With less than 1 percent of the offenders apprehended and less than 1 percent of the victims freed, the flow of human ‘product’ into America continues practically unchecked.
From “The Slave Next Door” by Kevin Bales and Ron Soodalter
Slavery is a word that most Americans don’t associate with the United States. But slavery or human trafficking is a troubling reality throughout the nation, California and Los Angeles. Kevin Bales, a leading authority on modern-day slavery estimates that between 14,000 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year.
The California Emergency Management Agency estimates that California is among the top three states in the nation for human trafficking. For a thorough definition of the problem, visit the CAST-LA (Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking LA) website.
California is a prime target for traffickers. It has international borders, major harbors and airports, a massive economy and a large immigrant population. Traffickers prey on these immigrant communities, which allows them to operate hidden in plain sight. Many people in these communities do not trust law enforcement and face fear and cultural taboos that prevent them from speaking out.
California has laws against human trafficking, but a new initiative to toughen state laws is underway. California Against Slavery (CAS)
is collecting signatures to put the initiative on the November 2010 ballot.
The proposed law would deter traffickers with stiffer criminal penalties, aid district attorneys in prosecuting human trafficking offenses, increase protection for human trafficking victims and mandate human trafficking training for law enforcement officers.
Anti-trafficking groups need to collect 600,000 signatures by March 31, 2010 to qualify the initiative for the November ballot.
To sign the petition, visit:
California Against Slavery
The following organizations also work on abolishing human trafficking:
CAST LA (Coalition Against Slavery and Trafficking LA)
The Human Trafficking Project
humantrafficking.org – a web resource for combating human trafficking.
– 83% of reported human trafficking incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking
– 32% of reported human trafficking incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking of children
– 12% of reported human trafficking incidents involved allegations of labor trafficking
– More than 90% of victims in alleged and confirmed human trafficking incidents were female.
– Almost all (99%) of victims alleged and confirmed sex trafficking incidents were female.
– Hispanics made up the largest share of alleged sex trafficking victims (37%); and 56% of alleged labor trafficking victims
– Asians made up 10% of alleged sex trafficking victims and 36% of alleged labor trafficking victims.
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