Human trafficking is modern slavery

In December, British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell was found guilty in federal court of child sex trafficking for her role in enticing underaged girls to come to sex parties hosted by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. If appeals fail, she could face up to 65 years in prison.

The high-profile case has shone a spotlight on the heinous crime of human trafficking, which is the world’s second largest criminal industry — just behind drug trafficking — and it continues to be the fastest growing.

Human trafficking is a crime involving the exploitation of a person for the purpose of compelled sex or labor. In other words, it’s modern-day slavery. More than 30 million people are enslaved by human traffickers worldwide. Nearly three-quarters of them are women and young girls, and 25 percent are children. The United States is among the worst offenders, with more than 11,000 cases reported annually.

Further, federal reports found human traffickers can be relatives, friends, politically connected individuals, individuals operating alone, those in loosely affiliated groups or as part of gangs or transnational criminal organizations. Some indicators of human trafficking include: • Victim living with their employer

• Poor living conditions

• Multiple people living in a cramped space

• Not allowed to speak to someone alone

• Scripted and rehearsed answers

• Employer keeps victim’s identity documents

• Signs of physical abuse

• Submissive or fearful

• Unpaid/paid very little

• Under 18 and in prostitution Human trafficking happens in communities across this nation, in the form of children sold for sex; men and women forced to provide labor in homes, restaurants, farms, factories and construction sites; and women, men and children forced into the sex industry.

Prime targets for human traffickers are homeless youth, truants, and chronic runaways. Recent reports have shown that human trafficking disproportionately occurs with racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, 2SLGTBQ+ individuals, vulnerable migrants and others from historically marginalized and under-served communities. The reports say traffickers often engage recruiters from local communities to identify and gain the trust of potential victims.

Once entrapped, the victims are most often controlled through physical isolation, emotional manipulation, false promises of love, threats of various forms of harm or with addictive substance use, the reports said.

And New Mexico is not immune. A study by the NM Dream Center from 2014 to 2017 found at least 2,000 of the homeless children in Albuquerque have been trafficked for sex, labor or both. And, as recently as 2018, the legal blog Trafficking Matters identified New Mexico as among 19 states or territories which had not filed any new human trafficking cases during that year. According to the Dream Center, that trended slightly upward with eight active cases as of September 2021.

However, several attempts to pass stricter anti-trafficking laws have so far failed in New Mexico’s legislature. Such legal inaction, coupled with its proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border, has made our state a prime conduit for transporting human trafficking victims to other states, according to the Dream Center.

Human trafficking is a crime frequently under-reported. Its victims can be difficult to identify, and due to fear of retaliation, may refuse to testify. If you suspect someone is being trafficked, report it:

CAV’S 24/7 HELPLINE: 575-758-9888.

NM DREAM CENTER 24/7 EMERGENCY HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE: 505-5041301 or 888-373-7888 [TTY:711], or by texting “BeFree” to 233733.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY: 866-347-2423 or submit online tip

at ICE.gov/tips.

NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: 800-THE-LOST, 843-5678 or CyberTipLine.com.

Malinda Williams is the executive director of Community Against Violence (CAV) which offers FREE confidential support and assistance for child and adult survivors of sexual and domestic violence, dating violence, stalking, child and elder abuse; community and school violence prevention programs; re-education groups for people using power and control in their relationships; counseling; shelter; transitional housing; and community thrift store. To talk or get information on services, call CAV’s 24-hour hotline at 575-758-9888 or visit TaosCAV.org.