The first report to gather data on survivor access to legal services in the U.S. shows the system is failing domestic victims of trafficking
ALIGHT helps identify gaps in legal support for U.S. trafficking survivors, CHTEA draws attention to a Uganda-Kenya trafficking ring, and we partner with Human Trafficking Search to offer a comprehensive database of resources.
A new report highlights the lack of access to legal services and justice for sex trafficking victims across the United States. Published by The Avery Center and the National Survivor Law Collective, with contributions from groups such as ALIGHT, Legal Deserts Report - Accessing Legal Services for the Survivors of Sex Trafficking, addresses trafficking victim legal needs and gaps, concluding that “survivors are often unable to access the legal assistance that would allow them to realize their rights”.
The Avery Center, formerly Free Our Girls, was founded in 2014 to address the gap in direct services for adults victims of commercial sex trafficking in the U.S.. The National Survivor Law Collective was formed in 2020 to establish a network of lawyers, agencies and firms that provide free legal services to survivors of human trafficking.
No previous report has researched or gathered data on the genuine accessibility of legal services for survivors. The term “legal desert” refers to the experience of those seeking legal justice – they feel as if they are walking through a desert devoid of resources, while consistently being deceived by what may look like help. Although many anti-trafficking organizations (and, more importantly, survivors) experience the difficulties of acquiring legal services, there was no existing data on the availability and accessibility of these services for survivors of sex trafficking. The research project aimed to change that.
The survivor-led research team reached out at least three times to the 550 organizations that advertise their legal services to trafficking victims. Only 20 per cent responded. At that rate, a survivor would have to reach out to at least five organizations, and be ignored for several months by four, before hearing back from one.
One of the most notable outcomes of this survey was exposure of the protection gap resulting from the categorization of trafficking survivors. Many responding organizations limit their services to a specific subset of the human trafficking population. For example, 29.5 per cent of responding organizations that provide direct legal services focus solely on survivors of international trafficking. Thus, the list contained numerous refugee clinics which can provide legal services to newly arrived immigrants – some of whom may be victims of international trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation – but which cannot support U.S. citizens or long-term residents who are victims of domestic sex trafficking. For domestic survivors, the most widely available services (comprising 27.3 per cent of the responding organizations) fall under the broader category of gender-based violence. Additionally, the legal services offered at domestic violence clinics are often limited to family law and protective orders. Similarly, the legal services offered at immigration clinics are often limited to immigration law.
Thus, this separation of legal providers and services results in a protection gap for survivors seeking trafficking expungements or filing civil charges against traffickers. Although these are some of the most crucial legal needs for survivors, they are typically not provided for under the two largest service categories.
The report also points out that most organizations impose geographic limitations on whom they serve. ALIGHT, which connects survivors with free specialized legal services, is one of the few groups that serves the whole country.
However, some positive trends were identified, including “the growing number of private law firms devoting significant resources to providing pro bono representation to trafficking survivors”. Also, since 2010, numerous new organizations and programs with a specific focus on human trafficking have opened around the country. Although they vary in their operations, all promote trauma-informed and survivor-centered services.
Here’s a round-up of other noteworthy news and initiatives:
In the second episode of Labor of Loss, our podcast series in collaboration with USAID Asia CTIP, we take a look inside the brick industry and examine the pervasive practice of debt bondage – now made worse by climate change.
We are pleased to announce a new partnership with Human Trafficking Search which provides a resource hub for thousands of documents on human trafficking and modern-day slavery. The HTS Global Resource Database, launched in 2006, has grown to include thousands of resources from around the world, covering topics such as forced and bonded labor, sex trafficking, child trafficking, forced marriage, and more. You can now access the database from our resource page, and submit newly published reports to be added.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s most recent trade enforcement action blocks fish from the Fijian fishing boat Hangton No. 112 from entering U.S. markets. CPB found that the company had withheld workers’ wages, retained their identity documents, and subjected them to debt bondage.
Last week, the UK government replied to U.N. Special Rapporteurs Tomoya Obokata, Siobhán Mullally and Felipe Gonzalez Morales, and stated it had seen no evidence that changes made to the Overseas Domestic Worker visa in 2012, which tie migrant workers to their first employer, had led to an increase in reported abuse. A government commissioned review in 2015 found that the visa tie, which makes it harder for domestic workers to find new employment, increases the risk of abuse.
Last year, investigations into a human trafficking ring operating between Nairobi and Kampala exposed a group of people promising jobs in Kenya to young girls from Uganda’s Karamojong region, only to traffic them into domestic or sex work, or abandon them in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area. Fresh statistics now show that there are about 3,000 Karamojong girls in Nairobi, and sources on the ground, including Counter Human Trafficking Trust-East Africa (CHTEA), report that the trade is ongoing.
Prior to the 2021 G20 Interfaith Forum, a series of online pre-events will focus on specific areas of the global agenda. “Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking – Our Service is not an Option but a Duty” will be live on 25 August from 7pm to 8.30pm (UK time). This event will be hosted by Kevin Hyland OBE, who will be joined by a panel of guests as they consider the issues of modern slavery and human trafficking, and the global factors that influence and increase the risk of exploitation in our world during these very uncertain times.
FAROL is a new six-month acceleration program for start-ups, grassroots organizations and projects, with an aim to reduce labour abuse and modern slavery. Participants will get the chance to work alongside world-class mentors and advisors, acquire more knowledge about modern slavery, and gain expertise in related topics. Applications for both participants and mentors are open until the end of August.
The Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS) has developed an intervention, Nowhere to Hide, to reduce online sexual exploitation of children (OSEC) by using traffickers’ illicit financial flows as a tool against them. It is now seeking a specialist service provider to lead workstreams relating to the European legislation, investigation and prosecution environment around digital payments for OSEC abroad.
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