Mackenzie Longo

SPS206/506 Human Rights and Genocide Course

Professor: Dr. O'Dell

December 9, 2021

Human Trafficking in the 21st Century: A Look at Trafficking in The United States

The United Nations defines human trafficking (also called trafficking in persons) in their

fact sheet on Human Rights and Human Trafficking as:

The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the

threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of

the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of

payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another

person, for the purpose of exploitation (Human Rights and Human Trafficking, 2014).

In other terms, human trafficking can be equated to modern day slavery. It should be noted that

to be considered trafficking, not all conditions of the above definition must be met. For example,

trafficking may or may not involve the movement of persons for various reasons. There are also

many different types of trafficking, including forced labor and sex trafficking, with everything

relating back to exploitation. Human trafficking occurs worldwide, in every region of the world.

In some places, trafficking is more focused on a specific group or population, for a designated

reason, and is perpetrated by a particular group or organization. A worldwide example of this is

how “yakuza (organized crime) networks play a significant role in the smuggling and subsequent

debt bondage of women – particularly women from China, Thailand, and Colombia – for forced

prostitution in Japan” (Hepburn, 2013, p. 49). This also supports the idea that trafficking “varies
not only by type but also by current, that is, by the flow of victims. These currents are

categorized in terms of source nation, transit nation, and destination nation.” (Hepburn, 2013, p.

2). While every region of the world contributes to human trafficking in one way or another, there

is a harmful belief that trafficking does not occur in certain nations and states (such as

“developed countries” like the United States) and does not affect a broad spectrum of people.

While trafficking does indeed occur in the United States and the State Department

releases a fact sheet on the topic annually, the report does not only focus on exploitation and

trafficking occurring in the United States. According to the New York Times, “[the report] also

highlighted 11 countries where the State Department has accused governments of aiding or

abetting human trafficking: Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea,

Russia, South Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan” in 2021 alone (Jakes, 2021). The crimes

occurring in these countries include forced labor and child soldiers, as well as sexual acts.

Over the past five years, trafficking has been reported in all 50 states, District of

Columbia, and every single United States territory, as well as been reported in other countries

with U.S. citizens as the target (U.S. Department of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report –

United States, 2021). The act of human trafficking and the existing threat of trafficking directly

violates several human rights as outlined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR).

The current threat of trafficking in the United States, especially in the wake of the Coronavirus-

19 pandemic, is ever worsening, even though many believe that this is not a large problem.

The process of human trafficking violates human rights in several marked ways. Using

the UDHR as a standard allows for the identification of specific violations. First and foremost,

the UDHR emphasizes that “all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights”

(UDHR, 1948 Article 1). Trafficking in all forms violates that belief in every way, as it deprives
people of their freedom, as well as treating other humans as they are less than, depriving them of

their dignity. This also directly ties into Article 3, in which “everyone has the right to life,

liberty, and the security of person”, because trafficking deprives one of being able to live their

own life (UDHR, 1948). Additionally, those who do not have the “security of person” are also

more likely to fall into the cycle of exploitation due to their financial or other vulnerability.

Perhaps the largest direct violation of the UDHR that trafficking falls into is Article 4; “No one

shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their

forms” (1948). Every form of trafficking is literally modern slavery, which is further emphasized

with the use of “modern slavery” as the umbrella term for trafficking. The movement of victims

can be considered slave trade, and the exploitation of victims for various forms of trafficking

qualifies as slavery. Even though victims may be told that they are able to leave, they are tied

into this cycle for fear for their life or that they will be unable to reintegrate into society.

Trafficking can also be considered “inhuman or degrading treatment” of which every person has

the right to not be subjected (UDHR, Article 5, 1948). The UDHR also outlines the right of each

person to work according to their own free will, as well as to have proper healthcare, housing,

and necessities (UDHR, Articles 13 and 25, 1948). All of these rights are also violated whenever

one falls victim to trafficking of any form.

The United Nations (UN) has also issued other direct protocol on the prevention of

trafficking, including the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons,

Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against

Transnational Organized Crime. Written as the result of a committee from the UN General

Assembly, this protocol provides guidance on human trafficking prosecution. Additionally, this

protocol ties human trafficking back to transnational crime, which also connects to how
trafficking impacts global economy (Protocol to prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in

Persons, 2000). As with any protocol, it also provides guidance on what states can and should do

to aid victims of trafficking and to prevent its further occurrence. According to the UN and this

protocol,

The State Party of which a victim of trafficking in persons is a national or in which the

person had the right of permanent residence at the time of entry into the territory of the

receiving State Party shall facilitate and accept, with due regard for the safety of that

person, the return of that person without undue or unreasonable delay. (Protocol to

prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, 2000).

With this being said, states not only have the obligation to protect their citizens and legal

residents, but also must work with other states to ensure the safe return of that state’s citizens,

should trafficking occur. While states sign and ratify UN resolutions, treaties, and protocols, the

UN has minimal power to ensure that states are upholding them. Because of this, many

trafficking victims also fall through the cracks, especially in with superpower states like the

United States.

The United States has been publishing annual reports on human trafficking in the United

States and around the world since 2000, and while the U.S. government technically does meet

the minimum standards for trafficking elimination, trafficking remains an issue (U.S. Department

of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States, 2021). Many of the current problems

with trafficking in the United States arise from immigration issues, which were then exacerbated

by the Coronavirus-19 pandemic. The United States does not actually track and screen children

and migrants the way that they are supposed to, which leads to more issues. Whenever the
pandemic began in March of 2020, migrants (including unaccompanied minors) were expelled.

According to the U.S. State Department report,

Title 8 of the U.S. Code requires the government to screen unaccompanied children and

follow certain procedures to place the children in the least restrictive setting in the best

interest of the child to combat child trafficking, unaccompanied children were processed and

expelled pursuant to the Title 42 order and not Title 8 until February 2021 (U.S. Department

of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States, 2021).

Because of this, potential victims were put at a higher risk. Minorities also tend to already be at a

higher risk for trafficking, including ethnic and racial minorities, members of the LGBTQI+

community, and boys and men U.S. Department of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report –

United States, 2021). Additionally, minorities may come to the U.S. in search of work, which leads

to their exploitation both via sex trafficking and forced labor trafficking.

While men can fall victim to sex trafficking, they tend to be trafficked for labor purposes.

The U.S. State Department Report outlines that in 2021, the United States continued a trend of lack

of progress and effort to address and confront labor trafficking and identification and aid victims

(U.S. Department of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States, 2021). The focus in

the United States still tends to focus on only sex trafficking, which also perpetuates a harmful

stereotype that there are not other forms of trafficking, as well as the misandrist view that men do not

experience sexual abuse – only women do. This stereotyping and focus has either impacted the focus

of the State Department, or perhaps the State Department’s focus has impacted the opinion of the

public. In the past year, the U.S. pursued more investigations of trafficking, but followed a three-year

trend of less prosecutions, and many of the prosecutions that did occur involved sex trafficking,

followed by a sharp decrease to the number of labor trafficking cases, with a select few involving
both types (U.S. Department of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States, 2021).

Again, this decline may be able to be partially attributed to the pandemic. Overall protection efforts

have further decreased, and there is not a lot of support for victims of trafficking, both physically and

financially. Many survivors, some of whom are unhoused or financially insecure, do not even apply

for aid for fear that “due to fear they would not have the means to pay for fees if their fee waiver

request was denied” (U.S. Department of State, 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States,

2021). The lack of aid for survivors and victims of trafficking perpetuates a harmful cycle of

exploitation, where those who have been exploited may return to dangerous situations for promise of

some sort of help or aid. Many minorities and vulnerable people tend to fall into the cycle of

exploitation, including (but not limited to) youth in foster care, runaway, unaccompanied and/or

homeless youth, undocumented or temporary workers, asylum seekers, Native American populations

(especially women and girls), and those with disabilities (U.S. Department of State, 2021 Trafficking

in Persons Report – United States, 2021). Those who have experienced intimate partner violence or

domestic violence may also fall into this category. These populations are preyed upon not only

because they would do anything to make ends meet and feel safe, but also because some of them

may have limited communication skills, which also leaves them vulnerable. For example, an

individual who is in the United States on a temporary work visa may have limited English

proficiency, and they could accidentally “consent” to something that they do not really understand.

While this not an exhaustive list of those who may be vulnerable, the Coronavirus-19 pandemic has

certainly contributed to making these populations more vulnerable, as well as putting even more

people at risk.

While trafficking is a typically covert operation, methods of trafficking became more overt

during the pandemic, where traffickers, like much of the rest of the world, moved their operations
and lives to the internet. During the height of the pandemic, “in the United States, the National

Center for Missing and Exploited Children reported a 99 percent increase in children being enticed

by online predators between January and September [2020].” (Jakes, 2021). Online predators have

existed for years, but the pandemic offered an even wider range of potential victims, especially with

many children having to complete online coursework, either with or without the supervision of

parents or teachers. The pandemic may also have allowed those who normally operate in person to

move to an online approach. Not only did the pandemic allow would-be predators and victims to

spend more time online, but it also forced many who had been too busy in their normal day-to-day

lives to consume more media (newspapers, online sources, social media, etc.) while they were stuck

at home during the initial lockdown periods.

Media coverage in the United States impacts not only public opinion of human trafficking,

but also the methods of action of trafficking in the United States. It is often difficult to get an accurate

picture of trafficking, and thus make it difficult for information on trafficking to be widely available

via news outlets. Specifically, “accurate data are difficult to obtain because the movement of

victims occurs almost completely in secret. For each person who comes to the attention of law

enforcement, there are likely many more who do not; thus, it remains an involuntary and

‘invisible labor force’” (Sobel, 2014). The cycle of trafficking continues because it is occurring

in secret, and media coverage tends to be lacking in some areas. A prime example of this is the

current beliefs, conspiracy theories, and expository nature of several “big-name” trafficking rings

coming to light. The #SaveOurChildren movement shifted the focus of trafficking to accusations

of child sex trafficking that were far inflated, like claiming the number of children that are

kidnapped/missing in the United States yearly (approximately 800,000 children who are reported

missing for one reason or another for any period) is actually the number of children that are
being sex trafficked yearly (Tiffany, 2021). Very real instances of trafficking occur in the United

States, but sensationalized numbers of child victims and conspiracies spread on social media

cause people to treat it almost as some sort of trend they can champion. This sensationalism

directly hurts not only those who are experiencing trafficking, but also survivors of trafficking.

There is much that can be done to combat human trafficking, at the global level all the

way to the community level. The United Nations and legitimate human rights organizations can

combat trafficking through resolutions, education, and outreach. Additionally, states have an

obligation to first stop trafficking at the root of the cause, but also to help victims of trafficking

recover and reintegrate into society. According to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and

Punish Trafficking in Persons,

Each State Party shall consider implementing measures to provide for the physical,

psychological and social recovery of victims of trafficking in persons, including, in

appropriate cases, in cooperation with non-governmental organizations, other relevant

organizations and other elements of civil society (Protocol to prevent, Suppress, and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, 2000).

Reports show that if state parties work together to aid trafficking victims and survivors and help

reintegrate them into society, victims are less likely to be trafficked (Human Rights and Human

Trafficking, 2014). Not only is aid important to helping victims but publicizing as much

information as possible about trafficking also aids in prevention and breaking the cycle.

Visibility is a key factor, especially in preventing different types of trafficking, as “there

continue to be more criminal convictions of sex traffickers than of forced-labor traffickers”

(Hepburn, 2013, p. 32). Visibility and broader public knowledge can also help to eradicate

trafficking and exploitation on a community and small-scale level.

 Trafficking victims may be able to be spotted in public, especially during their movement

if it is via public transit in some way. Airline employees and other passengers on planes may be

able to spot victims of trafficking during the transit phase if that method is used. Healthcare

professionals, especially nurses and those who work in emergency medicine, are also able to

identify and intercept trafficking victims if they have proper training. Not only does trafficking

deprive victims of their freedom, but they also may experience a variety of health issues that are

not treated until they become serious. Nurses can observe for small cues, like a lot of small

surface injuries, malnutrition, mutilation, sexually transmitted diseases/infections, and

unconvincing stories during triage and care (Clause, 2013). These signs can be for anyone

experiencing abuse, so it is important to make the distinction if the patient is being trafficked as

well. Women and children who are exploited may also experience mental health issues and

emotional distress, and nurses are able to report trafficking and enlist the help of the best

professionals for the situation (Clause, 2013). Unfortunately, most training for spotting abuse

and trafficking is directed towards helping women and children, rather than just people in

general. This again perpetuates the stereotype that men cannot be or are not trafficked and

abused.

While harmful stereotypes can be perpetuated, promoting accurate knowledge can aid in

the fight against human trafficking. Additionally, with proper supports from most, if not all

nation states, and the UN, instances of trafficking can decrease. The UN can work to create more

framework to aid states in their fight against human trafficking. Nations like the United States

can also work towards eradicating modern slavery by cracking down on efforts to investigate,

prosecute, and find perpetrators while helping victims and survivors to reintegrate into society.
 Works Cited

Clause, K. J. & Lawler, K. B. (2013). The hidden crime: human trafficking. South Carolina
Nurse (Columbia, S.C.: 1994), 20(4), 3-5.

Hepburn, S., & Simon, R. J. 1. (2013). Human trafficking around the world: hidden in plain
sight. New York: Columbia University Press.

Human Rights Office of the High Commissioner. (2014). Human Rights and Human Trafficking
[Fact sheet]. United Nations. https://www.ohchr.org/documents/publications/fs36_en.pdf

Jakes, Lara. Pandemic Lockdowns Aided Predators Worldwide, Especially Online, U.S. Says, 1
July 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/01/us/politics/coronavirus-lockdown-
online-exploitation.html. Accessed 7 Nov. 2021.

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and
Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime. United Nations. November 15, 2000.
https://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/ProtocolTraffickingInPersons.aspx

Sobel, M. R. (2014). Chronicling a crisis: media framing of human trafficking in India, Thailand,
and the USA. Asian Journal of Communication, 24(4), 315–332.
https://doi.org/10.1080/01292986.2014.903425

Tiffany, K. (2021, December 9). The Great (Fake) Child-Sex-Trafficking Epidemic Dispatches
from a moral panic. The Atlantic. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2022/01/children-sex-trafficking-
conspiracy-epidemic/620845/.

United Nations. (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights

U.S. Department of State. (2021, July 1). Human Trafficking - United States Department of
State. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from
https://www.state.gov/policy-issues/human-trafficking/.

United States Department of State. (2021, July 1) 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report - United
States of America. U.S. Department of State. Retrieved December 9, 2021, from
https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/.