Sex Trafficking: a Gender-Based Violation of Civil Rights
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U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS SEX TRAFFICKING: A GENDER-BASED CIVIL RIGHTS VIOLATION BRIEFING REPORT U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS Washington, DC 20425 Official Business SEPTEMBER 2014 Penalty for Private Use $300 Visit us on the Web: www.usccr.gov U.S. COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS MEMBERS OF THE COMMISSION The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, Martin R. Castro, Chairman bipartisan agency established by Congress in 1957. It is Abigail Thernstrom, Vice Chair (term expired November 2013) directed to: Roberta Achtenberg Todd F. Gaziano (term expired December 2013) • Investigate complaints alleging that citizens are Gail L. Heriot being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their Peter N. Kirsanow race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national David Kladney origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices. Michael Yaki • Study and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution Marlene Sallo, Staff Director because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice. U.S. Commission on Civil Rights 1331 Pennsylvania Ave NW Suite 1150 • Appraise federal laws and policies with respect to Washington, DC 20425 discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or (202) 376-7700 national origin, or in the administration of justice. www.usccr.gov • Serve as a national clearinghouse for information in respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin. • Submit reports, findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress. • Issue public service announcements to discourage discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws. This report is available on CD/DVD in ASCII Text, Adobe PDF, and Microsoft Word 2010. Please call (202) 376-8128. You may download this report from www.usccr.gov Sex Trafficking: A Gender-Based Violation of Civil Rights A Briefing Before The United States Commission on Civil Rights Held in Washington, DC Briefing Report Letter of Transmittal President Barack Obama Vice President Joe Biden Speaker of the House John Boehner The United States Commission on Civil Rights (the “Commission”) is pleased to transmit this report, Sex Trafficking: A Gender-Based Violation of Civil Rights. A panel of experts briefed members of the Commission on April 13, 2012 to examine the federal government’s response to this issue of human trafficking from a gender-based discrimination perspective. The panelists discussed how the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) does not list trafficking as a major crime category, how the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) does not collect statistics on the scope of trafficking, and how difficult it is to collect and track accurate data on the prevalence of sex trafficking of minors versus adults. Based on that discussion, the Commission developed the findings and recommendations that are included in this report. Among its findings, the Commission notes that the definitions of what is sex trafficking differ among United States executive agencies and state and local law enforcement authorities. Testimony showed that sex trafficking is clearly a violation of gender-based civil and human rights that enslaves women and girls in commercial sex and is rooted in gender-based discrimination. The Commission also noted that testimony showed that sex trafficking also enslaves men and boys, particularly gay and transgender individuals, in commercial sex and is discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and is also rooted in social exclusion. The Commission recommends that a model state law on trafficking be developed. The Commission also recommends that the federal government develop standard definitions of “sex trafficking” and related terms with input from involved federal agencies, state and local law enforcement entities, and the advocacy and scholarly sectors. In addition, the Commission suggests that the FBI should list trafficking as a major crime category; and HHS should collect statistics on the scope of trafficking, including a percentage of victims. For the Commission, Martin R. Castro Chairman Table of Contents i Contents EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ........................................................................................................III BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................................5 SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS ...............................................................................................7 Panel One Presentations ...............................................................................................................7 Maggie Wynne.........................................................................................................................7 Greg Zoeller.............................................................................................................................9 Discussion...................................................................................................................................11 Panel Two Presentations.............................................................................................................15 Bridgette Carr ........................................................................................................................15 Salvador Cicero .....................................................................................................................16 Merrill Matthews ...................................................................................................................18 Karen Hughes ........................................................................................................................19 Discussion...................................................................................................................................20 Panel Three Presentations...........................................................................................................26 Mary Ellison ..........................................................................................................................26 Amy Rassen ...........................................................................................................................27 Rhacel Parrenas .....................................................................................................................28 Tina Frundt ............................................................................................................................29 Discussion...................................................................................................................................30 FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ..............................................................................39 Findings ......................................................................................................................................39 Recommendations ......................................................................................................................43 COMMISSIONERS’ STATEMENTS AND REBUTTALS....................................................47 Statement of Chairman Martin R. Castro joined by Commissioner Michael Yaki....................47 Statement of Commissioner Roberta Achtenberg with the concurrences of Chairman Martin R. Castro and Commissioner Michael Yaki ..................................................51 Statement and Rebuttal of Commissioner Gail Heriot ...............................................................65 PANELISTS’ WRITTEN STATEMENTS ...............................................................................91 Maggie Wynne ...........................................................................................................................91 ii Sex Trafficking: A Gender-Based Violation of Civil Rights Bridgette Carr .............................................................................................................................96 Salvador Cicero ........................................................................................................................100 Merrill Matthews ......................................................................................................................108 Karen Hughes ...........................................................................................................................113 Mary Ellison .............................................................................................................................117 Amy Rassen..............................................................................................................................128 Rhacel Parrenas ........................................................................................................................136 PANELISTS’ BIOGRAPHIES.................................................................................................139 Maggie Wynne .........................................................................................................................139 Greg Zoeller..............................................................................................................................139 Bridgette Carr ...........................................................................................................................140