Interim Study on Human Trafficking a Good Idea

Details: 18 March 2011

The tragic and horrific subject of human trafficking has received some attention during the current session of the Nebraska Legislature.

That attention, not a lot relative to many of the other issues being considered by lawmakers, stemmed from two bills introduced by Senator Mark Christensen. The Legislature’s Judiciary Committee conducted public hearings on both bills. Committee members exhibited little immediate interest in these proposals, and it’s quite unlikely that either will be advanced to the full Legislature, but there was a hint that human trafficking could become the subject of a policy study during the interim between sessions.

We hope that happens. That study should have plenty of substance, because Nebraskans are under-informed and naïve if they don’t realize that human trafficking is not just a global phenomenon, but a state concern and policy issue as well. Local law enforcement officials, from Omaha and Lincoln at least, have verified its existence.

Federal law, the Trafficking Victims’ Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005, defines human trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision of, or obtaining of a person for labor or services through the use of force, fraud or coercion. Two general forms fall under this definition: sexual exploitation and forced labor.

According to a 2009 United Nations’ global report on trafficking in persons, sexual exploitation, including prostitution, pornography and the sex-entertainment industry, constitutes close to 80 percent of human trafficking, while forced labor constitutes nearly 20 percent.

The U.S. State Department estimates that 600,000 to 800,000 persons—predominantly women and children—are trafficked across international borders each year. Approximately 14,500 to 17,500 of these are trafficked into the U.S. annually. Worldwide, this contemporary scourge is a $32 billion industry. After drug dealing, it is the second largest criminal industry in the world, and the fastest growing.

For years the Catholic Church has condemned and spoken out against human trafficking. The modern Catechism teaches: "The Seventh Commandment forbids acts or enterprises that for any reason—selfish or ideological, commercial, or totalitarian—lead to the enslavement of human beings, to their being bought, sold and exchanged like merchandise, in disregard for their personal dignity…."

Pope John Paul II wrote: "The trade in human persons constitutes a shocking offense against human dignity and a grave violation of fundamental human rights."

In January of this year, the Bishops of Florida wrote of a particular aspect of this exploitation, which destroys victims’ mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health:

"A troubling trend is the exploitation of minors in domestic sex trafficking. These youth, under age 18, are the runaway and throwaway children in society, picked up on our streets and forced into sex acts in exchange for food and a bed. We grieve for the children whose innocence has been sacrificed in the name of greed and monetary gain, a shocking example of man’s inhumanity to man."

Since 2006, Nebraska has made human trafficking a state crime. Under section 28-831, it is a felony for any person to knowingly subject or attempt to subject another person to forced labor or services by inflicting or threatening to inflict serious personal injury or by physically restraining or threatening to restrain the person. In addition, there are separate, specific crimes in which minors are victimized.

Senator Christensen’s LB 689, with respect to which the Nebraska Catholic Conference presented supportive testimony, seeks to strengthen the statutory definitions of "commercial sexual activity" and "forced labor or services." In addition, the bill would provide for protective responses and support for victims.

Senator Christensen’s LB 513 seeks to address a context in which the line between legal and illegal activities is easily crossed, the escort or private erotic entertainment industry. The legislation proposes a licensing and regulatory structure for "escort agencies" and their employees. The introducer’s statement of intent makes the point that "evidence is emerging that some of these businesses are engaging in the coercion of women and underage girls and boys through human trafficking."

Strong and inspiring testimony on both LB 689 and LB 513 was provided on behalf of a student group from the University of Nebraska. Known as NUSAMS—Nebraska University Students Against Modern Slavery—its spokespersons were articulate and passionate about the group’s research findings and about raising awareness that human trafficking should be a matter of concern in Nebraska.

And finally…….

Debate has been hot and heavy in the Utah Legislature over several proposals to address illegal immigration. State Senator Curtis Bramble didn’t mince words in describing the context: "The fundamental premise of any discussion on immigration policy rests with the failed federal policies—the abject, dismal, pathetic failure of the federal government to do what it is constitutionally mandated to do."