Combating human trafficking and modern-day slavery TEN YEARS OF IMPACT | 2002–2012 Polaris Project is named after the North Star that guided slaves towards freedom along the Underground Railroad. Since our founding in 2002, Polaris Project has been guided by a singular vision: a world without slavery. TRAFFICKERS PROFIT Today, Polaris Project is changing how communities fight all forms of BY EXPLOITING human trafficking. Founded with the belief that everyday people can VULNERABLE PEOPLE come together to do extraordinary things, Polaris Project is building a nationwide network to combat trafficking and serves the full range of FOR COMMERCIAL SEX its victims: American citizens and foreign nationals, men and women, OR LABOR. THEY MUST children and adults. Our expert knowledge of trafficking networks BE STOPPED. around the world is sought by top law enforcement officers, elected officials, business leaders, and service providers. By successfully pushing for stronger federal and state laws, operating the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline, conducting trainings, and providing vital services to our clients, Polaris Project is creating long-term solutions that will eradicate modern-day slavery. I am a survivor of human trafficking. I was heartbroken, confused and lonely. Without Polaris Project my life was going to be destroyed. Today my heart is full and I am proud of who I am. What I want is more support and strong justice for victims and survivors like me. —nATASHA, A D.C. CLIENT FACT FACT Note: In the interest According to the United It has been estimated that of our clients’ safety Nations, more than 12 more than 100,000 minors and privacy, we have million people worldwide are in the commercial sex changed the names of are trafficked for commercial trade in the United States. any client mentioned sex or forced labor. and none of the images FACT in this report represent FACT The possibility of ending actual Polaris Project Human trafficking is modern-day slavery is real. clients. estimated to be a $32 billion industry. 1 Messages from Our Leaders Dear Friends, Since Polaris Project was founded ten years ago, we have It’s hard to believe that 10 years have passed. When we taken extraordinary strides to combat the scourge of traf- founded Polaris Project in 2002, we envisioned a world ficking that exists in our communities. We have support- where every day citizens could take simple steps to fight ed thousands of trafficking survivors through our hotline human trafficking. We believed that abolition in the and client services program. We have helped pass dozens grassroots spirit of the Underground Railroad was pos- of state bills to reduce trafficking. We have trained tens sible. Ten years later, we can say with certainty that this of thousands of people to recognize the signs of traffick- vision is a reality. ing and we have built a significant network of grassroots Whether you have been with us since the beginning activists to help us expand our impact even further. or have recently begun to support Polaris Project, we There is an energy and enthusiasm that permeates Polaris thank you. Our supporters know that an investment in Project’s offices, because we can see that our day-to-day Polaris Project is an investment in the broader anti- work is leading to real results. Law enforcement officers trafficking field. Since our founding days, our holistic are shutting down more brothels and other trafficking strategies to combat modern-day slavery were simple: locations. State and federal courts are prosecuting more Change individual lives, strengthen laws, and build a traffickers. More funding is available for local social ser- movement to transform the way communities respond vice agencies to provide desperately needed assistance to to slavery in our own neighborhoods. trafficking survivors. With your support, these strategies are working. Today, None of this would be possible without your passion and the United States has a stronger infrastructure of active support of Polaris Project’s work. Yet, our fight continues. law enforcement, social service providers, and com- Millions of people still need our help. munity organizations that are working together to end trafficking. Polaris Project is poised to build on these Every day, we ask ourselves how we can eradicate human accomplishments and launch bold strategies that will trafficking fully and permanently. In the next ten years, fundamentally change the criminal markets for slavery. we are committed to strengthening and expanding the foundation so that we can protect even more survivors As co-founders and on behalf of the Board of Directors, and ensure that even more perpetrators are caught and we are excited for your partnership as we enter a new prosecuted. decade of innovation. Thank you for supporting the first ten years of Polaris Sincerely, Project. Please join us for the next ten. Sincerely, Derek Ellerman Katherine Chon Co-Founder, Co-Founder, 2 Board Chairperson Board Emeritus Bradley Myles Executive Director & CEO Polaris Project Building a Movement with a Bold Idea D uring their senior year at Brown Polaris Project’s central goal was to create University, Katherine Chon and Derek long-term solutions that would change the Ellerman read a newspaper article describing underlying systems that allow human traffick- the horrific conditions of a brothel located ing to occur. Katherine and Derek’s program- near their apartments. The brothel had been matic strategy was grounded in an analysis of disguised as a massage parlor. But inside the human trafficking as a market-based phenom- building, police officers had found six Asian enon driven by two primary factors: low-risk women with cigarette burns on their arms who and high-profit. They believed then, as they were being held in a situation of debt bondage. do today, that modern-day slavery can be eliminated by reaching a tipping point where “This was like slavery,” were the words of the human trafficking becomes a high-risk, low- officer who handled the investigation. This profit endeavor. eye-opening case made it clear to Katherine and Derek that modern-day slavery existed in Over time, Katherine and Derek built an or- present-day America in ways that they were not ganization that successfully combines its work aware of. They could not walk away. Instead, on the frontlines serving victims of human they devoted themselves to preventing such trafficking with the creation of long-term so- abuses from happening to more people. lutions that affect systemic and social change. Early on, they launched an innovative victim In just ten years, Inspired by the example of the Underground outreach program to uncover trafficking Katherine and Derek’s Railroad, Katherine and Derek developed a vi- locations, directly target trafficking networks, bold idea has developed sion for an organization where everyday people identify victims and connect them to ser- into a powerful could come together to do extraordinary things vices. As the organization grew, staff members organization that to overcome the scourge of slavery. Just as worked with coalition partners to help pass has transformed the lives those who were escaping the slavery of the 19th landmark bills through Congress and ground- of thousands of victims century followed Polaris, the North Star, as breaking legislation in 48 states that protect and fundamentally they sought freedom, a similar spirit of hope, victims and punish perpetrators. In 2007, changed the way courage, and community infused Katherine communities fight Polaris Project expanded the National Human and Derek’s work. modern-day slavery. Trafficking Resource Center to operate as a national anti-slavery lifeline. And law enforce- They officially founded Polaris Project on Feb- ment officers, service providers, and other key ruary 14, 2002, a day dedicated to generating first responders have sought out Polaris Project attention to stop violence against women and as a go-to agency for valuable trainings on girls. The day after graduation, they packed how to recognize the signs of trafficking. up a U-Haul truck and relocated their lives to 3 Washington, d.c., to launch Polaris Project’s first office on Capitol Hill. Human Trafficking and Modern-Day Slavery What You Need to Know A lthough slavery is commonly thought to be a thing of the past, it is actually the fastest-growing and second-largest criminal in- HUMAN TRAFFICKING dustry worldwide. Human trafficking is a form IS PERCEIVED BY of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. CRIMINALS AS A HIGH-PROFIT AND LOW- Trafficking occurs when force, fraud or co- ercion is used to keep an individual in an RISK CRIME. POLARIS exploitative situation or when a child under 18 PROJECT WORKS TO has been induced into commercial sex. Sex traf- FUNDAMENTALLY ALTER ficking commonly occurs in street prostitution, online escort services, residential brothels and THIS MARKET DYNAMIC brothels disguised as legitimate massage parlors. WORLDWIDE. Labor trafficking has been found in small-scale “mom and pop” operations, domestic servitude 4 situations, as well as large farms, factories and even multinational corporations. Image above courtesy of: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services WHY TRAFFICKING EXISTS There are two primary factors driving the spread of human trafficking: high profits and low risk. Like drugs and arms trafficking, human trafficking is a market- driven criminal industry that is based on the principles of supply and demand. Every year, human traffickers generate billions of dollars in profits by victimizing millions of people around the world, including here in the United States. THE VICTIMS Vulnerability is a common thread among all As defined under u.s. law, victims of victims. Human traffickers often prey on people human trafficking can be divided into who are hoping for a better life, lack employ- three populations: ment opportunities, have an unstable home life, • Minors (under age 18) induced into or have a history of sexual abuse — conditions commercial sex; that are present in all spheres of society.