9-08-2023 3:26pm

New Mexico and US Trafficking in Persons There is Hope

Chris Edwards Editor

KALHRadio.org and AlamogordoTownNews.com as a community service in collaboration with the New Mexico Attorney General Office and the Human Trafficking Task Force occasionally runs stories, interviews and commentary related to Human trafficking prevention and awareness New Mexico is not immune to the issue of concern.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline reported 364 different incidents of human trafficking in New Mexico in 2021.

More recent The National Human Trafficking Hotline recorded 2178 signals and reported 455 cases of human trafficking since its inception. Among the reported human trafficking cases, 1036 victims were identified. Reports taken by the National Human Trafficking Hotline show that New Mexico received about 364 signals, while 229 of the signals reported were from victims or survivors of human trafficking.

The Office of the New Mexico Attorney General Human Trafficking Task Force is a federally funded collaborative task force comprising local, state, tribal, and law enforcement entities, prosecutorial entities, and service providers from all over the state. The primary purpose of the Trafficking Task Force is to enforce a collaborative approach to terminate all forms of human trafficking within New Mexico-sex trafficking and labor trafficking of foreign nationals and citizens of all ages and sexes. In addition, the Task Force focuses on a victim-centered approach to identify victims of all types of human trafficking and investigate and prosecute human trafficking reports at the local, state, tribal, and federal levels. Lastly, the New Mexico Task Force addresses the individualized needs of victims through quality services.

There are several ways that the New Mexico government has adopted to combat human trafficking. Some of the methods put in place include:

State Laws and Statutes

New Mexico has put laws and policies in place to eradicate human trafficking. For instance, the NM Stat § 30-52-1 provides penalties involved in human trafficking. In addition, the laws and statutes give guidelines on how law enforcement agencies should address the victims of human trafficking.

Partnerships with non-governmental Groups

Several non-governmental agencies work hand in hand with the government to combat human trafficking. For instance, the Rio Metro is trying to combat human trafficking with the SAFE campaign to bring awareness to this heinous offense. The campaign elements are visible on Rio Metro buses, bus shelters, the New Mexico rail runner express train, and its station platforms.

How to Report Human Trafficking in New Mexico

If you may have information concerning human trafficking situations, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free at 1-888-373-7888. Moreover, anti-trafficking hotline advocates are available 24/7. To report cases of potential human trafficking, you can text the National Human Trafficking hotline at 233733. Alternatively, you can email or contact the Human Trafficking Unit at 505-717-3500.

Background and National Reporting

“Trafficking in persons” and “human trafficking” are umbrella terms—often used interchangeably—to refer to a crime whereby traffickers exploit and profit at the expense of adults or children by compelling them to perform labor or engage in commercial sex. When a person younger than 18 is used to perform a commercial sex act, it is a crime regardless of whether there is any force, fraud, or coercion involved.

The United States recognizes two primary forms of trafficking in persons: forced labor and sex trafficking. The basic meaning of these forms of human trafficking and some unique characteristics of each are set forth below, followed by several key principles and concepts that relate to all forms of human trafficking.

More than 180 nations have ratified or acceded to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (the UN TIP Protocol), which defines trafficking in persons and contains obligations to prevent and combat the crime.

The United States’ TVPA and the UN TIP Protocol contain similar definitions of human trafficking. The elements of both definitions can be described using a three-element framework focused on the trafficker’s 1) acts; 2) means; and 3) purpose. All three elements are essential to form a human trafficking violation.

FORCED LABOR

Forced Labor, sometimes also referred to as labor trafficking, encompasses the range of activities involved when a person uses force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the labor or services of another person.

The “acts” element of forced labor is met when the trafficker recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains a person for labor or services.

The “means” element of forced labor includes a trafficker’s use of force, fraud, or coercion. The coercive scheme can include threats of force, debt manipulation, withholding of pay, confiscation of identity documents, psychological coercion, reputational harm, manipulation of the use of addictive substances, threats to other people, or other forms of coercion.

The “purpose” element focuses on the perpetrator’s goal to exploit a person’s labor or services. There is no limit on the location or type of industry. Traffickers can commit this crime in any sector or setting, whether legal or illicit, including but not limited to agricultural fields, factories, restaurants, hotels, massage parlors, retail stores, fishing vessels, mines, private homes, or drug trafficking operations.

All three elements are essential to constitute the crime of forced labor.

There are certain types of forced labor that are frequently distinguished for emphasis or because they are widespread:

Domestic Servitude

“Domestic servitude” is a form of forced labor in which the trafficker requires a victim to perform work in a private residence. Such circumstances create unique vulnerabilities. Domestic workers are often isolated and may work alone in a house. Their employer often controls their access to food, transportation, and housing. What happens in a private residence is hidden from the world— including from law enforcement and labor inspectors—resulting in barriers to victim identification. Foreign domestic workers are particularly vulnerable to abuse due to language and cultural barriers, as well as a lack of community ties. Some perpetrators use these types of conditions as part of their coercive schemes to compel the labor of domestic workers with little risk of detection.

Forced Child Labor

The term “forced child labor” describes forced labor schemes in which traffickers compel children to work. Traffickers often target children because they are more vulnerable. Although some children may legally engage in certain forms of work, forcing or coercing children to work remains illegal. Forms of slavery or slavery-like practices—including the sale of children, forced or compulsory child labor, and debt bondage and serfdom of children—continue to exist, despite legal prohibitions and widespread condemnation. Some indicators of forced labor of a child include situations in which the child appears to be in the custody of a non-family member and the child’s work financially benefits someone outside the child’s family; or the denial of food, rest, or schooling to a child who is working.

SEX TRAFFICKING

Sex trafficking encompasses the range of activities involved when a trafficker uses force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to engage in a commercial sex act or causes a child to engage in a commercial sex act.

The crime of sex trafficking is also understood through the “acts,” “means,” and “purpose” framework. All three elements are required to establish a sex trafficking crime (except in the case of child sex trafficking where the means are irrelevant).

The “acts” element of sex trafficking is met when a trafficker recruits, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, patronizes, or solicits another person to engage in commercial sex.

The “means” element of sex trafficking occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud, or coercion. Coercion in the case of sex trafficking includes the broad array of means included in the forced labor definition. These can include threats of serious harm, psychological harm, reputational harm, threats to others, and debt manipulation.

The “purpose” element is a commercial sex act. Sex trafficking can take place in private homes, massage parlors, hotels, or brothels, among other locations, as well as on the internet.

Child Sex Trafficking

In cases where an individual engages in any of the specified “acts” with a child (under the age of 18), the means element is irrelevant regardless of whether evidence of force, fraud, or coercion exists. The use of children in commercial sex is prohibited by law in the United States and most countries around the world.

Boys represent the fastest-growing segment of identified human trafficking victims.

UNODC’s 2022 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, released in January 2023, notes that the percentage of boys identified as victims of human trafficking more than quintupled between 2004 and 2020 – a much larger increase than for men, women, or girls. The same report notes males (including boys and men) account for 40 percent of all identified victims of human trafficking. While women constitute about twice the percentage of identified trafficking victims as men (42 percent to 23 percent), the percentage of trafficking victims who are boys and girls is almost identical (17 percent and 18 percent, respectively).

The growing awareness of boys exploited in human trafficking is fairly recent. While male trafficking victims are receiving more attention than in years past, “social and health services as well as legal and advocacy frameworks still predominantly focus on female victims of sexual exploitation,” according to the UNODC report. Media and civil-society groups alike consistently refer to boys and adolescent male human trafficking victims as “unseen and unhelped,” a “silenced minority,” “invisible,” or “secret victims.”

A recent Human Trafficking Institute article suggests that the widely held societal belief – as prevalent among policymakers as among the public – that males are perpetrators, not victims, is a significant part of the problem. Many cultures cling to traditional views of masculinity and femininity that highlight female vulnerability and male dominance, while failing to contemplate male vulnerability. In short, “[g]ender norms and masculine stereotypes hinder identification of male trafficking victims,” according to the UNODC. This false perception plays out in several ways that are damaging to boys and men who have experienced trafficking.

Inadequate identification and protection of boys and men. Too often, law enforcement and other authorities do not perceive boys and men as victims. For example, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) cautions in its Human Trafficking Task Force e-Guide that “[t]here is often a presumption that [human trafficking] victims are female” and that this false assumption impedes proper screening and protection for male victims of human trafficking. To the extent that boys and men are perceived as potential trafficking victims, there is a false perception, according to DOJ, “that male victims are only exploited for labor or that their involvement in commercial sex is always voluntary.” When male survivors of trafficking escape, they are more likely to be neglected by governments and are at greater risk of being penalized, such as by being detained for irregular migration status or arrested for crimes they have committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Boys or men who are victims of human trafficking are less likely than girls or women to self-identify. Research shows males are less likely than females to self-identify as victims of human trafficking, a fact rooted in stereotypical gender roles in which males are supposed to be strong. Male victims are more likely to view their situation as due to bad luck or even their own gullibility, rather than due to being exploited. Male victims of sex trafficking also may be reluctant to self-identify if they believe they will face a significant risk of stigma. They face multiple societal barriers to self-identifying as trafficking victims, including stigma associated with LGBTQI+ status or same-sex conduct, as well as the taboo nature of discussions around sexual violence against males. LGBTQI+ persons, in general, also face a higher incidence of risk factors for human trafficking.

Inadequate support services for boys and men who have experienced trafficking. Evidence suggests that there are few trafficking-related resources tailored for the needs of male victims. The Human Trafficking Institute reviewed 150 organizations receiving U.S. federal trafficking-related grants in 2018. Of the 119 organizations addressing both labor trafficking and sex trafficking, only one had a dedicated program for male victims. And of the 31 other organizations that only focused on sex trafficking, none had a program solely focused on the needs of male victims. Around the globe, including in the United States, there is a severe shortage of programs to meet the needs of male victims of trafficking. The 2022 TIP Report reported a vast majority of countries either had inadequate assistance available or lacked services specifically for male victims. The Administration for Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has emphasized that “gender-specific anti-trafficking programs, female-centric services, and awareness campaigns that use non-inclusive language and imagery can contribute to harmful stigma affecting a male’s willingness to disclose the trauma they experienced.”

Systemically, there are no easy fixes. Some potential solutions include:

Targeted public awareness efforts to increase knowledge of the problem, promote cultural change, and help victims come forward.

Training for law enforcement, health, and criminal justice personnel to understand the prevalence and specific needs of male victims of sex trafficking and labor trafficking.

Safe housing to meet the needs of male trafficking victims. Many countries do not have shelters for male trafficking victims and homeless shelters are often not an adequate solution. Domestic-violence clinics often cater to women and may not be accessible to male victims.

Comprehensive medical care, including mental health and psycho-social support, that is trauma-informed and culturally appropriate. Peer-to-peer counseling may be effective as well.

Employment assistance including education, skills training, and job placement.

While boys and men who have experienced human trafficking face tremendous challenges, awareness of their plight is growing. Indeed, the first TIP Report, published in 2001, acknowledged that the U.S. government’s initial monitoring and awareness of this issue in 1994 focused on “trafficking of women and girls for sexual purposes.” Since then, however, the TIP Report has expanded as understanding of the issue has grown and now covers sex trafficking and labor trafficking of all people. Additional investments in prevalence studies can reveal misperceptions and biases in the detection of victims and be used to focus assistance where it is most needed. As more data emerges, the narrative around trafficking is gradually changing to acknowledge the reality that anyone, regardless of sex or gender identity, can be targeted by human traffickers.

We all play a part in stopping trafficking awareness and protecting those at risk is the first key for New Mexicans or to folks anywhere.

Source: AlamogordoTownNews.com, New Mexico Attorney General, Human Trafficking Task Force