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Human Trafficking in Minnesota 2008

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Human Trafficking in Minnesota 2008 Human Trafficking in Minnesota A Report to the Minnesota Legislature September 2008 Prepared by Minnesota Department of Public Safety Minnesota Office of Justice Programs Minnesota Statistical Analysis Center Human Trafficking in Minnesota Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Legislative Requirement 3 Introduction 4 Human Trafficking in Minnesota — Service Providers 7 Human Trafficking in Minnesota — Law Enforcement 9 Human Trafficking in Minnesota — Nurses 14 Human Trafficking in Minnesota — Native American Victims 14 Conclusion 15 Appendix A 16 Footnotes 23 Executive Summary In 2005, the Minnesota legislature passed Minnesota Statute §299A.785, requiring the Department of Public The Statewide Human Trafficking Task Safety (DPS) to complete annual studies on the extent Force defines human trafficking as and type of human trafficking occurring in our state. The first annual report was completed in September recruitment, transportation, transfer, 2006 and this current report is the third in response harboring, enticement, provision to that legislation. obtaining or receipt of any person by Human trafficking, by its very nature, is a hidden crime any means for the purpose or facilitation whose victims often go unidentified, misidentified or of sexual or economic exploitation. undiscovered. In addition, when victims are correctly identified and assisted, there is no systematic and This definition presumes that: centralized way to count them. Therefore, assessing ■ traffickers exploit vulnerable people the level of victimization in Minnesota is difficult. and victims of human trafficking can To better understand this issue, online surveys be any age, gender or nationality, were completed with three different groups across Minnesota: service providers (N = 111), police chiefs ■ human trafficking is exploitation-based and county sheriffs (N = 209), and nurses (N = 120).1 and not transportation-based, and Overall, not quite half of the Minnesota service ■ providers surveyed (47%) have served a victim of the deception, fraud and coercion human trafficking, while only six percent of nurses inherent in human trafficking makes have treated one. Ten percent of Minnesota law victim consent irrelevant and not a enforcement respondents have either had a human defense for those charged with trafficking investigation or arrested someone for a human trafficking crime. trafficking crimes. The trafficking in persons for labor or sexual exploi- Human Trafficking Arrests, Charges tation is an international problem requiring a compre- Executive Summary and Convictions hensive and coordinated international response. While most victims originate in countries with high poverty At the time of the survey, police chiefs and county rates, unstable governments and other challenges to sheriffs were working 29 human trafficking investi- human rights, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500 men, gations. Law enforcement reported 34 labor trafficking women and children are trafficked into the United investigations in 2006 and 2007, 57 arrests, and 20 States each year. However, trafficking is not only an charges filed. The number of sex trafficking investi- international crime; each year, millions of people are gations in 2006 and 2007 was 34, with 32 arrests and trafficked within their own countries, including the 30 charges filed. United States where citizens are forced into servitude, prostitution and pornography. Human Trafficking Victims Currently, the United States federal government is Service providers and nurses report the following working to address this issue through funding and numbers of human trafficking victims both at the time programming designed to prevent trafficking, prosecute of the online survey and in the past three years: traffickers and protect victims. Governmental support is provided by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. This act was re-authorized in 2003 and again in 2005. 1 Minnesota Statistical Analysis Center September 2008 Labor Trafficking Victims trafficking (poverty, isolation and lack of opportunity) Service Providers Nurses are present on reservations and in Native communities. For these reasons, the human trafficking survey Adult Male 5 current 0 current contains a specific series of questions about Native Victims 39 past three years 1 past three years American victims of sexual trafficking. Twelve service Adult Female 32 current — providers reported experiences with Native American Victims 47 past three years victims. A total of 79 victims were identified — 46 women and 33 girls. These victims experienced a Child Victims 2 current — variety of movement patterns both to and from reser- 7 past three years vations and between urban and rural areas across the state. Respondents note that working with Native victims Sex Trafficking Victims requires attention to the needs that accompany victims experiencing inter-generational exploitation and prosti- Service Providers Nurses tution, culturally competent, sensitive interventions and Adult Male 1 current — awareness of what trafficking is and education to those Victims 4 past three years at risk of victimization. Adult Female 210 current 0 current Executive Summary Victims 564 past three years 2 past three years Trafficking as a Growing Problem Child Victims 64 current — in Minnesota 163 past three years Whether Human Trafficking is a Growing Problem in Minnesota 100% Trafficking victims in Minnesota have been identified 33% 58% 70% from all over the state, the country and the world. 90% Domestically, victims of labor and sex trafficking have 80% been reported from around Minnesota, including 70% Anoka, Hennepin, Ramsey and Wright counties, and 60% 67% Duluth. Midwest cities and states mentioned include 50% Wisconsin, Iowa, Chicago and South Dakota. Other 40% parts of the country mentioned include the states and 8% 30% 34% cities of Colorado, Florida, Las Vegas, New Jersey, New 12% York, South Carolina, San Francisco, Tennessee and 20% Texas. Internationally, labor trafficking victims in 10% 18% Minnesota have come from Mexico, China, Guatemala 0% and Russia. A variety of Central and South American, Service Providers Law Enforcement Nurses Asian and African countries were also mentioned. Yes No Don't Know Labor trafficking victims are exploited in a variety More than two-thirds (67%) of service providers, of manners; services providers and law enforcement about one-third of law enforcement (34%) and 18 most often mentioned victims exploited as domestic percent of nurses consider human trafficking to be workers, in restaurants and in food processing a growing problem in Minnesota. However, about six facilities. Factory-based labor exploitation was also in ten law enforcement respondents (58%) and seven mentioned by respondents. in ten nurses (70%) don’t know whether trafficking is a growing concern for the state. Native American women and girls experience higher rates of sexual assault than other women, and often Those who consider this to be a growing problem cite many of the conditions that put people at risk for a variety of reasons. This year, respondents noted that September 2008 Minnesota Statistical Analysis Center 2 the economic downturn puts women at risk for exploi- gather information and can lead to discrepancies that tation as they have a more difficult time supporting are difficult to understand or explain (See page 15). themselves and their children. In addition, respondents Although this report has clearly served the purpose believe that the current economic downturn has led of exposing the issue of human trafficking as a crime unscrupulous employers to exploit workers who are not occurring in our state, it is recommended that the in the country legally. Law enforcement, in particular, report be required less frequently and/or that a system noted the intersection between increased immigration of reporting human trafficking victims be developed. and labor trafficking. Other reasons cited by respon- dents for increased trafficking include the vulnerability of runaway and homeless youth, and Native American Legislative Requirement girls and women to exploitation. Respondents also This third annual report is in response to Minnesota noted that the hidden nature of trafficking is one Statutes 299A.785 requiring the Minnesota Department reason that it continues to grow but conversely, that of Public Safety to complete annual studies on human the increase in public awareness also contributes to trafficking in Minnesota. Specifically, the statute requires why it is a growing problem in our state in that greater this report include: awareness results in more identified victims. ■ Numbers of arrests, prosecutions and successful Seven in ten (70%) Minnesota law enforcement convictions of traffickers and those committing respondents do not believe sex or labor trafficking trafficking related crimes. is a problem in their community. ■ Information on the number of trafficking victims, Very few respondents (2% service providers, 1% law demographics, method of recruitment and method of enforcement and 0% nurses) report feeling extremely discovery. knowledgeable about the issue of human trafficking ■ Trafficking routes and patterns, states or countries of and all three respondent groups highlighted the need origin, and transit states or countries. for training and education to better understand the issue and to find, identify and serve victims. In fact, ■ Methods of transportations used in trafficking. over half (56%) of law enforcement respondents ■ Social factors that
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