Annamari_Jaaksi

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Safe Haven

By Annamari Jaaksi 1

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Table Of Contents Foreword ----------------------------------------- p. 6 introduction -------------------------------------- p. 9 Chapter i ----------------------------------------- p. 12 Chapter ii ---------------------------------------- p. 20 Conclusion --------------------------------------- p. 26 works cited -------------------------------------- p. 28 I would like to dedicate this book to my cousin who was the first one to raise awareness about human traff icking in my life, but also to my parents and teachers for supporting me through the process.

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Foreword Human trafficking is a very hidden and secretive issue, and when I first heard about it a couple years ago during a presentation, I was shocked. The fact that something so horrible and devastating was happening at such a massive scale was depressing and overwhelming, and I felt like there wasn’t much anybody could do. However, I started to educate myself on the topic and found out about multiple organizations fighting for this cause.

The topic of human trafficking remained very close to my heart, and I jumped at the chance to raise awareness and learn more myself. However, because the subject matter and the crime involved, research wasn’t going to be easy.

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Left: New Day for Children co-founder Wilson Right: Freedom House staff member Kim

I decided to focus on safe houses, not only because of the fact that it was easier to find people to interview, but also because I think aftercare for survivors is a concept that is often neglected. It is easy to assume that after someone is able to escape trafficking, everything is better. However, what I came to realize was that this is hardly the case; many of the victims have gone through unimaginable experiences and are traumatized; without specialized help for their specific need, it is very hard for a survivor to move on.

People often feel very sympathetic when they hear about this crime, and want to end slavery. Unfortunately, not many of them understand the whole process of recovery, which means that aftercare doesn’t get the attention it needs. This results in a huge need of more safe houses and a lack of funding for the ones that already exist. I’m hoping that the information I’ve gathered can help at least a few people see the bigger picture.

Safe houses and all the people involved in helping human trafficking survivors during their recovery are doing an amazing job. So many passionate and loving people give to this cause, and I am so delighted to have had the opportunity to see the work they do and to share their work with others as well.

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Introduction

The American Civil War had tremendous casualties; there were more American deaths in the Civil War than during all of the U.S. wars combined. It was a war fought for a very important but controversial cause. Lincoln’s victory in the 1860 presidential election resulted in multiple southern states withdrawing from the Union, who felt threatened by Lincoln’s anti-slavery mindset. After seceding from the Union they opened fire on the North, and the war lasted for four years. Even though the cost was devastating, the abolishment of slavery was a worthy cause. After seeing and hearing about the mistreatment of workers in plantations and farms, the northern states couldn’t stand by and allow these crimes against humanity to happen. These soldiers and civilians saw it worthwhile to put their lives at risk so they could have a better tomorrow through equality and human rights. The abolishment of slavery was an incredible accomplishment, which many of us are proud and delighted with. Therefore, many of us would be very astonished to hear that modern day slavery - human trafficking - is the second most common crime in the world, and the 27 million people being trafficked worldwide make slavery a bigger problem than ever.

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Imagine a crime that takes place not only in international crime organizations, but also in big, popular businesses around the world. A crime that is happening in your neighborhood, in your local stores and your nearby companies. Just a few years ago, a Bay Area high school student - whose identity will remain hidden because of security reasons - went to a birthday party. Everybody knew this 15-year old as a sweet and loving girl, who worked hard and got straight A’s. She had never had a boyfriend, but she had a crush on a classmate who happened to be going to the same birthday party. Instead of getting the date she dreamed of, this girl went through a horrendous experience. First, the boy gave her a date rape drug, then proceeded with his friend to kidnap the girl and drive away from the party.

After taking her to another location, they both sexually assaulted the girl before selling her to a trafficker who then sold her in Reno. (Wilson).

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Raising awareness of human trafficking in the Bay Area, Š BAATC

It is easy to assume that events like this only take place in third world countries, poor neighborhoods, or inner cities, which lack adequate law enforcement and a strong economy. The devastating truth is that human trafficking is here; one of Oakland’s most experienced undercover cops estimated that, on average, one hundred minors are being sold into sexual servitude every night. This is the case in only one city right here in the Bay Area, and as if that wasn’t enough, this statistic is only focusing on sex slavery with minors. In addition to minors, there are many other types of people forced into servitude.

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A crime this secretive and hidden is hard to confront, and the lack of awareness causes multiple problems not only with preventing this crime but also with the survivors of this crime. Even if a victim of human trafficking was able to escape, he or she rarely has a safe place to go. Enacting new laws to re-abolish slavery is necessary if we hope to gain back the freedom that was fought for 150 years ago, and raising awareness is a huge part of the battle. Nevertheless, human trafficking can’t be fought without also offering the victims an opportunity for a better future. In the past few years, safe houses specifically for human trafficking victims have been created in the Bay Area, and through these programs, the victims have been able to move on.

The young girl who was sold into the industry by her peers was luckily found by the police after 6 months which, however terrifying, is a short time to be trafficked.

So what action was taken to help her recover? Because she had a family to go back to, she was sent home. However, her parents, not knowing how to help her overcome her traumatic experience instead sent her into a mental institute.

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Fortunately, this girl soon heard about New Day for Children, a safe house for minors who have experienced trafficking. She attended the program in Oakland, and got the support and assistance she needed to begin her recovery. New Day for Children helped her overcome the experience, and instead of getting stuck in the past she was able to move forward. She is now in college pursuing her dreams. (Wilson).

Safe houses offer victims different programs and activities while giving them time to heal at their own pace. While attending victims needs, the staff at safe houses understand the specific trauma these victims carry along.

Human trafficking and the industry that it is involved in, is a maze in which many of the victims get stuck, many of them needing support and guidance when attempting to escape the trauma. Safe houses offer victims a brighter future and an understanding of their needs, while working to provide victims the freedom they deserve.

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Chapter i -f ighting the glori fied crime

California’s population is 38,000,000, which makes it the most populous state in the US. To put that on a scale, it is about the same population as twenty-one of the least populous states combined. While keeping this in mind, the thought of 27,000,000 slaves can become pretty horrifying, especially when realizing that “today more people are trafficked each year than in the three hundred and fifty years of transatlantic slave trade� (Hugo Swire). Trafficking occurs in many different ways, from forced labor and domestic servitude to trafficking women and children for sexual exploitation. It has become so popular because of the estimated $32,000,000,000 that this crime generates each year, and unfortunately the number of traffickers and victims continues to rise. How come a crime this massive is hidden so well? Human trafficking is a high profit crime, and people gain massive amounts of money with a relatively low risk. In addition to the lack of awareness among citizens, government corruption - especially in Third World Countries - enables this crime to prosper because Traffickers often have the means and feel no inhibitions against bribing their way through the criminal justice system, and investigators assigned to the case all too often fail to overcome temptation. Corruption can establish close ties between traffickers and those who are actually charged with bringing them justice(United Nations Global, 48).

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Yet it might still seem like a crime that doesn’t happen here, an issue that doesn’t involve us personally. Even if it does happen in your neighborhood, surely the victims aren’t people you know, right? What do you think, how largely does this crime affect our nation? The shocking truth is that only in 2012 California’s regional human trafficking task forces identified 1,277 victims, from which an alarming 72% were US citizens.

The FBI ranked California one of the worst states for the crime of human trafficking (Chuang), and about 80% of the documented cases in California took place in the San Francisco Bay Area, San Diego and Los Angeles. Undoubtedly, this crime is very real.

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se t to rai ea, n e v e Ar TC A BAA ss in the Bay e awaren C T © BAA

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The BAATC co-founder Brian Wo, © BAATC

It may be reassuring to know that action has been taken to stop this abominable crime. Many organizations, like the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition (BAATC), decided to fight back. The BAATC’s goal is to help all of the anti-human trafficking organizations in the Bay Area to work together and so get more done. The BAATC categorizes organizations they work with into three categories; prevention, intervention and aftercare. The goal of prevention is to raise awareness and fight the crime before it even has a chance to begin.

... prevention and other organizations we work with are doing education aware ness, working with vulnerable populations like foster children or gangs. And then other organizations are... approaching it from our consumer buying power and their fair trade organizations... that are helping consumers understand that depending on what they buy, they could have slavery in the supply chain of their product (Wo).

Especially with a crime like human trafficking that is very high profit and is glorified by music and the TV, pimps and prostitutes often look like rock stars (Wo).

People who get involved in trafficking rarely know about the dark side of the crime, so educating people beforehand could make a massive difference.The crime is also rapidly shifting towards younger age groups, with many minors being victimized and teenagers working as pimps, which makes raising awareness more crucial than it has ever been before. In addition to awareness of sexual exploitation, it is important for the population to understand the effect their purchases have. The issue of forced labor and domestic servitude is constantly growing, but by supporting fair trade organizations through your purchases everyone can make a difference. Preventing human trafficking all together is essential, but what about the 27,000,000 slaves that are already being trafficked?

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Intervention, approaching and informing people that already in the business is also very crucial while against slavery.

[During intervention]... [BAATC] work[s] with the organizations that are investigating and rescuing trafficking victims... that’ll be... law enforcement, service providers like domestic violence shelters, and also some organizations that reach out to women who are in the streets in prostitution and are probably trafficking victims(Wo).

Some of the victims involved in human trafficking are locked up and physically forced to stay, but many are also trapped in emotional ways. Threats and violence play a huge role in the relationship between pimps and victims, and “even if [victims] are able to escape, many are unable to return home”(Gamino, 150).

This is why intervention plays such a huge role in the fight against trafficking victims need to know they have a way out. However, many of them are traumatized and very confused, and often wary of the help they are offered. According to Nicolas D Kristof, “pimps warn girls to distrust the police, and often they’re right”. Sadly, many of the victims who do seek help from law enforcement are treated roughly and may spend weeks in juvenile hall or jail. Instead of receiving the love and care they need, their needs remain unaddressed and they are punished for a very misunderstood crime.

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Another reason why awareness of human trafficking in law enforcement and government is also extremely important - even though laws have been passed to protect trafficking victims, many of these people are still mistreated. Especially the confusion between prostitution and sexual exploitation creates a barrier for many of the victims, which results in judgement and fear from both the victims and law enforcement.

BAATC training advocates to raise awareness, Š BAATC 17

Luckily, now more and more people understand the term human trafficking. Victims are beginning to receive the support they need to overcome this trauma, because “these girls deserve shelters, not jails” (Kristof).However, there are still major obstacles to overcome and specific needs to be addressed because of the trauma these victims have gone through. Safe houses specifically designed for human trafficking victims offer these people the kind of care and support they need, instead of just a place to stay - but what makes these safe houses so special and necessary?

If girls are in juvenile hall and they’re placed by... the judge into another type of boarding school or a group home... they can go and they can have a place to live, they’ll have food, they might even have an educational program... but if they’re not getting therapy for the very specific way they were victimized they’re not getting healed up in the way they need to be (Wilson).

The emotional trauma these victims have been through is completely distinct from other traumatic experiences, and many of them show signs of post traumatic stress disorder. This is why aftercare, the third category of BAACT, is so essential. Even though it is very costly and time consuming, since “aftercare involves the people who serve the survivors of trafficking and they require a long time of a lot of needs; counseling, medical care, legal services, job training [and] housing...”(Wo), it is needed to re-abolish slavery and help the victims move on with their lives. “Freeing slaves is one hurdle abolitionists have to clear, but keeping them free is another” (Abraham, 90), and even though prevention and intervention are aspects of human trafficking that must be focused on, this crime can’t be fought if we aren’t able to help the victims already been affected by trafficking to move on. But why are human trafficking safe houses the best way to do this?

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Freedom Summit human trafficki is a conference that brin ng organ g izations together s the Bay Area a , Š BAA ntiTC

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Chapter ii - f ighting the glorif ied crime

chapter ii - open arms, open doors

Human trafficking survivors often have a range of different emotions from guilt and hopelessness to shame and confusion. Many of them have been hidden from the world for years, during which some of them lost their childhood or fell behind on education. Even if some of the survivors have a home or some kind of program to go to, they’re tormented by memories and often don’t know what do next. The trauma they’ve experienced is unlike anything else, and without support and assistance from people who understand their situation, it is hard for a survivor to let go of the past. Exploiters have very specific psychological methods which often result in victims returning to their exploiters. Especially young girls often view their exploiters as rescuers, because while others treat the victim horribly the exploiter might be sweet and loving, causing victims to get very confused. They feel affectionate towards their exploiter, who keeps the ‘leash’ short enough to remain in control, but is nice enough to confuse the victims and form a sense of trust.

This type of exploiter is called a romeo pimp, and after being rescued victims might often return, since they might now feel belonging anywhere else. (Wilson)

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This is only one of the methods used to keep the victims around, and just like many of the other experiences victims went through, it needs to be dealt with for them to move on. In the Bay Area, we have two safe houses that specialize on human trafficking survivors - Freedom House and New Day for Children. Both of these organizations have a skilled and educated staff who know how to help trafficking victims and focus on their individual needs. Even though many other shelters or boarding schools do have great programs, it is hard for them to address human trafficking victims in the specific way that is necessary.

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A resident of New Day for Children enjoying a book, © New Day for Children

According to Jeanna Kim, a staff member at Freedom House, not dealing with every aspect of the victims trauma can turn out to be a major step back. “If there are certain issues that haven’t been dealt with then oftentimes [victims] will go back to what they know. And if all they can really grab ahold of is their previous oppressive situation then fighting against that urge to just return to something that they understand versus something that is right for them [because] it scary and new.” (Kim) The main focus of safe houses for trafficking victims is to help them to slowly deal and overcome the personal trauma each victim has. Because of the large need for shelters in general, time and resources are often limited meaning that a survivor might not get the counseling she or he needed.

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Games and Dinner at Freedom House during the Lunar New Year, ©Freedom House

Having specific issues dealt with is crucial for the well being of a survivor, and according to Richard Estes, “the best fighting chance [for victims of commercial sexual exploitation is] 24/7 residential care for a long period of time... This is not a quick-fix situation. It really is a rebuilding and remoulding of personality and character.” The staff of safe houses understand the needs of these survivors, and are ready to spend the time and resources needed for the survivors to recover - but how do these safe houses address survivors specific needs?

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Before anything else, safe houses evaluate the survivors’ situation and map out what their specific needs are. Depending on how long or around what age the person has been trafficked, there are various routes to take towards recovery. The victims are provided with psychological counseling like animal assisted therapy, basic health care and sometimes even education. In addition, safe houses also offer programs that are related to the victims interests like crafts and cooking.

(Kim)

Jewerly ma de by the r esidents of Freedom H ouse , ©Fre edom Hou se

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Animal ass isted thera py is a big survivors r part ecovery, © New Day fo of the dern r Chil-

hilNew Day for C t a ls il sk w e n Learning y for Children a D w e N © , n dre

It is important to let the survivors know that they have hope, and that they will be supported and encouraged to pursue their dreams. It is often hard for survivors to get access to the resources they need to move forward, and safe houses do their best to provide the needed resources. Each victim gets to plan their life and safe houses help them achieve the final goal - maybe they want to go to college, maybe they want a different kind of job.

Safe houses also work on gradually helping the survivors gain independence and a type of normality in their live. For example, “during holidays [safe houses] have special celebrations like anybody else would want to and cases like that volunteers also come in and help. It is kind of like a step towards normalization from their previous situation. You can’t just thrust somebody into a new situation.... it is kind of like baby steps.�(Kim) These baby steps that are needed to take for a victim to recover from trafficking are hard to take without the support of an educated organization. The need for safe houses is massive, but even the few that exist are making a tremendous impact on the lives of victims. Helping a survivor to move forward and live a life they dreamed of is one of the greatest gifts you can give.

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Conclusion

Modern day slavery is a crime that must be fought. Raising awareness and intervention are necessary for us to stop and prevent the crime from happening, but helping people already involved is just as crucial. Looking back to the Civil War the four years spent in battle seems short compared to the amount of time spent helping former slaves after abolition. Because of problems like tenant farming and the lack of rights for former slaves, many of them struggled to get back on their feet.

We’re facing the same issue today, but since trafficking is illegal, survivors must be assisted immediately. If we can’t at least begin to help the 27 million slaves rehabilitate, how are we going to fight this crime? Many of the survivors face a lifelong struggle to overcome the horrible experience, and we need organizations and people to support them on their journey. The lack of safe houses is so concerning, and we are all needed - even if only through smart purchases or donations - in helping the survivors move on and live their lives.

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Works Cited Abraham, Priya. “Despite Abolitionists Effort, Human Trafficking Thirves.” Human Trafficking. Ed.Christina Fisanick. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Print.

Chuang, Stephanie. “Sex Trafficking, Abductions, Sad Reality in Bay Area”. NBC Bay Area, 29 Jan. 2013. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.

Estes, Richard. www.NewDayForChildren.com. Hand out.

Gamino, Carollann. “Victims of Human Trafficking Are Not to Blame for Their Misery” Human Trafficking. Ed.Christina Fisanick. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Print.

Kim, Jeanna. Personal Interview. 17 Mar. 2013 Kristof, Nicholas D.. “Not Quite a Teen, Yet Sold For Sex.” The New York Times Day 18 April 2012. Print.

Swire, Hugo. “Human Trafficking Reception” Foreign Office. London. IN. 24 October 2012.

United Nations Global. “Can Governments Reduce Human Trafficking?” Human Trafficking. Ed.Christina Fisanick. Greenhaven Press, 2010. Print.

Wilson, Kathy. Personal interview. 22 Feb. 2013.

Wo, Brian. Personal interview. 4 Mar. 2013.

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The living room in Freedom House, Š Freedom House

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