This document from Cunningham Children's Home provides information about developing a policy to address human trafficking. It defines human trafficking as sex or labor trafficking, describes how trafficking occurs locally and impacts youth. Signs of trafficking in youth are discussed. The recruitment, control, and psychological impacts on victims are explained. Strategies are presented for identifying trafficking, engaging respectfully with victims, understanding why youth stay or relapse, and preventing trafficking through education, empowerment and addressing vulnerabilities. Resources for further information are included.
2. Purpose for Policy:
Understand how Human Trafficking affects those in
the United States, and Illinois specifically
Learn to identify signs of Human Trafficking
Learn prevention tactics
Identify how we will implement a Human Trafficking
Policy at Cunningham
Provided with knowledge about the Human
Trafficking industry
Decrease risk of Cunningham youth getting involved
in Human Trafficking
3. What is Human Trafficking?
Human trafficking is classified as labor or sex
trafficking
Labor Trafficking: recruiting, harboring,
transporting, or obtaining persons
through force, fraud, or coercion for
involuntary labor/work/services of
economic or financial value
Sex Trafficking: – when a commercial
sex act is induced by force, fraud, or
coercion unless the victim is under 18
years in which evidence of force, fraud, or
coercion are not needed. This can include
commercial sex acts such as sexually
explicit performances or pornography.
Trafficking does not require physical
movement of a victim, it can include
commercial sex acts such as sexually explicit
performance or the production of
pornography.
In cases involving minors, force, fraud, or
coercion is not needed for the acts to be
considered human trafficking
4. Human Trafficking Close to Home
Throughout the U.S. Throughout Illinois
The U.S. is the second highest destination in
the world for trafficked women
Between 14,500 and 17,500 people are
trafficked into the United States each year.
However, more than 50% of victims in the U.S.
are U.S. citizens, and most are women and
children
325,000 children are commercially sexually
exploited in the USA annually
$250,000 is the amount of profit that can be
made from one trafficked woman in the U.S.
Online sex ads and forums constitute the
number one platform for buying and selling
sex with minors and young women. Those
advertised “are often made to appear that they
are working independently, when in fact they
are victims of sex trafficking”
Chicago is a national hub for human
trafficking. Among the Midwest ports of
entry, Chicago experiences the highest volume
of arriving immigrants and trafficking victims.
O’Hare airport is a strategic location for
trafficking
In metropolitan Chicago, 16,000 to 25,000
women and girls are involved in the
commercial sex trade annually. 1/3 trafficked
are under 15
Average age for entry is between 15 and 18
Popular locations in Illinois for sex trafficking
are massage parlors and strip clubs
Rantoul is known for high risk of labor
trafficking
Champaign had 2 cases of human trafficking
in the last year
6. Recruitment Process
Obtaining Victims Keeping Victims
Human Traffickers act as different links in the
trafficking chain. Their job is either:
Recruitment
Transportation
Transfer
Harbor
Receipt of Persons
Human traffickers lure their victims by using charms,
lies, and deception. With promises of making money
and living better lives.
Traffickers can also become the “lovers” or legal spouse
of a victim. This is based on false reality and only to
grow in finances for the trafficker
Abduction – once the trafficker has obtained the
victim they utilize physical and psychological threats,
humiliation, sleep deprivation, and malnutrition to
maintain control
Target victims that are vulnerable, that have the need
to feel “included”, like family or a lover
Debt Bondage - victim is told that they now owe their
trafficker for the money spent on transportation, food,
clothes, accommodation, etc.
Forced drug use
Threatening to harm the victims family
Locking up the victim
Telling the victim that running to the police will lead
to arrest and imprisonment
Lives are completely dependent on the trafficker for
when they eat, sleep, receiving basic necessities, and
are subjected to repeated physical and sexual violence
Typically, the victim is completely controlled, which
leads to fear of leaving
Anyone can be trafficked, but traffickers specifically
search for young women due to their vulnerability and
financial benefits
7. Why do youth “agree” to become
involved?
Foster Care/Residential Pimp/Trafficker
1. Feel they have no control;
can’t go where and when
they want to
2. Can’t have alcohol and/or
drugs
3. Can’t buy clothes or get hair
and nails done
4. Dislike living in a group
home; want to be with
family
1. Have control; get to go to
parties and stay out late
2. Trafficker will give me drugs
and alcohol
3. Lets me wear “grown up”
clothes and pays to get my
hair and nails done
4. Get to live in traffickers
house with other girls who
are like family
8. Indicators of Human Trafficking
A youth is considered “high risk” if they meet one
or more of the following criteria:
Youth is pregnant/parenting
Youth has severe emotional problems that if
not treated will place the children at severe
risk
Youth has a developmental disability that
impairs the youth’s ability to case for
his/herself
Here are indicators that may help us identify when a youth may be
involved in Human Trafficking:
History of running away, or currently a runaway
Youth makes references to travelling to other cities while on run
Youth makes references to being coerced into performing illegal
activities
Youth makes references to having a pimp or “daddy”
Youth has current signs of physical abuse and/or sexually
transmitted diseases
Youth seems submissive or fearful
Unexplainable appearance of expensive gifts, clothing,
manicures/pedicures, or other costly items
Presence of an older significant other
Withdrawal or lack of interest in previous activities of interest
Tattoos or branding
Possession of a cell phone
Posts on social networking sites
Youth was located in a hotel/motel or reports spending time in
one
Youth has been isolated from sources of support and protection
Youth makes references to sexual situations that are beyond age-
specific norms
Youth engages in sexually provocative behaviors, is promiscuous
and/or has unprotected sex with multiple partners
Youth makes references to terminology of the commercial sex
industry
10. How to Protect Our Youth
Youth Returns from Run Reason to Suspect
Meet with youth to complete runaway
protocol and Life Span Interview, and
complete necessary phone calls
Make a copy of the “Child Runaway from
Placement Protocol” and place in the
case manager’s box for further follow up
and documentation from case worker
Place original copy of the “Child
Runaway from Placement” in the
designated area for the Milieu
Coordinator and filing
If there are reasons to suspect that the client
may be at risk for human trafficking, staff
should:
Bring concerns to the treatment team
The treatment team would review the
concerns and make an action plan on
how to move forward
Case manager would report these
concerns to DCFS (Department of
Children’s and Family Services) case
worker in order to review the DCFS
Human Trafficking Protocol and further
steps that may need to be taken
11. Engaging with Victims
Keep individual talking so victim feels comfortable
Slow down if victim seems overwhelmed or provides a
disconnected story
Don’t be embarrassed or anxious regarding sexual content
or street language
Don’t expect them to see human trafficking as exploitive
Apply sensitivity and attention to cultural backgrounds
Instill a sense of hope, allowing them to feel that things
can get better
Use language of the victim
Understand and accept that victims are anxious and will
be resistant
13. Staying, Leaving, Relapse cont…
Staying vs. Leaving Relapse
Stay:
Trafficker shows they care
Provides gifts, kind words,
affection, ideas of love
Victim feels cared for and a
part of family
Leave:
Violence
In debt
No other options
Fear of being detained
Drugs
Social exclusion and
discrimination
Rejection by family
Miss their pimp
Believe their pimps will
change
Pimp starts cycle of kindness
14. Healing/Preventing Relapse
Our Duty Prevention
Prepare for crisis intervention
Provide sense of physical and
emotional safety
Ask open ended questions
Normalize feelings
Connect to resources
Create sense of hope and
empowerment
Give client a voice
Educate youth and families
Spread awareness
Teach youth vocational skills
Be aware of additional victims
involved. Traffickers involve
multiple victims
Be Patient – Victims may need
multiple discussions over weeks
and months to obtain truthful
statements
Provide constant, consistent
communication about the
information obtained from the
victim