By ATHENA A. ANKRAH, MAIRANY GARCIA CRUZ and KAMERON KIZIOR
120 E Taylor St.
Phoenix, Arizona, 85004
November 13, 2019
To Whom It May Concern
Phoenix, Arizona, 85004
Dear Arizona Human Trafficking Council,
We submit herewith a proposal in support of new legislation and community resources to end human trafficking in Arizona. Through extensive research, we have found the following proposal to be a practical means of solution to the widespread epidemic of human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of minors in Arizona. Because the proposed solutions do not require additional costs or labor needs, we will not be including an estimate in the proposal.
Questions relating to any legislative aspects of this proposal may be directed to Mairany Garcia Cruz. Questions regarding human trafficking and its history may be directed to Kameron Kizior. Questions in relation to the proposed solution may be directed to Athena Ankrah.
Your consideration of our proposal is greatly appreciated.
Sincerely,
Athena Ankrah, Mairany Garcia Cruz and Kameron Kizior.
Enclosure: Proposal
Slavery was thought to be dead, abolished after the Civil War during the 19th century; however, as technology continued to advance, slavery evolved and human trafficking was born. The dark web, a section of the worldwide web-primarily dealing with illegal activities, has provided a means for human trafficking to increase in prominence. It not only sanctions the buying and selling of human beings to be exploited but promotes such transactions. Although the overall cessation of human trafficking would be ideal, the first step must be the minimization of illegal activities. By advocating for better laws and enforcement within the American legislation system, illegal human sex trafficking can be minimized. Focusing specifically on the women demographic, a solution we propose to decrease the number of victims of human trafficking is the legalization of prostitution. In doing so, third-parties, who profit from human trafficking, would be unable to capitalize upon others’ misfortune.
Human trafficking in Arizona is a public health and safety concern that involves the exploitation of labor services or commercial sex. Trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery that affects the lives of individuals, families and communities alike. According to Mark Brvonich, the Arizona Attorney General, “[h]uman trafficking is the second-largest criminal enterprise in the world.” It is a global issue that must be addressed, seeing as it is infringing upon the livelihoods of thousands. The primary victims of these crimes are the individuals who are being exploited. Human trafficking is not gender or age biased. It includes men, women, and children of all ages. As Brvonich points out, “50% of trafficking victims are under the age of 16.” Vulnerable youth and desperate people are the most at risk. Traffickers use a variety of techniques to recruit their victims, including, but not limited to: psychological manipulation, deception, physical violence, assaults, coercion, kidnapping, and threats. These individuals often enter this industry either for survival purposes or due to coercion. Victims commonly feel powerless. Their trauma from the industry, furthermore, is complex. Doug Ducey, the governor of Arizona, outlines a few behaviors a victim may show. He writes, “victims often do not see themselves as victims.” Those subjugated may not recognize themselves as victims of a crime and may exhibit shame, self-blame, feelings of unworthiness, or even fear. People must take action, starting with our communities in Arizona. The victims were once someone’s child, sibling, or friend. It is time for the citizens of Arizona to take a stand and bring an end to human trafficking. We must not only protect those who have already been subjugated to the horrors of this underground institution, but also the future generations to come. The time to act is now.
The gradual education of human trafficking and the development of new legislation concerning the crimes of this underground industry and the future of its victims was partially spurred on by the case of Cyntoia Brown. In 2006, Cyntoia Brown, who was at the time a young runaway, experienced a life-shattering moment. Not only was she “ensnared in an abusive relationship with a drug dealer known as Cut Throat who forced her into prostitution,” but she also became a convicted felon when she shot and killed 43-year-old real estate agent Johnny Allen. At the ripe age of sixteen, Cyntoia Brown was tried for aggravated robbery and first-degree murder. Although she was a victim of human trafficking and acted in self-defense, she was sentenced to life in prison. Bobby Allyn, a journalist for NPR, writes, “Criminal justice reform advocates portrayed Brown's case as an example of the unreasonable incarceration of a teenager who was a victim of sex trafficking.” Citizens around the United States rose up in protest, including many celebrities, such as Kim Kardashian-West and Rihanna. People claimed injustice and rightfully demanded a remedy for this broken part of the legal system. As Allyn notes, “her case also inspired the introduction of state legislation aimed at protecting minors who are victims of sex trafficking.” The system must change. If not for Cyntoia Brown, then for all the other sufferers who fall victim to the horrors of human trafficking.
Many victims of sex trafficking do not receive the justice they deserve, as was the case for the victims of Jeffrey Epstein, who had been repeatedly accused of crimes relating to human trafficking. Jeffrey Epstein was a prominent businessman; however, his passions laid beyond the law. The New York Times writes, “The abuse dated back to 2001, according to The Herald. Most of the victims were between 13 and 16. Many came from low-income backgrounds and were told they could earn $200 or $300 for giving Mr. Epstein a massage.” Epstein’s victims were survivors. They did what was necessary to sustain themselves, even if it involved sexual services, such as “massages, oral sex, and intercourse.” Epstein’s interests, though, did not validate the exploitation of minors, nor warrant their abuse. Devlin Barrett, a writer for the Washington Post, articulates one of his early victim’s mistreatment, remarking that “The woman identified as Victim-1 still suffers “severe mental anguish because of Epstein’s abuse,” the lawsuit says, noting that she never finished high school and asserting that her “physical and emotional injuries impact her daily functioning, making it difficult to go to work and take care of her young daughter and her ailing mother.” The trauma Epstein’s victims experience affects their day-to-day lives. The damages he inflicted upon these young women and children is inexcusable. Although his victims ought to receive justice for the horrors they endured, legislation within the United States is still flawed. The New York Times points out, “Federal prosecutors in Miami initially drafted a 53-page indictment against Mr. Epstein. But in 2008, those prosecutors — led by Mr. Acosta, then the region’s United States attorney, and now Mr. Trump’s labor secretary — struck a deal with Mr. Epstein’s lawyers that allowed him to avoid federal charges. Instead, Mr. Epstein pleaded guilty to state charges of soliciting a minor for prostitution.” Despite his appalling crimes, Jeffrey Epstein used his influence to evade his sentence in favor of another with a lesser degree of intensity. Rather than receiving several years in prison, he procured a mere “13 months in jail” with work-release privileges, a generous ruling for a criminal with such offenses. Human traffickers, like any offender, must receive the justice they deserve, including those in high-power positions. To truly bring an end to human trafficking, we must begin with the rectification of our laws.
The United States Congress determines human trafficking occurs, “when an adult is required to engage in a commercial sex act as the result of force, threats of force, fraud, coercion or any combination of such means…”. In the United States, there are twelve federal laws relevant to anti-trafficking efforts to help “combat” and “support” human trafficking in the United States. Many of the first laws, which were presented at the beginning of the 2000s, were based on predominantly unavailable information. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), “there was virtually no solid data on forced labor, either at the national or global levels.” Although much of the data available was determined to be either anecdotal, imprecise or estimated and used by governments, organizations as well as the media, it was used to navigate perspective on human trafficking. It was only until the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 was passed, that section 107 of the law clearly stated one of its objectives was “enhancing human trafficking reporting.” Looking into the fact, the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 affirmed “[n]o known studies [existed] that quantify the problem of trafficking in children for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation in the United States,” meaning it took the senate ten years to strengthen the law in order to provide thorough human trafficking data. In instances such as this one, law enforcement, policymakers, and the White House should begin to further advocate the strengthening of laws to protect those who are victims of sexual exploitation and, in general, those of human trafficking.
In an industry where the profits are increasing constantly by individuals, in 2014 it was concluded that worldwide, two thirds of the profits were being produced by sexual exploitation, estimating it to be worth $99 billion per year, depicting human trafficking as a staggering industry profiting of many who are only recently being protected by U.S law. However, the advocacy of the protection of human trafficking victims is not lost. In those twelve aforementioned laws related to human trafficking, it is evident that the efforts to protect them are there. For example, one of the laws is the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2017 which “… modifies the criteria for evaluating whether countries are meeting the minimum standards for combatting human trafficking.” It calculates numbers of these countries and places them into the tiers, if they change tiers, they will be asked to provide a report as to why the number increased. Such efforts allow the United States to be aware of the increasing or decreasing data correlated to human trafficking that become implemented in the United States itself. By creating laws that allow the United States to combat human trafficking, not only in its environment but internationally, it creates a pathway to combat it for the 21 million victims who are forced into the industry.
Still, many of the laws designed to help human trafficking survivors can have just the opposite effect and hurt the victims. In the case of the Cyntoia Brown, the Tennessee law that had sentenced her to life in prison as an adult when she claimed self-defense after being pimped out, has now been looked on for revision. Because she was tried as an adult, many claimed she was a prostitute who simply took the life of another. Yet, it is because of these laws that charge many of the victims as adults and those who are adults that the stigma that prostitution and human trafficking are not correlated. “The outrage and horror fall off dramatically when the victim is an adult,” said a leader of Truckers against Trafficking, an organization that offers courses required by many federal governments to help identify victims when on the road, “… justifying their abuse, judging them, calling them names, and/or just ignoring the fact that they exist is not okay and reflects an incomplete understanding of sex trafficking and the devastation it brings on its victims.”
In the coming years, many states will begin looking into making law reforms to help prevent sex trafficking from occurring at the rate it is now. But, unlike many of those, one of the most powerful organizations has come together to help make a change lawfully in the United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking a committee composed of eight survivors of human trafficking who bring their “expertise and experience to advise and provide recommendations to the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF) to improve federal anti-trafficking policies.” In their own words they state their purpose to be “collaborative and solution-focused, to build partnerships with and across U.S. government agencies, and … to advocate that U.S. government agencies increase awareness and provide more support for underserved survivors and victims, so that all survivors have a fair chance for renewal, rebuilding, and long-term self-sufficiency.” They have helped influence many of the laws that have been created within the 2010s and as victims of human trafficking themselves, they are helping combat human trafficking through legislation. This council was formed in 2015 by section 115 of the Survivors of Human Trafficking Empowerment Act.
Similar to the U.S. Advisory Council, in 2015 Gov. Ducey gave executive order to implement a council in Arizona with intentions to minimize human trafficking. The Arizona Human Trafficking Council (AHTC) since then has worked to “raise awareness [of] human trafficking, supported legislation to prevent trafficking and provide increased and better services [to victims]… increased prosecutions… and explored ways to discourage buyers.” There are approximately 30 state laws or related to human trafficking in Arizona. Many of these laws range from increasing penalties, narrowing the definition of human trafficking, to the protection of survivors.
The Arizona council continues to devise ways to help minimize the increasing numbers of trafficking. For example, the council works in seven subcommittees to help tackle multiple areas of human trafficking. These subcommittees range from policy to data research. The training/data & research committee has used the same technology that paved the way for human trafficking and used it to its advantage. In 2017, they along with the McCain Institute and the National Center for Missing and exploited Children helped create a preparation course for Arizona Uber drivers that would allow the drivers to identify human trafficking. Although the council has become more prominent in Arizona, as they implement programs to raise awareness geared toward organizations, local law enforcement, and educators, there is still much work to do. Many of the concerns that aforementioned before, such as having insufficient data or lacking awareness for laws that hurt victims instead of helping them, are still the same when talking about human trafficking locally. In a 2019 report from the council, one of the most critical needs which they are pushing forth is housing for victims because “lack of stable housing increases the risk of or vulnerability for, exploitation.” Equally, although they are demanding change to build bridges between the gaps of those with no stable and safe community the biggest factor that remains lacking is policy.
The council can make stronger and pioneering decisions preventing human trafficking at the rate it is at now, but the means to do so is not there. The only notable “key changes” they have managed to bring is advocating higher sentencing laws to those caught trafficking and replacing “child prostitution” with “child sex trafficking” in state laws. The focus of the committee should not only be in raising awareness but creating an environment encouraging strict laws from every possible area to prevent the exploitation of the individuals caught in a multi-million dollar industry.
Once human trafficking in Arizona is thoroughly understood, steps toward minimizing the impact of this trade must be taken. One of the first, most important steps in the fight to end the modern-day slave trade is taken with state legislation. A particularly prominent example of a country working toward minimizing human trafficking is found in Sweden. As mentioned previously, a large portion of human trafficking victims is forced into a life of sexual exploitation- including prostitution. Sweden has combated this by effectively moving the blame from seller to buyer. Due to a new law established in 1999, the percentage of men who bought sexual services in Sweden has decreased steadily from 13.6% in 1996 to 7.4% in 2014. As stated by The New York Times, “Sweden’s pioneering law criminalizing the purchase of sex while allowing its sale — putting the criminal burden on the buyer, not the prostitute, while providing more assistance to women who want to stop selling sex — has been considered a success and a model for other countries since it was introduced.” This law and others like it are key players in the fight against human trafficking, as the criminalization of buying sex provides opportunities to serve justice to criminal parties who may be involved with the trade itself. Rather than place criminal blame on the provider of the service, who may likely be a victim of human trafficking, this law instead minimizes the demand-half of the industry. As this law is instated, several community resources for victims of sexual exploitation come into the societal foreground. In countries like Sweden, many victims of human trafficking can find ways off of the streets and out of poverty through women’s rights groups. As the process of legislation is often lengthy, we must consider the small steps communities and individuals can take until local lawmakers can write appropriate legislation to fight against human trafficking. Firstly, the National Hotline for Human Trafficking has proven its worth, with over 544 potential cases reported in 2015. Furthermore, it has been reported that at least 1,600 victims called, emailed, or texted the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline in 2015. An article created by the U.S. Department of State details several ways individuals can join the fight against human trafficking. Their comprehensive list includes: identifying warning indicators of potential victims, using the national hotline, volunteering, meeting with representatives, and educating children on how to be aware of issues like this that directly affect them. As for practical questions of time and money issues about the proposed law, Arizonans can take comfort in the fact that this law would impact the state’s culture gradually. Assuming the bill lives through House and State Senate votes, the Arizona legislature states that the governor then has five days to sign or veto the bill, otherwise it becomes law. The industry of human trafficking in itself is completely unethical, and any sympathy for the loss of economic opportunity because of the proposed solution would be unethical as well. Ideally, criminals will be punished under the law, and the victims would gain the opportunity to reintegrate into society through community programming and culture with less social stigma concerning the issue.
Human trafficking is both degrading and traumatizing towards its victims. Traffickers capitalize on the services their victims can supply, whether it involves manual or sexual labors, and neglect to consider the horrid conditions in which these people endure. People must take a stand. We, as citizens of Arizona, must rise together to combat this injustice, for those like Cyntoia Brown. As members of the community, we have a responsibility to actively fight against the evils within our society. Major changes begin with legislation and education; however, the best option moving forward is the passing of new laws that condemn the crimes related to human trafficking. It would focus on punishing those who are responsible for destroying the lives of young girls across the state, rather than the victims themselves.
Kim Kardashian West rallying against the United States justice system to her 62 million followers, using the hashtag #FreeCyntoiaBrown. Later, West would begin what is now known as the movement that would give Brown her freedom; Rhianna, LeBron James, Cara Delevingne, Snoop Dog and others celebrities shedding light on the situation.
The McCain Institute partnered with Uber to use modern technology against human trafficking. Uber taking the initiative to educate drivers on the “warning signs and reporting” of human trafficking. This training allowed Keith, an educated Uber driver of signs of human trafficking, to rescue a child from the vicious cycle that has consumed many victims lives.
Governor Doug Ducey, a proven advocate against human trafficking, has met with Mrs. Cindy McCain to help reduce the numbers. McCain, who serves as a Human Trafficking Advisory Council member and the co-chair of the Arizona Governor’s Council on human trafficking and on the McCain Institute’s Human Trafficking Advisory Council.
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