The “Big Three”

When it comes to talking about the lack of stability and safety, we cannot escape a discussion about how some individuals are more vulnerable to trafficking than others due to three big systems of oppression, violence and marginalization. This is directly linked to racism, gender-based discrimination and violence, and sexual orientation. 

For each of these areas there is inequity where there is a lack or even a denial of access to necessary resources such as safe housing, making a living wage, educational training, childcare that is safe and affordable, and being able to receive protection from the legal system (Thema-Bryant & Tummala-Narra, 2017).  Each of these factors makes these populations more at risk than others to poverty, economic inequality, and more at risk for homelessness and as a result more vulnerable to being exploited through labor or sex trafficking. 

When we consider racism, we cannot ignore that there are “inextricable links between race, ethnicity and poverty” and that “ethnically marginalized persons are more likely to live in poverty and more likely to live with intergenerational poverty; they are also more likely to live in rural areas and to receive limited education” (Thema-Bryant & Tummala-Narra, 2017). Poverty is, according to Polaris, a key risk for being trafficked, and this is because racism has fueled “policies that have stunted economic opportunity for people of color for generations” (2021). One only need to look at who is being trafficked to see how poverty, racism, and lack of equal opportunity play into making people of color more vulnerable than other groups.

For example, immigrants and migrant workers will find themselves coerced into labor trafficking because they have economic need, receive no protection under the law, have language barriers, are discriminated against, and are threatened with deportation (US Department of State, 2021).  Another example is seen when we look at specific geographic areas when it comes to child sex trafficking with victims in Louisiana and King County, Washington. In Louisiana, 49% of child sex trafficking victims are minors who are black in ethnicity, though black girls comprise approximately 19% of Louisiana’s youth population. And in King County, Washington 84% of child victims are black while this ethnicity only makes up 7% of the total population in Seattle and the surrounding areas (Polaris, 2021). What these various studies indicate is that certain populations are more at risk than others to being exploited because of their race and ethnicity and directly linked to oppressive systems and racist policies that keep these populations in poverty and without the same resources as others (Bales, 2007). 

The other two populations more vulnerable to human trafficking is tied to gender and sexual orientation. A lot of research has been done that indicates that human trafficking disproportionately impacts people of color and women, and because of systems that are inherently oppressive, these populations end up in situations of poverty and greater need (Cameron, Cunningham, Hemingway, Tschida & Jaquin, 2020). For women, there is a fear of violence occurring against their person due to societal and cultural norms based on patriarchal systems that normalize this behavior.   As one study put it, “Patriarchal ideas, family customs, and cultural norms can exacerbate gender inequality, thus further contributing to the feminization of poverty and vulnerability to trafficking for females. Research has indicated that cultural and familial patriarchal structures can contribute to increased violence against women and children” (Cameron et al. 2020).  Because these oppressive systems limit opportunity, those that identify as female are found to be at greater risk because their gender puts them at a disadvantage economically and more likely to experience engendered violence against their persons. 

In a similar vein, individuals that are LGBTQ+ are at more risk for a lack of stability and safety and ending up homeless, especially as youth, because of discrimination tied to their sexual orientation. The study done by Covenant House, as mentioned in our previous blog, found that 24% of their clients who identified as LGBTQ were trafficked for sex compared to only 12% who were not (Murphy, 2016). Another study of 270 homeless youth and young adults found that 60% of transgender individuals and 46% of those who identified as bisexual were sex trafficked which was three times more than heterosexual individuals (Schilling, Greeson, Wasch & Treglia, 2018). The disparities seen here are tied directly to discrimination and rejection, “young people who identify as LGBTQ+ often struggle with families and communities who do not accept them for who they are. In some cases, these young people leave or are kicked out of their homes. Traffickers step in offering food, shelter, or a sense of belonging and emotional support” (Polaris 2021). 

This is the tragedy of how, when individuals are judged, labeled, and oppressed they become vulnerable to individuals who are predatory in nature and exploit those vulnerabilities. When you lack stability, safety, basic needs, and are also marginalized, oppressed, and suffer violence because of your race, gender, and sexual orientation, you are set up by systems that allow those dynamics to continue to be more at risk for human traffickers. Greed, the reduction of humanity to a commodity, and inequality of opportunity and access to resources create a vile cocktail of vulnerabilities for these three groups. The only way to address this is to focus on the systems that allow these oppressions to continue. This will be the focus of our final blog for this series, “Overcoming Obstacles to Stability and Safety”. 

References

• Bales, Kevin (2007) What Predicts Human Trafficking?, International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 31:2, 269-279, DOI: 10.1080/01924036.2007.9678771.

• Bryant-Davis, Thema & Pratyusha Tummala-Narra. (2017). “Cultural Oppression and Human Trafficking: Exploring the Role of Racism and Ethnic Bias.” Women & Therapy, 40:1-	2, 152-169, DOI: 10.1080/02703149.2016.1210964.

• Cameron, Erin C., Fiona J. Cunningham, Samantha L. Hemingway, Sherri L. Tschida & Kristine M. Jacquin (2020) “Indicators of Gender Inequality and Violence against Women Predict Number of Reported Human Trafficking Legal Cases across Countries,” Journal of Human Trafficking, DOI: 10.1080/23322705.2020.1852000

• Murphy, Laura T. (2016). “Labor and Sex Trafficking Among Homeless Youth: A Ten-City Study Executive Summery.”Loyla University Of New Orleans Modern slavery Research Project.” Accessed on August 17, 2021. https://www.covenanthouse.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Loyola%20Multi-	City%20Executive%20Summary%20FINAL.pdf. 

• Polaris project. (2021). “Human Trafficking does not Happen in a Vacuum.” Retrieved August 18, 2021. (https://polarisproject.org/blog/2021/01/human-trafficking-does-not-happen-in-a-vacuum/).

• Polaris Project. (2020). “Racial Disparities, COVID-19 and Human Trafficking. 	Retrieved August 18, 2021. (https://polarisproject.org/blog/2020/07/racial-	disparities-covid-19-and-human-trafficking/).

• Schilling Wolfe, Debra Greeson, Johanna K.P. Wasch, Sarah & Treglia, Daniel. (2018). “Human Trafficking Prevalence and Child Welfare Risk Factors Among Homeless Youth: A Multi-City Study.” The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research 	(January 2018).  https://www.covenanthouse.org/sites/default/files/inline-files/Field%20Center%20Full%20Report%20on%20Human%20Trafficking%20Pr	evalence.pdf. 

• US Department of State (2021). “Trafficking in Persons Report.” Retrieved October 1, 2021. (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/).