Woman in a “cage brothel,” Bangladesh Photo by Martin Adler / Panos Pictures
When Andrea Austin (Col ’05) first learned about the prevalence of human trafficking, she refused to believe it. Modern-day slavery? It seemed like something out of a far-fetched movie.
A fourth-year student at the time, Austin had attended a talk by Katherine Chon, co-founder of the Polaris Project, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that fights human trafficking. Austin’s initial disbelief spurred her to take a deeper look at the issue and ultimately join the cause. After earning a master’s degree in international law focusing on human rights, she landed a job with the Polaris Project.
“People think of trafficking happening in places like Thailand, India or Brazil, but no one thinks about it occurring in the U.S.,” she says. “When they do, they think of immigrants who are being exploited. But there are also U.S. citizens who are often trafficked. It’s happening in our own backyard.”
Human trafficking is the second largest—and fastest-growing—criminal industry in the world. Polaris Project officials say more than 12 million people have been entrapped, and an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are forced or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation annually in the U.S. The number of U.S. citizens being trafficked may be higher.
The anti-trafficking movement, however, is fairly new. Federal legislation protecting victims of trafficking wasn’t passed until 2000. “Now we’re getting states to catch up,” says Austin. Polaris worked with legislators in Virginia for nearly four years to pass a law that established human trafficking as a crime; Gov. Timothy Kaine signed it into law earlier this year.
Part of Austin’s job involves raising public awareness about the issue and mobilizing grassroots efforts, such as letter-writing campaigns pushing for policy change. Mounting pressure led Craigslist to drop its “erotic services” section last month because the ads are often fronts for prostitution. Polaris Project officials want the Washington Post to review its advertising policy concerning spas and massage parlors for the same reason.
Austin isn’t the only U.Va. alumna committed to the cause.
From left to right: Andrea Austin, Sarah Jakiel, Alden Pinkham
Sarah Jakiel (Col ’99) also joined the organization after international exposure to the issue and volunteering with human rights groups. After working abroad for five years, she returned to the U.S. to get a master’s degree and now directs the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Operated by Polaris, the center has a round-the-clock hot line that fields hundreds of calls each month from all over the U.S.
“They’re very diverse calls, from foreign-born nationals to U.S. citizens concerning those forced into labor or the commercial sex industry,” Jakiel says. Sometimes a caller is reporting a suspicious business; sometimes it’s a crisis call from a victim who needs immediate assistance. Calls involving labor trafficking can range from domestic servitude or childcare in the home to larger scale exploitation on fruit farms, factories or food processing plants.
“It’s sad, but I’m constantly surprised by the different means traffickers use to exploit other human beings for profit,” Jakiel says.
When a caller contacts the hot line, sometimes the voice is that of Alden Purdy Pinkham (Col ’06, Grad ’07). Fluent in Spanish, Pinkham joined the Polaris Project after working with migrant farm workers at the Central Virginia Legal Aid Society. Working with diverse service providers and agencies on the ground, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center can refer callers to needed services, shelter and law enforcement.
Pinkham remembers a recent call: A woman who had been a victim of sex trafficking since she was a minor had managed to escape to a shelter, where she was trying to rebuild her life. Her pimp, however, found her and abducted her to another state. When she called the hot line, “she was frightened and didn’t know where to turn,” Pinkham says. Hot line staff quickly contacted the human trafficking task force in the caller’s area and stayed on the line with the woman until help arrived.
“The most satisfying part of my job,” Pinkham says, “is being able to help someone make a connection that they couldn’t make on their own.”
Comments
While the depravity of trafficking makes me question human nature, efforts like this to restore these unfortunate souls' lives reaffirm my belief in humanity. I hope that the Polaris Project and organizations/governments around the world will bring an end to this disgusting industry, and that those exploiting others be brought to justice.
I will use the above resources to find out how I can help, & hope others will do the same. To ignore this is both inhuman & un-American!
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (www.iccr.org) has a working group that engages corporations, international organizations, and government agencies to educate and reduce human trafficking. Many religious groups are also involved, both in providing assistance (e.g. safe houses) as well as seeking policy and legal interventions. It is great to see UVA graduates committed to assisting victims and stopping agents of human trafficking.
The effort of erradicating slavery is appreciable and fully support the work of Polaris Project. It would be great if the charter of the same is enlarged to other geographis as well as all the form of slavery. I am sure, the team must be already working on identifying the root cause. My opbseration is that slavery has been a by-product of the current economic model(s) and is true in both the case of Socialism and Capitalism. The only approach is to work for "Humanitism" model.
Slavery... and pirates too!? What century are we living in?
I respectfully disagree with your assertion that slavery is a by-product of Capitalism, or any other economic model for that matter. It is instead a result of the evil that some human beings are compelled to inflict upon others for their own benefit. Evil deeds have been committed throughout human history in all parts of the world in every form of political and economic system. Sin is no respecter of social structure. The perpetrators of this abomination need to be sought out and prosecuted, as should every other criminal.
This is a drop in the bucket. Marxism, the slavery of hope and change is going to be much more widespread.
a great article
In addition to saying that I completely agree with Early Tye's comments, I say "Hats off" to Andrea Austin and commend her for her efforts to raise "public awareness about the issue and mobilizing grassroots efforts."
Another important organization that fights human trafficking is the Cambodian Women's Crisis Center (http://www.cwcc.org.kh/)in Phnom Pehn.
I'm fortunate to be involved with the Frederick Douglass Family Foundation (www.fdff.org), founded by descendants of Frederick Douglass and dedicated to abolishing all forms of modern-day slavery. December 2, 2009 is the 60th anniversary of the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery as designated by the United Nations in 1949. We're working with 10 high schools across the country in a grassroots effort to raise awareness. The schools are: * Los Angeles, CA - Brentwood School * Las Vegas, NV - Andre Agassi College Preparatory Academy * Chicago, IL - North Lawndale College Preparatory Charter High School * Atlanta, GA - Booker T. Washington High School * New Bedford, MA - Roosevelt Middle School * Baltimore, MD - New Era Academy * Washington DC - Edmund Burke School * New York City - United Nations International School * New York City - Frederick Douglass Academy IV * Rochester, NY - Wilson Foundation Academy To find out more, or to get involved, visit fdff.org.
I belive that awreness can help to reduce traficking. In this context, national print & eloctrnic media can play a very important role.
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