Trafficking

“ Essentially, trafficking consists of actions in which offenders gain control of victims by coercive or deceptive means or by exploiting relationships, like those between parents and children, in which one party has relatively little power or influence and is therefore vulnerable to trafficking. ”

“ Lady Grace peacefully smiled, “it’s no use his offering us eight thousand—or eighteen or even eighty!”
Hugh Crimble stared as at the odd superfluity of this reassurance, almost crude on exquisite lips and contradicting an imputation no one would have indecently made. “Gracious goodness, I hope not! The man surely doesn’t suppose you’d traffic.”
She might, while she still smiled at him, have been fairly enjoying the friendly horror she produced. “I don’t quite know what he supposes. But people have trafficked; people do; people are trafficking all round.” ”

“ The country was a source, transit, and destination point for trafficked persons, and internal trafficking remained a problem. Victims were women and children trafficked internally or from Eastern Europe and other Balkan countries into the country. ”

“ Most trafficked persons return to the same conditions which initially compelled them to seek employment elsewhere. The hardship is compounded, however, by the fact that they are often stigmatized as a result of their trafficking experiences. ”

“ One of the law¿s key components is the creation of the US Department of State¿s annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the government response in some 150 countries with a significant number of victims trafficked across their borders who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Countries in the annual report are rated in three tiers, based on government efforts to combat trafficking. ”

“ When I held the first hearing on trafficking as chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights back in 1999, only a handful of countries had laws explicitly prohibiting the practice of human trafficking. Individuals who engaged in this exploitation did so without fear of legal repercussions. Victims of trafficking were treated as criminals and illegal immigrants, and had no access to assistance to escape the slavery-like conditions in which they were trapped. ”

“ A unique characteristic of the OSCE's Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings is the recognition of human trafficking as a complex, multidimensional issue with far reaching security implications. ”

“ The country was both a source and destination for trafficking in persons. Most trafficking was internal for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and forced marriage. Women and children, who made up 90 percent of trafficking cases, were often trafficked from poorer, rural areas where they were abducted or lured to urban centers with false promises of employment and then trafficked into prostitution or forced labor. ”

“ Additional Measures To Prevent and Deter Trafficking- The President shall establish and carry out programs to prevent and deter trafficking in persons, including-- ` (1) technical assistance and other support to improve the capacity of foreign governments to investigate, identify, and carry out inspections of private entities, including labor recruitment centers, at which trafficking victims may be exploited, particularly exploitation involving forced and child labor ”

“ A bill to amend the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 to include financial criminal activities associated with the facilitation of severe forms of trafficking in persons within the factors considered as indicia of serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons, and for other purposes ”

“ Trafficking in Persons The law prohibits trafficking in women and children; however, there were reports that men, women, and children were trafficked to, from, through, and within the country for sexual exploitation and forced labor. ”

“ IN GENERAL— If a Federal law enforcement official files an application stating that an alien is a victim of a severe form of trafficking and may be a potential witness to such trafficking, the Secretary of Homeland Security may permit the alien to remain in the United States to facilitate the investigation and prosecution of those responsible for such crime. ”

“ The country's laws and police procedures provide a defense for trafficking victims against criminal charges of prostitution, illegal entry, presence, or work in the country. According to the criminal law, trafficking is punishable by a maximum of 20 years' imprisonment. Engaging in trafficking is punishable by two to 12 years' imprisonment, or up to 15 years if the victim is a minor; organizing a group to engage in trafficking is punishable by seven to 20 years' imprisonment and a fine up to 500,000 euros ($715,000) ”

“ Upon arrival at their destination, victims are forced to work in difficult, dangerous and usually unpleasant occupations, such as prostitution, the production of child pornography or general labour, in order to earn profits for the traffickers. Like other smuggled or trafficked commodities, victims are sometimes simply sold from one criminal group to another, but unlike other commodities, they can be made to work for long periods after arrival at their final destination, generating far greater profits for traffickers at all stages of the process. ”

“ During [w: [Blue Heart Campaign#National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month|National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month] ] , we recommit ourselves to eradicating the evil of enslavement. Human trafficking is a modern form of the oldest and most barbaric type of exploitation. It has no place in our world. This month we do not simply reflect on this appalling reality. We also pledge to do all in our power to end the horrific practice of human trafficking that plagues innocent victims around the world. ”

“ It was one of the biggest human trafficking cases we’ve ever investigated, and when it was all over last year, nine defendants known as the Vasquez-Valenzuela family went to jail—with the ringleader receiving a 40-year sentence.
Human trafficking—nothing less than modern-day slavery—often involves the most vulnerable populations and takes the form of forced prostitution, forced labor, and domestic servitude. The FBI is the lead agency for investigating violations of federal civil rights laws, and human trafficking is one of our top civil rights violation priorities. ”

“ My Administration continues to work to drive out the darkness human traffickers cast upon our world. In February, I signed an Executive Order to dismantle transnational criminal organizations, including those that perpetuate the crime of human trafficking. My Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons has enhanced collaboration with other nations, businesses, civil society organizations, and survivors of human trafficking. ”

“ In 2000, the federal government amended the Immigration Act to include fines up to CDN$1,000,000 and the possibility of life imprisonment for someone convicted of trafficking activities. 70 The control that traffickers exercise over the persons they traffic also mitigates against effective deterrence. ”

“ It is interesting here to note that these countries have all undertaken serious efforts towards legislative reform to address trafficking in human beings. Laws alone do not stop trafficking, although they are a necessary place to start.
These countries share many of the same routes, and many of the same countries of destination, including but not limited to Italy, the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Czech Republic, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Greece, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Poland and the United States. ”

“ To address only a country of origin without looking at where the reward comes from for criminal activity is an incomplete approach, and will therefore yield incomplete results. Regional approaches to combating trafficking in persons, linking countries of destination and origin, have the best potential for arriving at comprehensive and systemic solutions. ”

“ This is an important asset for national legislators, prosecutors and law enforcement agencies because of the complexity of major criminal organizations and the diverse range of crimes in which they engage: the combination of the Convention and one or more Protocols makes it possible for countries to attack trafficking in the broader context of the organized criminal groups and not just as one distinct area of criminal activity. ”

“ The solution was to specify that, while consent may initially be raised by accused traffickers, consent to initial recruitment is not the same as consent to the entire course of trafficking and any alleged consent to exploitation must be deemed irrelevant if any of the means of trafficking listed in the definition have occurred (i.e., the threat or use of force, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person such as a parent) . ”

“ In the past, the Canadian system was unsuccessful in providing a real deterrence to those individuals or groups engaged in trafficking of persons. In many cases, the Criminal Code did not provide for harsh jail sentences for traffickers, and fines were often the only punishment available. Considering that the sex trade is so lucrative, most traffickers were willing to take the risk. ”

“ Human trafficking is a major problem in the United States , and the FBI takes this very seriously. There was a big international human sex trafficking case that moved from Guatemala to the Los Angeles , California area, and you may be shocked at the ages of women who were victims.
Ms. Whitehill: “Ages of those women ranged from as young as 12 years old up to women in their mid-20s.” ”

“ On June 12, the Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a comprehensive antihuman trafficking law that broadens the definition of trafficking crimes, increases punishments for convicted traffickers, and expands protections for victims. ”

“ Whitehill: “We work on a task force in Los Angeles called the Los Angeles Metro Area Task Force on Human Trafficking, and we work with various non-governmental organizations; one of them is called CAST—Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking. CAST had received a phone call that they had a man who had some information about a family who was bringing girls, young girls, in from Guatemala and forcing them into prostitution. ”

“ Provisions in the Immigration Ordinance, the Crimes Ordinance, the Employment Ordinance, and other relevant laws enable law enforcement authorities to take action against trafficking in persons. The Security Bureau, which also combats migrant trafficking and oversees the police, customs, and immigration departments, enforces antitrafficking laws. ”

“ Through the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign, all Americans can learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking and how to report suspected instances. By taking steps to become familiar with the telltale signs of traffickers or the signals of their victims, Americans can save innocent lives. ”

“ It appears, on the other hand, from indictments found by us and from the testimony of witnesses that a trafficking in the bodies of women does exist and is carried on by individuals acting for their own individual benefit, and that these persons are known to each other and are more or less informally associated. ”

“ A person convicted of engaging in sex with a person known to be a trafficking victim may be imprisoned from three months to five years, while sex with a minor known to be a trafficking victim carries a penalty of two to 10 years' imprisonment. When trafficking is committed by an official in the exercise of their duties, the perpetrator may be imprisoned for five to 15 years. ”

“ The law does not classify as a trafficking victim a voluntary migrant who, upon arrival, is faced with a situation of labor trafficking or sex trafficking. Although law enforcement officials received special training on handling and protecting victims and vulnerable witnesses, including victims of trafficking, they said it was difficult to identify trafficking victims from among illegal immigrants, particularly when victims declined to identify themselves or assist in investigations. ”

“ Living and working conditions for trafficked persons were poor. Traffickers restricted their victims' movements and confiscated their travel documents. Threats to report trafficking victims to authorities or to retaliate against families made trafficked persons even more vulnerable. Criminal law prohibited trafficking, kidnapping, and sexual exploitation of minors. Persons convicted of engendering forced prostitution, abduction, or commercial exploitation face criminal sanctions; convictions for trafficking minors carry heavier sentences, such as a death sentence. ”

“ For the purpose of providing assistance to a victim, a judicial police officer or public prosecutor shall, at the earliest occasion, inform the victim of the right to claim compensation in consequence of an offence of human trafficking and the right to legal aid. ”

“ Most programs provide short term assistance only and are not equipped to provide long-term support to trafficked persons. Failure in identification of trafficked persons and the subsequent dearth of long-term assistance appear to be factors which contribute to re-trafficking. ”