CHILD SEX TOURISM
Child sex tourism is a form of exploitation that often takes place off U.S. soil but at the hands of U.S. citizens and legal residents. Many Western men travel to Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand, and pay for sex with children. The humanitarian organization World Vision, which collaborates with the U.S. State Department, HHS, and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), estimates that there are 2 million children enslaved worldwide in the commercial sex trade. It also estimates that U.S. citizens make up 25 percent of child-sex tourists globally and up to 80 percent of child-sex tourists in Latin America (World Vision, 2009). In response to the exploitation of children via sex tourism by U.S. citizens and residents, the U.S. government enacted the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to End the Exploitation of Children Today (PROTECT) Act of 2003, which grants the United States jurisdiction to prosecute its citizens and legal permanent residents who go abroad and pay to have sex with a minor. It does not matter whether the client had knowledge that the child was a minor. Convicted sex tourists face up to 30 years’ imprisonment (U.S. Department of Justice, 2006b). Another program, called Operation Twisted Traveler, was launched in February 2009. The program is a collaborative effort by ICE, the Department of Justice, and law-enforcement officials in Cambodia to identify, arrest, and prosecute U.S. citizens and legal residents who travel to Cambodia for child-sex tourism (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009).
As a result of information provided to ICE by the International Justice Mission and Action pour les Enfants, three U.S. citizens were indicted for alleged acts of sex tourism in September 2009. Jack Louis Sporich (75 years old) and Erik Leonardus Peeters (41 years old) were each charged with three counts of having sexual contact with three Cambodian boys, while Ronald Gerard Boyajian (49 years old) was indicted on one count of sexual contact with a 10-year-old Vietnamese girl. If they are found guilty the men face up to 30 years’ imprisonment for each count of sex tourism. Reports say that Sporich would drive his motorbike in the city of Siem Reap, tossing Cambodian currency as a means of catching the attention of children (U.S. Department of Justice, 2009).
WHAT HAPPENS TO VICTIMS AFTER TRAFFICKING
Even after rescue or escape, the victim experience is far from over. One concern among social service providers is the large number of persons who are found in agent raids, arrested, and deported without a proper evaluation as to whether they are trafficking victims. Also, internal victims are not typically the focus of anti-trafficking efforts and are marginalized as a result. In 2009, HHS-funded outreach programs identified over 700 potential foreign trafficking victims plus more than 1,000 internal trafficking victims. It is unknown how many of the latter were referred to law enforcement or received services (U.S. Department of State, 2010). Additionally, children continue to be arrested for crimes associated with their trafficking experience. In 2008 at least 643 females and 206 males under the age of 18 were reportedly arrested for prostitution and commercialized vice (U.S. Department of State, 2010). Moreover, although the TVPA provides a federal framework for victim protection, safeguards for trafficking victims are not consistent at state and local levels. Forty-two states have enacted, and are slowly beginning to use, specific anti-trafficking statutes. Only 9 states offer state public benefits to trafficking victims; 18 states permit victims to bring civil lawsuits in state court; 18 states have instituted mandatory restitution; and 9 states require that victims’ names and/or locations be kept confidential (U.S. Department of State, 2010).
The United States falls short in several areas when it comes to addressing the post-trafficking experience of victims. These areas include the underutilization of U and T visas (discussed below), the pressure for adult victims to cooperate with law enforcement in order to obtain social services, and the less-than-adequate relationship between social service providers and law enforcement. The Department of Health and Human Services is the only federal agency authorized to grant eligibility letters to minors and certification to adults who are foreign trafficking victims. The agency issued eligibility letters to 50 foreign minors and certified 330 foreign adult victims in 2009, which is an increase from the 31 foreign minors and 286 foreign adult victims granted eligibility or certification in 2008 (HHS, 2009; U.S. Department of State, 2009c, 2010). In 2010 the agency issued 92 eligibility letters to foreign minors and certified 449 foreign adult victims (U.S. Department of State, 2011). Certification and eligibility letters allow victims access to federal services and benefits similar to those received by refugees. With the objective of skill development and self-sufficiency, minors are provided care through the Unaccompanied Refugee Minors program. United States citizens and lawful permanent residents do not need to be certified or to receive a letter of eligibility to obtain services (HHS, 2009; U.S. Department of State, 2009c).
The United States offers immigration relief through continued-presence status to potential trafficking witnesses during the investigation and prosecution of their trafficker(s). In 2008, 225 requests and 101 extensions for continued-presence status were granted (HHS, 2009; U.S. Department of State, 2009c). In 2009, continued-presence status was issued to 299 potential victim-witnesses. In 2010 continued-presence status was issued to 186 potential victim-witnesses (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2011). Victims can also obtain relief through the U visa (U nonimmigrant status) and T visa (T nonimmigrant status). The U visa is created for immigrants who are victims of crimes. It allows visa holders to apply to become lawful permanent residents and eventually U.S. citizens. The success of a U visa application turns on whether the victim suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of one or more of a specific list of crimes. Trafficking, rape, torture, sexual assault, sexual exploitation, prostitution, kidnapping, and false imprisonment are among the offenses included. Applicants must also obtain certification by a federal, state, or local government official that the petitioner is likely to be helpful to him or her in the investigation or prosecution of the criminal act of which the applicant is a victim (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009a, 2009c). This visa program seems ineffective in multiple respects. First, it is underutilized. Although Congress created the U visa in 2000, the first visa was not issued until eight years later. At the end of 2008, 13,300 people had filed U visa applications, but only 65 visas were issued, and 20 applications were denied. The number of visas issued is particularly small considering that the Department of Homeland Security can issue up to 10,000 U visas annually, though interim benefits were granted to 10,800 applicants while final decisions on their applications were pending. Second, it is not uncommon for applicants to be placed in detention while awaiting decisions. This practice is in direct conflict with the intent of the TVPA, as it treats the applicant as a criminal instead of a potential victim. It also creates a “race against the clock” situation as to what will happen first—deportation or protection. As of July 2009 roughly 50 U visa applicants were being held in immigration detention centers throughout the nation (Gorman, 2009a, 2009b). Third, the burden on victims to assist law enforcement results in potential obstacles (discussed below).
The T visa provides immigration protection to victims of severe forms of trafficking and allows visa holders to apply to become lawful permanent residents and eventually U.S. citizens.
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The Department of Homeland Security is authorized to issue up to 5,000 T visas annually. As of October 2008 the department received only 2,300 T visa applications—1,308 of which were approved, 709 were denied or withdrawn, and 212 remained pending. In 2008, 247 T visas were granted to foreign victims of trafficking identified in the United States, and 171 T visas were granted to immediate family members of those persons (Crary, 2005; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009b; U.S. Department of State, 2009c). In 2009, 313 T visas were granted to foreign victims, and 273 T visas were issued to immediate family members of victims. In 2010, T visas were granted to 447 victims and 349 immediate family members of victims. Roughly 500 and 518 T visa holders, including victims and their family members, became lawful permanent residents in 2009 and 2010, respectively (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2011).
Strict criteria used for issuance of the T visa may be partly responsible for its underutilization. One concern among social service providers is the pressure exerted on victims to assist law enforcement. Since the T visa is more likely to be approved for an adult victim if he or she cooperates with law enforcement, trafficking victims over the age of 18 are encouraged to do so. The language on the I-914, Application for T Nonimmigrant Status, reads: “I have complied with requests from Federal, State, or local law enforcement authorities for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking. (If ‘No,’ explain the circumstances.)” (U.S. Department of Homeland Security, 2009b). A victim who has just escaped or was recently rescued from a trafficking experience may simply not be in the right state of mind to help investigators. If interviewed before he or she is ready, the victim may not reveal critical details the police need to pursue the case. Factors in play may include mistrust of police, language barriers, loyalty to the victim’s traffickers, psychological reasons such as post-traumatic stress disorder, fear of appearing culpable, and fear of reprisals by traffickers or those in the traffickers’ network. Alia El-Sawi, a former Anti-Human Trafficking Program coordinator at Tapestri: The Refugee and Immigrant Coalition against Domestic Violence in Atlanta, Georgia, says victims are more apt to cooperate with law enforcement when the pressure to do so is temporarily lifted:
Most of the time we give the victim a certain amount of time when we don’t visit the topic of prosecuting his or her trafficker(s). After a while, we bring it up in a gentle manner and explain to the victim why it is helpful to talk to law enforcement, so that the traffickers are not getting away with continuing to victimize others. Usually at this point the victim is interested in helping law enforcement investigate and prosecute his or her trafficker(s).
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Many social service providers would like to see cooperation with law enforcement eliminated as one of the prerequisites for victim services and visa eligibility. Kavitha Sreeharsha, executive director at Global Freedom Center in San Francisco, argues that the mandate to aid law enforcement actually hinders the prosecutorial process. She also holds that victims should first be provided with immigration protection. “Providing them with immigration protection without such a requirement will enable crime victims to first rebuild their lives. If they receive such services immediately, we expect that they would eventually cooperate on their own but in a way that would be far more effective.”
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WHAT HAPPENS TO TRAFFICKERS
Human trafficking provides large profits for traffickers and those associated with trafficking networks. If a trafficking victim forced into the commercial sex industry in the United States must meet a quota of $500 a night, the person exploiting this individual can obtain roughly $182,000 a year, tax-free (Frundt, 2005). The more persons trafficked and exploited, the more profit gained by traffickers and their associates. From a cost-benefit analysis, trafficking is low risk and has high profit margins. Profits commonly range from $1 million to $8 million, and detection of abuse is difficult (Richard, 2000; iAbolish, American Anti-Slavery Group, 2006). Even once authorities suspect criminal activity, demonstrating the use of coercion or force is challenging.
While stringent sentencing does occur (see
United States v. Carreto et al
., 2006), many traffickers face minimal punishment. In the Bennu case, the defendants, Ibrahim and Motelib, pleaded guilty to holding a person in involuntary servitude, obtaining labor through unlawful force or coercion, harboring an illegal alien, and conspiracy. They received prison sentences of 3 years and 1.8 years, respectively. Additionally, the defendants were ordered to pay Bennu $76,137.60 in restitution. The defendants, foreign nationals, were to face deportation proceedings once they completed their sentences (Srisavasdi, 2006).
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Gray, the primary trafficker of 15-year-old Sarah, pleaded guilty to two counts of child prostitution, two counts of sexual assault, one count of kidnapping, and one count of aggravated assault. He was sentenced to 35 years in prison (Park, 2008). None of the defendants in this Arizona case were charged with trafficking offenses. Perhaps prosecutors felt that they would be more successful, or that the defendants would receive harsher sentencing, if they pursued tried and true charges such as sexual assault, child prostitution, aggravated assault, and kidnapping. At the time of the July 2006 arrests, Arizona’s anti-trafficking law had been in effect for nearly a year.
There continue to be more criminal convictions of sex traffickers than of forced-labor traffickers. For instance, in 2008 the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorneys’ Offices secured 77 convictions in 27 sex-trafficking and 13 forced-labor cases (U.S. Department of State, 2009c). The good news is that the number of convicted forced-labor traffickers may be increasing. In 2009 there were 47 convictions in 22 sex-trafficking and 21 labor-trafficking cases, and in 2010 there were 141 convictions in 71 sex-trafficking and 32 labor-trafficking cases (U.S. Department of State, 2010, 2011). The average sentence for convicted traffickers may also be on the rise. In 2008 the average sentence faced by those found guilty of trafficking offenses in the United States was 9.3 years’ imprisonment compared to 13 years in 2009. However, the average sentence decreased to 11.8 years in 2011 (U.S. Department of State, 2009c, 2010, 2012).