GMU hosts human trafficking lecture
It was an unusual scene at Gwynedd Mercy University’s Connelly Faculty Center when more than 150 students and faculty members crammed into the auditorium. The overflowing crowd sat on folding chairs, stood in the back row or sat on the steps to get a chance to hear Aida Marcial, president of Global Justice Investigations.
Marcial, an investigator of international child abuse and trafficking, has worked in law enforcement for nearly 30 years. As the president of Global Justice Investigations, she has seen instances of abuse and trafficking in countries across the world.
“The problem of human trafficking is big and getting bigger. It exists in almost every country and continent. It takes people like yourselves and public awareness to address this daunting task,” Marcial said, addressing a room full of criminal justice majors Feb. 20.
As she reviewed the different ways in which human trafficking can be made manifest, Marcial implored her audience to remember that it is not an issue that appears on its own.
“Human trafficking is a hybrid of many other crimes,” she said, naming child abuse, domestic violence, drug trafficking, organized crime and prostitution as a few of the crimes that can exist in conjunction with human trafficking. “It will be infused with these other crimes, making it difficult to recognize cases of human trafficking.”
Marcial mentioned the problem of a “compliant victim,” which is when a victim seemingly willingly enters into trafficking. In these instances, it is difficult to determine whether a victim is being trafficked, or entering into their circumstances of their own volition.
As an example, Marcial presented pictures of a brothel raid in which she participated in El Salvador, where there was a combination of legal prostitutes and compliant victims.
“It’s very complicated to distinguish between compliant victims of human trafficking and legal prostitutes,” she said. “If you aren’t trained and looking for it, it’s easy to misidentify and label the victims.”
Misidentification and labeling is a common problem internationally with victims of trafficking, Marcial added, calling the phenomenon “a tumbling effect. Once they’re misidentified and labeled, compliant victims are criminalized and punished for the very crimes committed against them.”
One of the largest demographics at risk are runaways and homeless children, who are easily targeted and manipulated into human trafficking and child abuse. This problem appears in a variety of ways in different countries. In the poorer countries where Marcial has investigated child trafficking, she said that it is not uncommon for a family to sell their child for as little as a dime or a quarter.
Her work has led her around the globe, rescuing children and families in countries like Ghana, India, Kenya and Bolivia.
“Human trafficking is a crime that creates the dehumanization of men, women, children and even an entire family. To stop human trafficking, it is imperative that we stop the demand,” she said. But that is no small task because human trafficking is one of the largest international crimes, second only to drug trafficking.
Marcial said that human trafficking can appear across many industries, including agriculture, prostitution and manufacturing. She recounted one investigation she completed in India where an entire family had been trapped in descent labor, a form of trafficking where children and entire generations are born into slavery. In a photo Marcial showed the auditorium, the entire family was pictured doing hard physical labor, including an 8-year-old girl wielding a sledgehammer.
Although human trafficking and slavery is against the law in these countries, Marcial said, it is socially acceptable and so no one — not even local authorities — will do anything to stop it. That’s where global justice organizations like Marcial’s must step in.
In the next slide of her PowerPoint presentation, Marcial showed a photo of the family holding certificates. She explained that while the local authorities will not do anything to actively end human trafficking or slavery, “The government will provide certificates of freedom. That gives you an idea of the kind of corruption and false security in these countries.”
While Marcial’s experience with human trafficking has led her to international investigations, she emphasized that the United States is not immune to the problem.
“Victims of human trafficking are here — you may not easily identify them, but they are here,” she said. “They are not going to go to the authorities, and they are not going to ask for help. Trafficking can be anywhere and you may not even know it. You have to look for it, and ask the right questions.”