on human trafficking would be essential in curbing the vice. Finally, there is a need for further studies on the actual data and statistics of trafficked individuals because different government agencies have different figures. Inconsistencies in data estimation may render any remedy efforts useless because the necessary authorities could be working on the wrong information. These recommendations can contribute to anti-human trafficking studies and initiatives.
Conclusion
Human trafficking has been defined as the illegal movement of people domestically or across borders through force, coercion, or fraud and selling them into forced labor, sexual exploitation, among other offenses. The study was focused on identifying prevailing laws, statutes, and legal precedents to counter human trafficking in the United States. The laws and statues in place whether at the federal level or at the state level offer guidelines in situations deemed culpable with acts like the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2013 as well as Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act 2015. The research study strived to explore that the current construct of the justice system is such that it may not have the capacity to deal with the growing influence of human traffickers, some of whom may be deeply ingrained into the national governments.
In order to further elaborate on the topic and conduct research, the state laws and statues of four states were analyzed. These included Arizona, California, Florida and Georgia. It was beyond the scope of the study to conduct an analysis of all the States of USA however the study of sample states provides quite insightful information regarding the prevailing laws, statutes, and legal precedents to counter human trafficking. It was identified that all the states had specific and elaborative laws to counter human trafficking and ensuring that such crimes do not take place. Furthermore, it was also identified that legislature in various places has taken initiatives other than legal statutes to provide support to the victims of human trafficking. The laws are being updated gradually and committees and legal groups are in existence which provides recommendations to further improve enhance and strengthen the laws related to human trafficking, however, research on the subject is still laden with data inconsistencies and inefficient empirical studies, which informs the recommendation for new research and the breakdown of the current systems to form new approaches to eliminating modern slavery. It is further suggested that more efforts are still required and law enforcement agencies have to go beyond their conventional methods to curb the menace of human trafficking at the earliest of the levels.
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