Factors such as proximity to international borders, larger immigrant populations, numerous ports and airports, and industries that attract forced labor increase trafficking. The NHTRC data from 2007 to 2012 show the highest reports of potential human trafficking cases arose from California, Texas, Florida, New York, Illinois, the District of Columbia, Virginia, Ohio, North Carolina, and Georgia (Polaris Project, n.d.a). Traffickers used these states as both entry and exit points for transporting individuals. Labor-trafficked individuals supply human resources and profits for industries such as agriculture, construction, domestic work, manufacturing, the hospitality sector, sales crews, shipyards, health and elder care, salon services, fairs and carnivals, and even peddling and begging (U.S. Department of State, 2015). Exploitation Travel and transit lead to the next stage of the human trafficking process: exploitation. Traffickers use various exploitation methods to control individuals (Baldwin et al., 2011; Zimmerman et al., 2011). Exploitation can range from sexual, psychological, or physical abuse to poor living conditions and captivity. Detention Traffickers commonly continue their exploitation of others until a greater force, such as law enforcement or possibly a natural disaster, stops them. Upon leaving the exploitation, the trafficked person becomes a survivor – an empowering term used to describe trafficked persons who have escaped trafficking, either temporarily or permanently. Survivors may or may not enter the next state of the human trafficking process: detention. Detention is the stage during which trafficking survivors are in custody or engaged in closely guarded collaboration with state authorities, such as law enforcement (Zimmerman et al., 2011). Not everyone who is trafficked is detained, however. For those who are, detention plays an integral part in shaping survivors’ experiences and influencing their outcomes (Zimmerman et al., 2011). A person might be held on charges of illegal immigration, prostitution, or other crimes and be unable to implicate his or her trafficker for fear of safety, because of the person’s legal status, or for fear of other negative outcomes. Some trafficking survivors are deported by authorities, returned to their original country only to be retrafficked by traffickers, repeating the trafficking cycle (Jobe, 2010). Detention may also include time spent in legal custody (e.g., prisons, deportation facilities) – a period of time when the person may be separated from the trafficker but not yet integrated back into society. When cooperating with authorities in prosecuting traffickers, survivors may risk retaliation and retraumatization as they recall harmful events that occurred during their trafficking. These stressors may contribute to existing health conditions from the trafficking, making (re)integration difficult and possibly influencing the survivor’s return to trafficking. Negative experiences with authorities may also limit trafficked individuals’ ability to report the crimes committed by their traffickers (Jobe, 2010). Integration/reintegration When a person is able to leave a trafficker’s exploitation (and is no longer detained or never detained), the integration/ reintegration stage of the human trafficking process begins. Integration and reintegration are similar terms that both reflect the long-term process of a person either entering fully into the cultural, civil, and political life in his or her new country or returning in those same domains to his or her country of origin (Zimmerman et al., 2011). The difference between integration and reintegration lies in the differences between trafficked persons who may wish to stay in their current location (integration) or return to their original home (reintegration). Unfortunately, it is likely that the trafficked person will return to
then use that perception of a close relationship to manipulate and exploit the person. The purpose The purpose of human trafficking is often to gain profit from others without their consent. Using complex and dehumanizing means, traffickers have generated one of the largest industries in the world (UNODC, 2014). Human trafficking is estimated to gross more than $150 billion (USD) worldwide (International Labour Office [ILO], 2014). The illegal practice is highly profitable for traffickers because services provided by trafficked persons, whether they involve sex or labor, may be exploited repeatedly. The ILO notes that profits per victimized person are highest within sex trafficking (ILO, 2014). This is because the demand for these services and the prices clients pay far outweigh the low operating costs and capital investments (ILO, 2014). The process of human trafficking The process of trafficking is often complex. A clinician can intervene at any point to disrupt the process. Note that the process can be cyclical, with one trafficked person experiencing retrafficking after periods of reintegration. Recruitment Recruitment ties into the vulnerabilities of the trafficked person. Traffickers look for traits they can exploit, such as a history of abuse, economic instability, and psychological conditions (e.g., depression, self-harm; Zimmerman et al., 2011). Traffickers may target a person who does not have a strong support group, knowing that such a person may find it difficult to withstand their coercion. Substance abuse and other forms of abuse can also predispose individuals to trafficking (Reid & Piquero, 2014). Traffickers may supply the person with an addictive substance as a means of gaining control. Research has indicated that substance abuse may be a tool for both recruitment and exploitation during trafficking (Reid & Piquero, 2014). Traffickers are often master manipulators, and they use a variety of methods during this stage. As the recruitment progresses and the coercion escalates, some individuals still may not recognize that they are being trafficked. Instead, they might believe they are in an intimate relationship with their trafficker (Zimmerman et al., 2011). Travel and transit The second stage of the human trafficking process is travel and transit. Movement is a common feature among trafficking cases, and although trafficking can occur without the physical transportation of people, often individuals are taken to a new city or state to evade detection (NHTRC, 2016; Zimmerman et al., 2011). Traffickers may create a pretext in which such travel seems innocuous, such as protecting the individual, but their actions can rapidly evolve into a pattern of coercion and open the door to further exploitation. Transporting a person usually presents numerous risks for both the person and the trafficker. During this stage of trafficking, traffickers may attempt to maximize their profits by pursuing unsafe transport methods, risking life-threatening journeys, and/ or forging documents to evade authorities (Zimmerman et al., 2011). Media reports occasionally highlight such tragedies, with lives lost to dehydration, drowning, and suffocation as people are transported across international borders (Fitzpatrick, 2010; Santa Cruz, 2010). When moving a person, the trafficker often initiates a pattern of manipulative events, particularly violence and confiscation of documentation (Zimmerman et al., 2011). Traffickers take passports, birth certificates, social security cards, and other legal documents under the guise of completing necessary documentation and paperwork, but they have no intention of returning these items. Instead, they use them as further leverage and control. For women and girls who are trafficked, manipulative events can be the initiation of sexual violence. With sexual violence, trafficked persons may begin to recognize the signs of manipulation.
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