United States Senate COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS WASHINGTON, 0¢ 20610-6450 March 24, 2015 Mr. Gene L. Dodaro ‘Comptroller General of the United States U.S. Government Accountability Office 441 G Street, N.W., Room 7100 ‘Washington, D.C. 20548 Dear Mr. Dodaro, Human trafficking in the United States is on the rise and occurs across the country in rural, urban, and suburban communities in all SO states and the District of Columbia. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 classified human trafficking into two categories — sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Human trafficking can occur in both legal and illicit industries and markets, ranging from hotel services, agriculture, janitorial services, construction, and health and elder care, to brothels, escort services, massage parlors, strip clubs and prostitution rings. As defined under Federal law, victims of human trafficking can be divided into three populations: 1) children under the age of 18 induced into commercial sex, 2) adults over the age of 18 induced into commercial sex through force, fraud, or coercion, and 3) children and adults induced to perform labor or services through force, fraud, or coercion. Traffiekers include recruiters and pimps, and are often involved in other criminal activities, such as fraud, extortion, ‘migrant smuggling, theft and money laundering. Every day traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage, and other manipulative tactics to trap victims into a life of involuntary servitude. The spread of human trafficking is attributable to the high profits and low risks involved, and driven by the principles of supply and demand. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its subsequent reauthorizations provided the tools to combat trafficking domestically, but lacked much needed attention to Indian country. Similarly, to date, relevant research has primarily focused on the trafficking of international ‘women and children into the United States. Far less attention has been given to researching domestic trafficking, specifically American Indian and Alaska Native victims. Recent studies indicate that traffickers are targeting American Indian and Alaska Natives. Native ‘women suffer sexual violence at the highest rate (per capita) in the United States. Among the diverse populations who are affected by trafficking, children are most at risk to labor and sex trafficking. Native youth have disproportionately been victims to some type of sexual assault and are most vulnerable to commercial sex exploitation. ‘Traffickers target women and girls, who are unduly affected by poverty, lack of education, chronic unemployment, high abuse and crime rates, and discrimination. As American Indian andAlaska Native women and girls are at a higher risk of experiencing key predicative risk factors for prostitution, they have an elevated risk of becoming trafficked. A multitude of risk factors that correlate with the entry into trafficking have been identified. In many of the tribal communities located in the United States where tribes experience some of the highest crime rates in the country, all risk factors are present. These elevated risk factors help traffickers target vulnerable American Indian and Alaskan Natives. While there is no official estimate of the total number of human trafficking victims in the United States, itis estimated that 100,000 domestic children are involved in the sex trade each year. ‘Trafficking is notorious for the invisibility of victims, which makes human trafficking hard to study, especially in Indian country. Traffickers seek out venues that are difficult to detect. Victims remain hidden from detection, in part, due to fear of arrest and possible retaliation by traffickers, There are few empirical studies focusing on Native women involved in prostitution, including their arrest rate, in the United States. As prostitution is not specified as a type of criminal victimization, there is no statistical estimations as to how many American Indian and Alaska Natives are targeted for trafficking. The health implications of human trafficking on victims in tribal communities and Alaskan villages also requires further study, as does the effectiveness of programs and services designed for victims, and how existing services can be improved. In addition, there is only limited data on the prevalence and characteristics of child victims within the welfare, runaway, and homeless youth systems. Information on the trafficking of males is also lacking, ‘We request that the Government Accountability Office review the following: (1) Research human trafficking in Indian country. How many American Indian and Alaska Natives are trafficked in the United States? What is the death rate for the Native population in the trafficking industry in the United States? (2) How many of the American Indian and Alaska Native trafficking victims are under the age of 18? How many of the Native victims are male? (3) How many victims, both international and domestic, are trafficked onto Indian country? What percentage of the trafficked population, including international victims, is American Indian and Alaska Native? On an annual basis, how many American Indian and Alaska Natives trafficked in rural, urban, and suburban areas, respectively? (4) What services and programs are provided to victims of human trafficking in Indian country at the local, tribal, and national levels? What services and programs have proven to be effective, and what metrics or standards were used to do so?(5) What is the health impact of trafficking on American Indian and Alaska Natives? What diseases, illnesses, injuries and other health risks might American Indian and Alaskan Natives acquire when trafficked? What health complications are most prevalent? (6) What crimes are connected to human trafficking? Does drug trafficking impact human trafficking? If so, how? What task forces and working groups are successfully deterring human trafficking from Indian country? (7) What types of training and education would spur more trafficking prosecutions? How many American Indian and Alaska Natives have been prosecuted for human trafficking? ‘What percentage of individuals prosecuted for human trafficking are American Indian and Alaska Native? (8) What are the short and long term impacts of human trafficking on Indian country, including its tribal communities and members? (9) Resource limitation is often cited as one of the primary causes of high crime rates in Indian country. How would human trafficking be affected if resources were increased to combat this widespread problem? (10) One recommendation is for the United States to engage in culturally-based efforts to strengthen coordination among justice systems for and the provision of services to ‘American Indian and Alaska Native trafficking victims. How can the United States implement culturally relevant programs for victims of human trafficking, and coordinate with tribes on trafficking investigations and service delivery? (11) What are the barriers and challenges to tribes keeping human trafficking off their lands? (12) What victim services for human trafficking are dedicated to American Indian and Alaskan Natives? (13) What law enforcement resources, including resources for prosecutions, are dedicated to stopping human trafficking? ‘Thank you for your timely attention to this request. If you have any questions, please contact Jacqueline Bisille at Jacqueline_Bisille@indian.senate.gov or (202) 224-2251. Sincerely, Senator John Barrasso, M.D. Sepfftor Jon Tester Chairman ¢e Chairman Committee on Indian Affairs Committee on Indian Affairs