Current Issues
A PROBLEM BIGGER THAN WE CAN IMAGINE!
Written By:
Florence M. Townsend
Assistant Social Services Secretary
The Salvation Army
The 13 year old that ran away from home…
The ring of pimps that move girls from state to state so the authorities are not suspicious…
Young people, who come to countries with higher economic standards to make a living, and instead are exploited and forced to engage in menial work…
Smuggling people into other countries with fake documentation…
Women and children who have sex with strangers because someone kidnaps them and threatens them if they do not cooperate…
These are all stories of horror! These are stories of HUMAN TRAFFICKING!
But what can The Salvation Army do?
In Esther 4:14b, we read of a situation where Esther, has a chance to step up to the plate and save her people—the Jews. Mordecai, her uncle, reminds her “…if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to the royal position for such a time as this?”
The Salvation Army has a chance to ‘step up to the plate’ in response to Human Trafficking. From our earliest history, we have been in the position to minister to those who have been exploited. We do now as well!
What is the scope of Human Trafficking?
President George W. Bush spoke of Trafficking as “…nothing less than a modern form of slavery, an unspeakable and unforgivable crime against the most vulnerable members of the global society.”
“Human Trafficking is a worldwide crisis that affects over 116 countries, including many industrialized nations,” reported a Subcommittee Hearing on International Slavery and Human Trafficking. It encompasses all facets of slavery, including sweatshop labor, forced prostitution, debt bondage, migrant agricultural work, and domestic servitude.
Human Trafficking is profitable and contributes over $13 billion every year to the global economy. In fact, the Polaris Project shares that Trafficking in people, taking women and children into slavery and prostitution, is producing profits second only to those from the drug trade for organized crime.
An estimated 800,000 to 900,000 people are trafficked annually across international borders worldwide, with 18,000 to 20,000 making their way to the United States. We are a destination country. It is estimated that trafficking victims come from four main areas: Asia, Central and South America, Russia and Eastern Europe.
Imagine being in a foreign country where you don’t know the language or culture, have no documentation, money or ability to legally get a job, and lack the resources to get the needed medical, legal and mental health services! If there are no meaningful alternatives, victims deny their abuse and tend to cling and protect what they have—rejecting the change that they need in their lives.
Are there laws to address Human Trafficking?
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) mandated the Department of State to produce annually a trafficking in persons report, which assesses the efforts of governments around the world to meet minimum standards to combat trafficking. Sanctions are levied on countries that fail to meet these standards. This law provides protection and assistance for victims of trafficking, and expands the crimes and enhances the penalties available to federal investigators and those pursuing traffickers. In addition, it expands international efforts from being trafficked in the first place.
How do trafficking victims access the benefits and services they need?
The Department of Health & Human Services provides certification and eligibility letters for victims that allow them to access most benefits and services comparable to assistance provided to refugees. There is, however, a need for emergency services to be available to victims as soon as they have been encountered.
There is a significant difference between the estimated number of victims coming into the United States and the number of victims reached at this point. Therefore, the government has expanded its outreach to non-governmental organizations, like The Salvation Army.
The Salvation Army is uniquely equipped to respond and provide safe houses for victims and other emergency services in collaboration with a community team.
As we have for over 100 years, The Salvation Army is committed to changing lives, one person at a time. It is no different with victims of Human Trafficking.
The Salvation Army has recently taken a lead position among a coalition of faith-based and other organizations in the documentation of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
We assumed leadership of the Initiative Against Sexual Trafficking, a partnership of faith-based, human rights and child and women’s rights organizations.
Steps are being taken to develop services for victims of Human Trafficking. The Eastern Territory (of The Salvation Army) is responding to a Department of Justice Request for Proposal to provide comprehensive services for these victims. Sites will be identified to serve Trafficking victims on an as-needed basis for the next 3 years.
A Salvation Army officer has been appointed to IHQ (International Headquarters of The Salvation Army) to coordinate the anti-trafficking movement.
There are two full time employees at NHQ (National Headquarters of The Salvation Army) working on this initiative.
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