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Child Labor Trafficking in the United States: a Hidden Crime

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Child Labor Trafficking in the United States: a Hidden Crime Social Inclusion (ISSN: 2183–2803) 2017, Volume 5, Issue 2, Pages 59–68 DOI: 10.17645/si.v5i2.914 Article Child Labor Trafficking in the United States: A Hidden Crime Katherine Kaufka Walts Center for the Human Rights of Children, Loyola University Chicago, 60660 Chicago, USA; E-Mail: [email protected] Submitted: 10 February 2017 | Accepted: 24 March 2017 | Published: 23 June 2017 Abstract Emerging research brings more attention to labor trafficking in the United States. However, very few efforts have been made to better understand or respond to labor trafficking of minors. Cases of children forced to work as domestic ser- vants, in factories, restaurants, peddling candy or other goods, or on farms may not automatically elicit suspicion from an outside observer as compared to a child providing sexual services for money. In contrast to sex trafficking, labor trafficking is often tied to formal economies and industries, which often makes it more difficult to distinguish from ”legitimate” work, including among adolescents. This article seeks to provide examples of documented cases of child labor trafficking in the United States, and to provide an overview of systemic gaps in law, policy, data collection, research, and practice. These areas are currently overwhelmingly focused on sex trafficking, which undermines the policy intentions of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (2000), the seminal statute criminalizing sex and labor trafficking in the United States, its subse- quent reauthorizations, and international laws and protocols addressing human trafficking. Keywords adolescent; child; child trafficking; crime; human trafficking; labor trafficking; involuntary servitude; USA Issue This article is part of the issue “Perspectives on Human Trafficking and Modern Forms of Slavery”, edited by Siddharth Kara (Harvard Kennedy School, USA). © 2017 by the author; licensee Cogitatio (Lisbon, Portugal). This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribu- tion 4.0 International License (CC BY). 1. Introduction of children, or by force, fraud or coercion.” These new statutes attempt to expand anti-slavery statutes, partic- Human trafficking has received international and domes- ularly involuntary servitude (Sale into Involuntary Servi- tic attention as a “growing problem,” when in fact, the ex- tude, 1948), and include a broader range of tactics per- ploitation of people has been an unfortunate reality for petrators use to compel and coerce individuals to per- ages. In the United States, the term “human trafficking” form labor or services, including sexual services. Most has been codified under the adoption of the Protocol to notably, the TVPA expands previous interpretations of Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, es- coercion to include physical harm, but also psycholog- pecially Women and Children (Palermo Protocol) (2000) ical and financial harm. These tactics can include psy- and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 chological manipulation, deceit, trickery, false informa- and its subsequent reauthorizations (2003, 2005, 2008, tion, financial exploitation, and abuse of the legal pro- 2013). The policy intentions of the TVPA, in parallel to cess. This legislation also provides various mechanisms the United Nations’ Palermo protocol, are to protect vic- to protect victims through appropriation of funds for spe- tims, to prosecute perpetrators, and to prevent both la- cialized services for victims, protections under criminal bor and sex trafficking of all persons, including children and immigration systems for victims, immigration relief and adults, citizens and foreign nationals. The TVPA cre- for undocumented victims, as well as appropriations for ated new crimes to help prosecute perpetrators under research to better understand the dynamics of human the United States federal criminal code, including “forced trafficking in the United States. All states in the United labor,” “trafficking with respect to peonage, slavery, in- States have passed similar laws, criminalizing both sex voluntary servitude, or forced labor,” and “sex trafficking and labor trafficking. Social Inclusion, 2017, Volume 5, Issue 2, Pages 59–68 59 The challenges of identifying prevalence estimates have an effect of undermining efforts to respond to child of human trafficking, both sex and labor, are well doc- labor trafficking occurring in the United States. This ar- umented (Finklea, Fernandes-Alcantara, & Siskin, 2015; ticle seeks to provide context of the plight of child la- Stransky & Finkelhor, 2008), and estimates measuring oc- bor trafficking victims in the United States by first pro- currences of human trafficking in the United States vary viding an overview and examples of child labor traffick- substantially (Gibbs, Hardison Walters, Lutnick, Miller, ing cases in the United States. It then addresses the & Kulckman, 2015; Goodey, 2008). The Polaris Project, deficiencies in policy, data collection, and research ad- which manages the National Human Trafficking Resource dressing the phenomenon of child labor trafficking, and Center Hotline (NHTRC) as part of a partnership with the concludes with recommendations of how to better pro- United States government, reports that in 2015, 5,973 tect and respond to child labor trafficking victims in the cases of human trafficking were reported. The majority United Sates. While the article focuses exclusively on the of calls to the NHTRC over the last five years continue to experiences of the United States, the observations, dis- be for sex trafficking, with 33% of all sex trafficking re- cussion, and recommendations may be helpful to other ported cases made to the hotline involved children ver- parts of the world. sus 16% of labor trafficking reported cases involving chil- dren. Between December 2008 and March 2017, 1,090 2. Who Are Child Labor Trafficking Victims in the cases of labor trafficking involving at least one minor United States? have been reported to the NHTRC, indicating 20% of la- bor trafficking cases reported to the NHTRC since it be- 2.1. Brief History of Child Labor Exploitation and gan operating involved minors (E. Gerrior, personal com- Trafficking munication, May 15, 2017). While the United States anti-trafficking statutes have There is a long, unfortunate historical legacy of children codified crimes of both sex and labor trafficking, sex (boys and girls) being exploited for labor in the United trafficking continues to dominate the narrative of hu- States. In early American history, much labor was orga- man trafficking in the United States, particularly around nized under a system of bonded labor known as inden- children. Sex trafficking investigations and prosecutions tured servitude. This typically lasted for several years, and of children continue to outnumber trafficking of chil- it was often a means of using labor to pay the costs of dren for labor (Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and transporting people—including large numbers of children Labor, 2016). One cannot presume that tips, investiga- and youth from England northern Europe—to the thir- tions, or prosecutions alone reflect actual cases. The teen colonies of the early Untied States. An indentured long history of various forms of labor exploitation, includ- servant was a worker under contract to an employer for ing indentured servitude, involuntary servitude, debt a fixed period of time, typically 4–7 years, in exchange for bondage, and more recently, labor trafficking cases in their transportation, food, clothing, lodging and other ne- the United States demonstrate that these cases, in fact, cessities. The mortality rates for these servants were very do exist, and that there may be other reasons for the high. Their periods of indenture were often extended for lack of identification, reporting, investigations, and pros- various reasons, such as fines and costs in association ecutions of such cases. Additionally, there is a clear con- with “maintenance” (food, shelter, etc.; Mintz, 2006). By trast in the numbers of cases reported by governmental the 18th century, courts and legislatures racialized slavery and public agencies, versus non-governmental organiza- to apply nearly exclusively to Black Africans and people tions that needs to be explored. In a 2011 study, non- of African descent, and occasionally to Native Americans. governmental organizations reported identifying more Young people, alongside adults, toiled in the fields and in- labor cases, with 64% of the victims served being victims side homes as domestic slaves. In 1862, President Abra- of labor trafficking, and 10% as victims of both labor and ham Lincoln issued the “Emancipation Proclamation” ex- sex trafficking. Law enforcement, in contrast, the same ecutive order, which was followed by the adoption of the year reported identifying 83% of their caseload as sex 13th Amendment in 1865, officially abolishing and pro- trafficking cases (Banks & Kyckelhahn, 2011). hibiting slavery and involuntary servitude. There have been an increasing number of legislative Case law and policy grappling with the definition of in- bills and initiatives introduced to combat human traf- voluntary servitude post-13th Amendment in the United ficking, primarily targeting the sex trafficking of United States demonstrates that children were not immune to States citizen youth. The bills address financing services labor exploitation and forms of slavery. One of the earli- for youth who are trafficked, increase enforcement mea- est examples were the
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