State Dept Image / Jun 14, 2010 Secretary Clinton holds a copy of the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report at the release of the report at the State Department.
Last week the United States issued their annual worldwide report on human trafficking, the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, which for the first time included a ranking of the United States. The 373-page report states that some 12.3 million adults and children are in forced labor, bonded labor, and forced prostitution globally. While the numbers of human trafficking cases are high, the prosecutions far from reflect their numbers as only 4,166 trafficking of persons cases were successfully prosecuted last year, according to the report.
In the report the United States ranking was itself on of the report’s top tier country’s, meeting a minimum standard of compliance, as set forth by the 2000 U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The U.S. is “a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, debt bondage, and forced prostitution,” according to the report.
At the State Department’s release of the report on June 14, 2010, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke directly regarding U.S. cases;
“In some cases, foreign workers, drawn by the hope of a better life in America, are trapped by abusive employers,” she said. “And there are Americans, unfortunately, who are held in sexual slavery. Some find themselves trapped through debt to work against their will in conditions of modern-day bondage.”
Many such cases are included in the report, such as that of “Harriet,” a young American girl who ran away from home at the age of 11, for which she then moved in with a 32 year old man who coerced “Harriet” into prostitution, where he continued to sexually and physically abused her. After a few years young “Harriet”, “became addicted to drugs and contracted numerous sexually transmitted diseases,” according to the report. “The police arrested Harriet when she was 13 and charged her with committing prostitution. They made no efforts to find her pimp,” the report says. “Harriet was placed on probation for 18 months in the custody of juvenile probation officials. Her lawyers have appealed the decision, arguing that since she could not legally consent to sex, she cannot face prostitution-related charges.”
According to the State Department human trafficking is one of the most profitable criminal industries in the world, along side the illicit trade of drugs and weapons. Therefore the long overdue ranking of the United States, while a major victory in the battle against human trafficking, serves to highlight the gravity of the plight of victims across the United States and the globe.
