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JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- Modern-day slavery is alive today and it’s called trafficking.
Human trafficking is a crime that defiles basic human rights and involves recruiting, transporting and harboring by means of force, fraud and coercion. Trafficking is just as much underground as it is right under our nose. Unchecked, it can fuel organized crime and other illegal activity.
Since 2007, the U.S. has had more than 24,000 cases of human trafficking. Of that, more than 5,500 cases were reported in 2015, according to traffickingresourcecenter.org.
The military resource combating these crimes is the Combating Trafficking in Persons program, which develops guidelines and training for general awareness, as well as law enforcement, senior leadership, contracting, acquisitions and legal counsel personnel.
The Department of Defense created the CTIP program in compliance with President George W. Bush’s 2002 signing of National Security Presidential Directive 22, mandating a zero-tolerance policy toward trafficking in persons for the U.S. armed services, civilian employees and civilian contractors.
The CTIP program has been successful thus far. The number of military members and DoD civilian employees trained has grown from 72 percent in 2008 to 90 percent in 2015, thus increasing the awareness of these heinous crimes, according to ctip.defense.gov.
To train personnel on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, the CTIP program presented "Stones in a Backpack: The Burden of Teen Prostitution," a documentary film about Alaska youth and sex trafficking.
According to the film, most Alaska sex trafficking victims were physically and sexually abused as children and lost trust in their family, leaving them susceptible to perpetrators and continuation of abuse.
Victims of sex trafficking may be in nightclubs, bars, massage parlors, spas, adult bookstores, modeling studios and on the streets. Some signs to look for are: malnourishment, bruises, exhaustion, withdrawals, owning very few possessions, withholding of passports, unreasonable working hours, sleeping at their workplace, fearfulness or anxiety near police, avoiding eye contact and – sometimes – being underage.
“In many instances they are running from something; by the time they are 13, 14, 15, they have run away from home and are out on the street to get recruited by a trafficker,” said Kyle Reardon, United States Department of Justice Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska.
There are many local resources to help endangered youth. "My House" and "Covenant House" offer a place to stay for at-risk and homeless youth, while also helping them get back on their feet.
"Priceless" is a program that offers female victims of sex trafficking the support they might need to navigate the other resources available and create a healthier life for themselves.
“It’s absolutely devastating what these women encounter, and we do everything we can do to help them on their way,” said Gwen Adamas, Priceless executive director.
Sex trafficking isn’t the only kind of trafficking happening all over the world. Others include, forced labor, indentured servants, child soldiers and child prostitutes.
“If you see something unusual … and it doesn’t look right, then it’s probably not right,” Adams said. “Always speak up.”
To report suspicious activity and trafficking of any kind, inform the local police, Federal Bureau of Investigation, provost marshal or inspector general.
Trafficking is not a developing-nation problem or any one person’s problem; it is a dilemma happening all over the world. It happens to children; little boys and girls, adults who are poor, foreign or Native. Anyone can be victimized through force, fraud and co-ercion.
| Date Taken: | 02.12.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 03.03.2016 16:57 |
| Story ID: | 191042 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, ALASKA, US |
| Web Views: | 75 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Force, fraud and co-ercion, by A1C Christopher Morales, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
