“War on Trafficking”?Resisting Criminalization as aSolution to “Modern Day Slavery”

emi koyamajanuary 10, 2013

university of washington

live tweet @emikoyama

THANK YOU SPONSORS• UW Q Center

• ASUW Women’s Action Committee

• Queer Student Commission

• Student Disability Commission

• Queer People of Color Alliance

• UWB School of Interdisciplinary Arts and Sciences

OVERVIEW

OVERVIEW1. recent history of anti-trafficking rhetoric

2. media spectacle of “sex trafficking”

3. public policies targeting (domestic minor sex) trafficking

4. impact of anti-trafficking policies on social service

5. resistance to the “war on trafficking”

1. RECENT HISTORY

MEANING OF “TRAFFICKING” HAS SHIFTED SINCE 2000before 2000:

•“trafficking” as irregular migration and labor and human rights violation. IOM, ILO.

2000 (TVPA, CTOC):

•“trafficking” as international criminal enterprise. Interpol, INS/ICE, FBI.

around 2008:

•“trafficking” as “save our children from slavery” panic. Media, churches, NGOs.

“TRAFFICKING” IN NEWS

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 20101 0 2 0 941

1637

72

134

297

388366

469501

SOURCE: compiled using EBSCOHost Newspaper Source for major U.S. newspapers with key phrases “human trafficking” and “trafficking in humans”

RHETORICAL SHIFT CONTINUES2011-now: “trafficking” as a “gang problem”

•FBI’s National Gang Threat Assessment 2009 vs. 2011.

•NPR’s “Gangs enter new territory” and other media stories.

•Attorney General Eric Holder’s testimonies 2010 vs. 2012.

•U.S. Attorney for Oregon 2012 reorganization of anti-trafficking units.

•anti-trafficking laws promoted as “another prosecution weapon against the dangerous street gangs.”

NGOs UPDATE MATERIALS

Polaris ProjectNovember 2011

YouthCareMay 2012

PIMP-CONTROLLED TRAFFICKING - RECRUITMENT

Finesse Pimp

• Presents as a caring individual

• Makes promises of a better life/romantic future

• Control is through psychological manipulation

Gorilla Pimp

• Obtains victims through abduction

• Immediate rape and physical abuse

• Strict confinement and isolation

• Limited access to outside world

Types of Pimps:

Boyfriend Pimp

• Psychological control and manipulation

• “Sells  the  dream”;  youth  believes pimp is her boyfriend

• Violence as enforcement

Gorilla Pimp

• Severe violence and forced drug use as primary control

• Frequently kidnap youth and traffic out of area

Gang Pimps

• Gang pimping is a newer trend

• Girls often used sexually/violently in gang initiation

• Dual loyalty to gang and “boyfriend”

FRAMEWORKS PROMOTING CRIMINALIZATION• trafficking as law-and-order problem

• trafficking as immigration control problem

• trafficking as prostitution problem

• trafficking as urban gang problem

• trafficking as sexual moral problem

• trafficking as “rescue” or “save children and women” problem

2. MEDIA SPECTACLE

CREATION OF MEDIA SPECTACLE BASED ON FEAR• focus on very rare cases of young (white middle-class) girls

from good suburban homes being “taken” by evil urban men (of color).

• this “good girl taken by bad men” trope distorts experiences and realities of vast majority of young people in the sex trade, and misdirects public responses.

• experiences of street youth, youth in (or have run away from) the child welfare system, queer and trans youth, boys, and others are erased.

UNDERSTANDING BOTH PUSH & PULL FACTORS• push: factors such as poverty, racism, transphobia, child

abuse, and other circumstances that make young people vulnerable in the first place.

• pull: the presence of the sex industry, paying customers, online ads, pimps, etc. that attract young people who are already vulnerable into the sex trade.

• media’s exclusive focus on the pull factors presumes that young people have a safe place to return to, if it weren’t for those evil pimps and sex buyers. this is rarely the case for young people who engage in the sex trade.

BAD “STATISTICS” DISTORT REALITY• claim: average age of entry into prostitution is 13.

• claim: up to 300,000 U.S. children are trafficked each year.

• claim: third of runaway youth are trafficked within 48 hours.

• claim: major sporting events attract tens of thousands of trafficking victims.

• claim: trafficking is rampant on Craigslist, Backpage, etc.

IS “AVERAGE AGE OF ENTRY” INTO PROSTITUTION 13?• based on survey of minors only, which logically result in the

“average” below age of 18.

• cumulative effect (the fact someone who entered at 13 is five times more likely to be counted than someone who entered at 17 because she has five years to be studied) artificially deflates the average.

• inconsistent with other studies that show the average of at least 15-16 among minors. there are major policy implications whether typical minor begins sex trade at 13 (most likely forced) or at 16 (most likely runaways).

12 13 14 15 16 17

Imagine a hypothetical town in which one person each from ages 12-17 enter prostitution. The “average age” of course is 14.5.

12 13 14 15 16 17

12 13 14 15 16 17

12 13 14 15 16 17

<- entered this year

12 13 15 16 1714 15 16 17 <- last year

12 13 14 15 16 17 <- year before

age: 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

False average: 13.6; Actual average: 14.5

ARE 300,000 CHILDREN TRAFFICKED EACH YEAR?• sum of estimate size of all groups (such as “transgender street

youth”) considered “at risk” of being involved in prostitution.

• groups are not mutually exclusive, so the same youth can be counted multiple times.

• among those considered “at risk,” small minority actually engages in the sex trade.

1/3 OF RUNAWAY YOUTH TRAFFICKED WITHIN 48 HRS?• survey of a homeless youth service in Ohio.

• most runaway youth return home within a day or two. only a minority show up at a homeless youth service.

• third of girls in this survey (14% of total) encounter someone involved in prostitution. most however do not engage in it.

DO MAJOR SPORTS EVENTS ATTRACT TRAFFICKING?• anti-prostitution groups claimed 400,000 women and children

would be trafficked to Germany for World Cup; same claim has been repeated for other sporting events, such as the Olympic Games and Super Bowl.

• studies by International Organization for Migration, Council of European Union, International Labor Organization, UN Population Fund, and others found no evidence for the supposed increase in human trafficking at World Cup 2006 in Germany, World Cup 2010 in South Africa, and Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver.

IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING RAMPANT ONLINE?• critics of Craigslist and Backpage have alleged that many ads

posted on their “adult services” section were for minors and trafficking victims.

• research methodology is based on “guessing” age of someone shown in the picture, or identifying “signs”—but they are not corroborated by actual investigation.

a Backpage ad flagged by a researcher for “trafficking”

things that can get an ad flagged for “trafficking: refusing Black men, using sex trade lingo.

Analysis

• The data was analyzed through the software program SPSS* • Several pieces of data were important to compare between the city Key Words: • No Black Men • Call in/out • Prostate Rub

signs that the ad is trafficking a minor, according to a researcher

Possible Minors

!  Ads tagged for being minor !  Subjects in the photos had physical indicators of youth (baby-

fat on cheeks, little to no curve at the waits, feet/legs outturned when standing, gangly arms/legs)

!  Environment where the photo was taken had features indicative of common juvenile behavior (writing on mirror, stuffed animals, posters on walls, etc...)

!  Subject intentionally trying to look young (pig tails, knee high socks, holding school books, etc...)

!  Ad indicated the subject of the photo was potentially a juvenile through the use of verbiage (barely legal, just turned 18, first time)

IMPACT OF MEDIA SPECTACLE AND INACCURATE “DATA”• push factors such as poverty, racism, homophobia and

transphobia are completely neglected.

• surveillance and criminalization of certain communities is presented as the solution to the problem.

• pushes street economy further underground, making it less safe for people who do not have safe home to return to.

• success is measured by the number of “rescues” and prosecution, not by the long-term well-being of vulnerable individuals.

3. PUBLIC POLICIES

PUBLIC POLICIES TARGETING “TRAFFICKING”• prostitution sweeps disgusted as “rescues.”

• “safe harbor” laws; involuntary services, locked or isolated facilities, “services” administered by the law enforcement.

• “end demand” policies targeting clients.

• further surveillance of gangs, immigrants, homeless people.

• virtually complete lack of “push”-side interventions addressing poverty and other root causes.

NATIONWIDE “RESCUES”date cities “rescues” “pimps” all arrests

1

2

3

4

5

6

06/2008 16 21 389

10/2008 29 49 73 642

02/2009 29 48 571

10/2009 36 52 60 700

11/2010 40 69 99 885

06/2012 57 79 104

Data released by FBI for Operation Cross Country 1-6

JUNE 2012 “RESCUE” DATA“rescues” “pimps” all arrests

BostonCleveland

DallasDetroit

MilwaukeeSan Francisco

Oklahoma City

1 3 110 1 256 0 363 5 437 3 536 7 653 7 37

Data compiled from local media reports.

“The FBI has rescued 79 teens held against their will and forced into prostitution from hotels, truck stops and stores during a three-day swoop on sex-trafficking rings across the country. […] The teenagers, who are all U.S. citizens, were handcuffed and held in police custody until they could be placed with child welfare organisations.”

The Daily Mail, June 26, 2012

“SAFE HARBOR” AND INVOLUNTARY “SERVICES”• “Safe Harbor” laws: minors treated as victims, not prostitutes.

• in practice, it does not stop criminalization of young people in the sex trade.

• lockdown “shelters”; forced “treatment”; sent back to unsafe places; long-term involvement in child welfare system they had to run away from.

• police more eager to arrest minors “to get them help.”

“END DEMAND” ECONOMICS• targeting clients through prosecution, public shaming, and

education: drives sex trade further underground.

• “end demand” policies often increase penalty for sellers as well (e.g. Illinois End Demand legislation).

• shifts client demographics.

• racial and gender profiling.

• not actually endorsed by any economist.(see http://eminism.org/blog/entry/340 to read why it does not work, and how it can increase prostitution.)

PUBLIC SHAMING ONLINE• Chicago Police Department posts pictures and personal

information of people arrested as clients.

• However, over 10% of the pictures show trans women of color, who are most likely not buyers, but sellers.

• The trans women in the display are younger and more likely to be Black than all other clients.

CASE OF “CLUB 907”• “hostess club” in Los Angeles was raided for suspicions of

prostitution, sex trafficking, and labor rights violation in November 2010.

• 80+ women working as “hostesses” were placed on immigration detention and/or deportation proceedings; club owners simply posted ads to hire replacement workers the next week.

4. IMPACT OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING POLICIES

POLICE ENCROACHMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICE• increased collaborations between the law enforcement and

social service agencies.

• police ride-alongs.

• victims treated as witnesses instead of clients.

• harm reduction is rejected, undoing decades of coalition work between public health and movements for homeless people, immigrants, survivors, LGBTQ people, youth, etc.

• fundings are shifted to organizations and projects that are “friendly” toward the law enforcement.

Desperate for funding during an economic downturn, non-profit organizations rush to capitalize on the latest moral panic.

Police decides who gets the funding.

Youth are sometimesarrested, sometimes not,but they are all detained.

Youth either agrees to stay at the specified shelter, returns home, or else he or she mustbe institutionalized ata psychiatric hospital.

Multnomah CountyCSEC Protocol

Christianity Today magazine, November 2011

Tagline: Leading [Portland’s] effort to halt child trafficking is a network of dedicated Christians. Just don’t go advertizing it.

pictured left to right: police officer, youth service director, fundamentalist pastor, and Christian lobbyist.

In November 2011, I attended a workshop about Multnomah County’s response to DMST at a conference about homeless and runaway youth.

What I heard there confirmed what I had suspected about how the anti-trafficking framework has transformed youth services.

JANUS YOUTH (Portland)• program director at Janus stated that his organization has

been hostile to the law enforcement in the past.

• why? when youth came in complaining about police abuse, Janus staff believed them and helped them file complaint. it made police officers dislike Janus.

• in order to address this, the director instructed all of his staff to “treat police officers like their best friend.” the relationship with the police is great now.

SARC (Beaverton)• director of CSEC program at Sexual Assault Resource Center

also spoke highly about the relationship with the police, criticizing “other” anti-violence organizations that are less friendly toward the police.

• director explained the benefit of having SARC advocate: they can help open up victims into talking to CSEC team. it makes them better witnesses for the prosecution.

FBI LIAISON FOR PORTLAND• FBI liaison for Multnomah County CSEC team stated that the

law enforcement specifically recruited Janus and SARC because of their “pro-police” stance, unlike other anti-violence groups.

• Portland Women’s Crisis Line, which provides services similar to SARC, is not invited to be part of any conversations. PWCL uses harm reduction approach to reach out to and support people in the sex trade.

JANUS (AGAIN)• when Occupy Portland went up in the fall of 2011, many

youth from Janus shelters and services abandoned their services and joined the Occupy encampment, leaving Janus facilities empty.

• Portland Police Bureau asked Janus to locate a youth, former Janus client, living at Occupy. Janus sent an outreach worker to find the youth for the police.

• in November 2011, executive director of Janus told Mayor Sam Adams that Occupy was endangering youth. within days, the Mayor ordered the removal of Occupy encampment.

From: Dennis Morrow [Executive Director, Janus Youth]Sent: Thursday, November 03, 2011 05:56 PMTo: Antoinette Edwards [Director of Public Safety, City of Portland]Subject: Occupy Portland Observations […] When Yellow Brick Road teams went through Occupy Portland during the early afternoon on Monday October 17th, they were greeted by large numbers of homeless youth who had voluntarily exited Homeless Youth Continuum (HYC) services to take part in the event. Outreach staff spoke to at least 5 unaccompanied minors that they had never previously encountered and who appeared to be street-entrenched (and not in school) based on their general hygiene and demeanor. […] Yellow Brick Road has also observed a noticeable increase in escalated behavior bordering on hostility mostly from youth we recognized from HYC services (or street outreach), including some young people with serious mental illnesses who are intermittently serving as “peace-keeping” volunteers or security. While we are very supportive of young people having both meaningful voice and purpose, our years of experience with vulnerable street-affected youth tell us that this requires a great deal of structure and expertise or it is a recipe for disaster. […]

“When I have homeless and homeless youth advocates telling me that this is a very unsafe situation, you know, I listen to that.”

— Portland Mayor Sam Adams, after shutting down Occupy Portland

WHAT HAS HAPPENED TO OUR SOCIAL SERVICES?• siding with the police when people complain about

mistreatment and abuse by the police.

• functioning as conduits for police surveillance.

• treating youth and victims as “witnesses for the prosecution” rather than prioritizing them as clients deserving help.

• lobbying to evict youth and homeless people from communities they have created for themselves.

• organizations that share same goals are divided and fighting against each other instead of working together.

5. RESISTANCE

RESISTING THE “WAR ON TRAFFICKING”• we need to challenge media spectacle that mislead public

perception of the issue.

• we need to challenge criminalization of our communities and the police encroachment of social support systems.

• we need to address push factors that make people and communities vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.

• “better” services are not enough; we need organizing.

MOVING BEYOND “DECRIMINALIZATION”• “Safe Habor” laws are supposed to “decriminalize”

prostitution offenses for minors, but they are still targeted, abused, and locked up.

• criminalization is more than just laws prohibiting particular acts; it is a pervasive pattern of state violence targeting communities of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people, street-based individuals, and others.

• anti-criminalization movement is an emerging coalition of communities targeted by increasing surveillance and criminalization by the state (e.g. opposition to Prop. 35).

SYSTEM FAILURE ALERT!

my case worker thinks that my boyfriend is pimping me but it’s not true.

my teacher does not respect my gender identity or call me by the name i want them to use.

bus driver said my service animal was just a pet and didn’t allow me to ride. i think it’s because i am/look homeless.

doctor at the clinic asked me why i was so upset about being raped if i’ve had sex with people i don’t know for money before.

when i went to emergency room, the nurse told me that it wasn’t a shelter and i wouldn’t be sick if i wasn’t using drugs.

police searched me at a bus stop, and questioned why i was carrying two cell phones, or if i was selling drugs.

Are your

support

“SYSTEMS”

working

for YOU?

SYSTEM

FAILU

RE

ALERT!

systemfailurealert.tumblr.com

SYSTEM FAILURE ALERT!• based on “Bad Encounter Line” from Young Women’s

Empowerment Project in Chicago.

• share “system failures” (problems in social service, medical service, police, and other institutions that are supposed to help) experienced by street youth and other people through zines, online, and in public events. also share how we fight back and survive.

• use stories to hold service providers accountable and transform institutions.

• also create resources to help all of us take care of ourselves (e.g. how to advocate for a friend in an emergency room).

SUPPORT THESE GROUPSStreetwise & Safe (New York)http://www.streetwiseandsafe.org/

Young Women’s Empowerment Project (Chicago)http://www.youarepriceless.org/

Different Avenues (Washington, D.C.)http://www.differentavenues.org/

Native Youth Sexual Health Network (North America)http://www.nativeyouthsexualhealth.com/

Women With A Vision (New Orleans)http://wwav-no.org/

FUSE (North America)http://www.lightafuse.org/

if you want to hear more… get my zines!

how to find emi elsewhere:emi@eminism.orgwww.eminism.orgfacebook.com/emigrl2emigrl.tumblr.com@emikoyama

also: come hang out with me at Q Center afterwards!