The Business of Human Trafficking

A sign outside a Hong Kong club reads, “Young, fresh Hong Kong girls; White clean Malaysian girls; Beijing women; Luxurious Ghost Girls from Russia.”  About 65% of those trafficked are for the purpose of sexual exploitation, unable to escape for fear of being killed or their families being killed.  They often develop ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ where they bond with their captors, grateful for small favors and for allowing them to live.  On virtual auction blocks, these women wait to be bought and sold for sexual exploitation.  They rarely get any of the money that their captors collect for their sexual services.  Fear and coercion keep them cooperative and they often turn to drug abuse.  Most buyers claim they are unaware that they are feeding the trafficking industry when they buy sexual services or support tourism. The sad truth is that most continue to do it, and don’t care.

The United States Department of State estimates between 600,000 and 800,000 people are trafficking across international borders each year into the dark shadows of human slavery.  Right now more than 27 million men, women and children are sold and enslaved a within national borders.   Often these places are in full view of the public eye.

There are more slaves worldwide today than laborers in the American workplace, or in history for that matter.  In this era of change, it’s going to require dedication to end slavery in our lifetime and, will demand creative and bold activism from each of us.  

The general public is always shocked to learn that slavery still exists, flourishing in the shadows of our own neighborhoods and largely hidden behind closed doors.  Although it is uncomfortable, we must shift to a paradigm that recognizes it’s existence, if not…we enable it to continue.  Without awareness, prevention cannot begin.  And, it is going to take more than standard activism to conquer this 10 billion dollar a year, well-organized, criminal industry.

That’s why Dr. Carole Lieberman, a well-known forensic psychiatrist, based in Beverly Hills, California got creative in offering her expertise in psychological consulting.  Her efforts and skills were put to the test for a film called, “The Pet”, which depicts one of the most degrading forms of modern-day slavery.  The story is about a young American woman who, suffering through an emotional and financial crisis, signs herself over to a wealthy, aristocratic benefactor for a sum of money and for a six month period.  The cash is to be placed in an account for her.  She becomes his human pet, sleeps in a cage, never wears clothes, and is led around on a leash.  He decides to have her market value appraised and exhibits her to the powerful and ruthless GSM—Global Slave Market, who violently steal her from him and then, sell her to the highest bidder in the world for her valuable and healthy organs.  A movie in theaters now is “Taken” which follows a former CIA operative trying to track down a group of kidnappers who have his daughter and are going to sell her into the sex slave trade.

Dr. Lieberman points out, “Everyday, as we benevolently sip our lattes, people are plucked off streets and sold, never to be heard from again.  Traffickers are on the prowl for victims and, with the world becoming more chaotic, it’s easier to ‘lose’ co-workers, rebellious teens, college students and others who have simply ‘lost touch’ because of busy lives or detached families.  If we don’t wake up, we may one day find that one of own loved ones is missing”.

According to the Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, (BSCC) who have approximately 60 government and non-profit agencies all dedicated to human trafficking, slavery is the world’s second largest and fastest growing organized crime  Victims are children, teenagers, and adults, all subjected to force, fraud, and coercion to engage in involuntary labor or commercial sex.

Of those abducted each year, 70% are women and adolescents, trafficked into sex slavery.  Two million children a year fall victim to commercial sexual exploitation.  Traffickers trick, drug, kidnap and sell victims, knowing full well that these victims can be sold over and over, unlike drugs, into the multi-billion dollar sex trade.  

“Victims are hidden within crevices of the Internet, sex tourism, underground brothels, strip clubs, pornography, and other industries servicing a demand primarily driven by adult males,” says Lieberman. “Sadly, more and more victims are needed to fill the vacuum created by the growing online demand.“ 

 

Sources in the U.S. and UK report 11 companies that manufacture human pet cages.  Also easy to find for those interested in purchasing are human auctions where a purchaser on the Internet can locate slave marking listings such as branding, piercing, tagging and what insiders refer to as TPE (Total Power Exchange) for consensual slaves.

“Human offerings are listed in the thousands and on the Internet,” says Lieberman.  “The Global Slave Market is modeled on and functions much the same as the NYSE or NASDAQ, but without the pretense of regulation, and with human beings as commodities.   Unimaginable is that a transaction can be completed by using Pay Pal.”

According to Marisa Ugarte, executive director of Bilateral Safety Corridor Coalition, located in National City, California, who works with trafficked victims, “Often buyers don’t notice the fake smiles that are plastered on the faces of underage victims.”

During the presidential inauguration, actors/human/animal right activists Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore stepped up with a staggering group of other well-known entertainment A-listers and went on the record for very personal “I Pledge” declarations on how they’ll make the world better in 2009 and beyond.  The video, directed by Moore was presented to President Obama during the festivities.  One outspoken pledge was by Moore who stated that she and Kutcher were determined to help free 1,000,000 people currently in slavery, within five years.

In an article in The Huffington Post, Kutcher said, “A year ago my wife and I looked one another in the eye and promised to dedicate ourselves to finding a cause to champion.  After sifting through the wreckage of issues that our world faces, we were continually confronted with one issue that pulled at our heartstrings and haunted our thoughts: the abolition of 21st century slavery…We are shocked and offended by every story we hear.  In our pursuit we have been confronted with finding a tangible, quantifiable solution to a crisis that has become the second most profitable illicit trade in the world, only bested by the drug trade… We found ourselves in such a place and realized that the only way to create effective change is to first state your intention.  Thus the ‘Presidential Pledge’ was born.  Making a pledge forces you to be accountable not only to others but also to yourself…Once you are on record, your community and your peers can and will hold you accountable for results.  Therefore, we as individuals will be forced to deliver…This may be one of the only positive attributes of our egos.  So let us put our egos to work.  Our hope is that this effort will inspire others to do the same…”

Prior to the enactment of the TVPA in October 2000, no comprehensive federal law even existed to prosecute traffickers.  Enforcement is poorly funded and very few traffickers are ever caught.  They spend little time in prison, yet make billions of dollars annually by trafficking human beings.  No longer can we stand by.  It is not enough to think about change, to talk about change.  It is time to make a change and collectively as a global force, we can do it if we allow ourselves to move out of our comfort zone and take action.  If half our population spent one day a year just giving their time, slavery could be synergistically conquered.

For further  information:

Call BSCC at 619-336-0770

www..bsccoalition.org
By Robin Torme