The Issue of Human Trafficking

The first issue I would like to cover is being able to find these females but not the men who are pushing these girls on the streets. Human trafficking is the dirty secret that has been hidden too long in our country. It is in every state of this great country, from large cities to small towns to rural areas. It's in our backyard whether we live in the city or the countryside said Nita Belles (Halpin, 2017). Belles informs and explains that trafficking is happening in our backyard. Anyone walking down their street or in a mall can see couples walking together but how do we know when one is being trafficked? Halpin (2017) explains that it is a hard topic to digest especially when the the average age of girls that are being forced into prostitution is thirteen.

Being thirteen and being compelled into a sexual relationship with a man who will take advantage of a girls emotional needs seems acceptable to the young female. At the age of thirteen, girls are too young to understand. After these men trick these women into a relationship and manipulate them into selling their bodies, the maturity level to escape from the situation is too much for these young girls to bear. The trauma that these young females are going through needs to stop immediately. Kutcher, you need to use your software and build a team to go out and search for these men. You have done an amazing job at finding a significant amount of females so please do what you can to find these men.

These men need to be found because for an example, Angel Campos Tellez, age 27, pushed more than 100 woman along the east coast (Costantini, 2013). I live along the east coast. This could have been someone I know or even me. Angel sold these women for $30 for ever fifteen minutes (Costantini, 2013). Angel and his cohorts would pocket tens of thousands of dollars per year (Costantini, 2013). Angel has been deported twice and only served forty-six months (Costantini, 2013). This is awful. After those months served, Tellez will only go back to doing what he knows best. Another example is a group of three men. Nery Najarro-Rodriguez, 42, Jorge Perez- Hernandez, 37, and Luis Mata, 30, who ran a prostitution ring in Northern California (Costantini, 2013). These three men trafficked undocumented women from Mexico and sold them to twenty clients a day (Costantini, 2013).

These men were only sentenced for three years (Costantini, 2013). What happens when these men get out? These men need to be put in prison for life. This is unfair that they are getting out after serving three years of jail time when these women have to deal with what they were put through for the rest of their lives. How are they supposed to trust any one? They will never be able to have the mental capacity to be in any form of relationship ever again. This is a problem that needs to be addressed when there are around 800,000 people that are being trafficked (Costantini, 2013). Is it fair that people in Latin America are making up to $16 billion dollars in business (Costantini, 2013)? This needs to come to an end.

The last issue I would like to cover is the 90 day assistance that these women receive. Lets be honest. Do you seriously think 90 days for women who have been pushed and sold on these streets is enough time to get their lives back on track? Women who have been raped and raped again for days, months, and years. These girls need more than 90 days. Coming out of this type of situation is devastating. In some cases, I understand that women can get more than 90 days but they have to go through The United States Department of Justice (USDOJ) and The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). From a journal article called Services Available To Victims of Human Trafficking (2012) gives us an insight of the resources that these girls are given. For 90 days, these women can receive each of the following:

Food: food pantries; soup kitchens; supermarkets/ bakeries/ restaurants provide day-old, lightly damaged goods

Shelter: faith-based organizations; domestic violence/ women's shelters; runaway and homeless youth shelters; housing for undocumented immigrants; organizations donate money for rent; church members offer temporary housing; state foster care

Clothing and Goods: nonprofit thrift stores giveaway clothes; churches, schools, and hospitals operate nothing drives; yards sales for inexpensive clothing and household items; department stores give away old clothes; hotels give away furniture when renovating; organizations will give out gift cards for grocery stores or discounted department stores

Medical: community health clinics; homeless clinics; free clinics at universities; health programs from non-governmental organizations (NGO); maternal and child health clinics

Legal: aid clinics/ agencies/ foundations; law school clinics: pro bono services; immigrant rights clinics; non profit organizations
Job Training Programs: CareerOneStop (https://www.careeronestop.org/) provides a list of contacts for employment

Education Services: GED assistance; immigrant community organizations; English as a second language (ESL) classes held at church, schools, libraries, and community colleges

Transportation: victims that are in an education program can apply for reduced public transportation fares (subways, bus, or train); car and bike donations

Crime Victim Compensation: victims can apply for funds for the above services; relocation for safety reasons

Other Assistance: sexual assault clinics; rep crisis centers; fats-based organizations

These programs, organizations, and clinics are great for these victims of human trafficking but they can only use these services for so long. I think there should be a place to set these girls until they are comfortable to go back home if they even have a home. Naomi's house is a long-term program for women that are eighteen or older. I truly believe that they should be able to stay for as long as they need. I strongly think that we also need to do something for those young females that are under the age of eighteen. A house or organization needs to be put together for these young females. These housing situations should put together therapy groups to help each other get through the trauma that they are experiencing. These girls are weak and need the help.

As expressed, human trafficking is something that speaks to me deeply and needs to come to an end. I overall feel that we need to help these girls that are being trafficked to feel a sense of belonging and feel safe. We need to capture these men who are pushing these females so these girls can feel the freedom that they deserve. Please reach out to me to inform me how this can work.

References

1. Costantini, C., (2013, June 28). Why did these sex traffickers only get a slap on the wrist? Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/ABC_Univision/News/time-sex- trafficker-serve-prison/story?id=19520482
2. Halpin, S. (2017, March 23). Healing victims of human trafficking: a long, slow road to transformation. Retrieved from https://www.christiaitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/ march/healing-victims-of-human-trafficking-long-road-to-tran.html
3. Services available to victims of human trafficking. (2012). Retrieved from https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/orr/traffickingservices_0.pdf

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