31.4 Human Trafficking

The Difference Between Labor Trafficking and Sex Trafficking

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 defines the crime of sex trafficking as the “recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age” (22 U.S.C. § 7102(11)(A)). In another major criminal industry, labor trafficking, individuals are compelled against their will to provide work or service through the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Traffickers frequently target vulnerable populations, such as children, individuals without lawful immigration status, those with debts, and those who are isolated, impoverished, or disabled of any race, religious affiliation, gender identity, or socioeconomic background. Victims of labor trafficking are rarely able to seek help. Victims may be hindered by language barriers or physically unable to seek help if their employer restricts and monitors their movements. U.S. citizens, foreign nationals, and women, men, and children of any race, religious affiliation, gender identity, or socioeconomic background can be victims of forced labor (HHS, n.d.; DOJ, 2022). Certain risk factors may make some individuals more vulnerable to forced labor than others, including (Department of Homeland Security, 2022b):

• Unstable immigration status
• Language barriers
• Poverty and lack of basic needs like food, shelter, and safety
• The psychological effects of a recent or past trauma
• Lack of social support systems such as friends, family, and community
• Physical or developmental disabilities

Common types of labor trafficking include people forced to work as domestic servants, farmworkers coerced through violence to harvest crops, or factory workers held in inhumane conditions with little to no pay. In the United States, domestic work is the most common form of labor trafficking (International Labour Organization [ILO], 2023; Department of Homeland Security, 2022b).

Examining National Human Trafficking Statistics

Based on the criminal nature of human trafficking and its subsequent underreporting, it is challenging to establish reliable statistics on its true prevalence in the United States. The hidden nature of the crime reduces the quality and quantity of available data and complicates efforts to identify individual victims. For these reasons, data and statistics may not reflect the full nature or scope of the problem.

The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM), released Global Estimates of Modern Slavery in September 2022. This report estimates that, at any given time in 2021, approximately 27.6 million people were in forced labor. Of these, 17.3 million were exploited in the private sector, 6.3 million in forced commercial sexual exploitation, and 3.9 million in forced labor imposed by the state. The definition of forced labor used in this report is based on ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), which states in Article 2.1 that forced labor is “all work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty and for which the said person has not offered himself voluntarily” (ILO, 2022).

Tactics Used by Sex Traffickers

Sex traffickers recruit victims in the United States in shopping malls, junior high and high schools, foster homes, group homes, courthouses, restaurants and bars, bus stations, concerts, parks, libraries, and social networking websites (Figure 31.5). Caregivers should be aware that one of the most common ways that traffickers access children is through the use of social media sites like Facebook and Instagram (U.S. Department of State, 2023).

Figure 31.5 Human trafficking occurs in all areas of a community, often in plain sight. (See Blue Campaign, 2023; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)

Traffickers are experts at finding moments when people are vulnerable, working the angles, manipulating reality, and leveraging fears. The methodical, intentional process of identifying and manipulating victims is called grooming. It is the most common way that people—adults and children—wind up in sex trafficking situations. Sex trafficking rarely begins with a violent abduction. While every situation is different, the overall grooming process usually involves the following steps:

• Targeting the victim
• Gaining their trust
• Meeting their needs
• Isolating them from social supports
• Exploiting their weaknesses
• Maintaining control of their actions

Using the grooming process, a trafficker gains full control over their victim and manipulates them into cooperating in their own exploitation. While spotting the grooming process from outside the relationship can be difficult, knowing and understanding the three types of traffickers/pimps—Romeo, gorilla, and CEO—could help prevent future victimization (ARK2Freedom, 2022; Switch 2023).

Romeo pimps capitalize on the victim’s need to feel loved, be seen, and feel desired. They use the “boyfriending” technique, romancing the victim and promising to fill their voids and vulnerabilities, encouraging the victim’s loyalty. Although they may use physical violence, Romeo pimps maintain control of their victim through psychological manipulation. They may cut the victim off by moving them away from family and friends and taking away their phone and other means of communication. The Romeo pimp is the most common tactic used when manipulating a potential victim into human trafficking. This method is frequently employed to lure minors, particularly runaway children, children from foster homes, or children who feel unwanted, abandoned, or rejected by their caregivers, such as LGBTQ+ youth.

Gorilla pimps fit the stereotypical image depicted in Hollywood movies. These pimps flaunt their wealth and control their victims through physical violence and force. Gorilla pimps often use money and drugs to lure their victims and extort those already in unstable situations. This is the most brutal type of pimp and the opposite of a Romeo pimp in that it involves no staged love or affection. Instead, gorilla pimps use routine violence to recruit and trap people in sex trafficking, making it clear that a victim’s job is to engage in sex for payment and failure to do so will result in severe consequences, usually involving physical and sexual abuse.

CEO pimps conduct their operations as they would a legitimate business. They often own a legal business to cover up their crimes. CEO pimps often look like average business executives. They are entrepreneurs of the sex trade and may keep books or engage in other legal and illegal endeavors for profit.

The Nurse’s Role in Addressing Human Sex Trafficking

Health care workers, including nurses, must be trained to recognize sexual slavery. Human trafficking will continue as long as there is demand for its victims. Health care encounters with nurses may be one of the only channels through which a victim is identified—for example, in the emergency department (ED), health care clinic, or primary care setting. Proper nurse education can lead to potential identification and intervention. Victims who are in a clinic or ED may rely on a nurse to ask the right questions at the right time. A nurse may be the only other human contact they experience in months or years, depending on their situation.

Unless they watch for signs and clues, a nurse may not recognize a victim. This is especially true if the abuser acts protective and caring or does not allow adequate time or conversation with the victim. Nurses must be sensitive and methodical in approaching a suspected victim. Knowing appropriate questions to ask the victim and abuser or using a screening tool can open dialogue and uncover possible victimization.

Figure 31.6 The Canadian Women’s Foundation designed this emergency SOS Hand Signal as a response to increasing rates of domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown. (See Canadian Women’s Foundation, n.d.; attribution: Copyright Rice University, OpenStax, under CC BY 4.0 license)