A man approaches her, perhaps sensing the young girl’s vulnerability. He strikes up a conversation with her and gets to know her over the course of a few weeks or months. Slowly, her guard begins to drop.

The man tells her she is pretty and asks her if she has ever thought about being a model. He tells her he knows some people in the “modeling” business in the Twin Cities. Her guard drops even more.

The compliments continue and soon the vulnerable young girl envisions a better life for herself in the world the man has repeatedly described to her.

Finally, she decides to take him up on his offer—and so begins her journey into sexual trafficking.


What is human trafficking?
Human trafficking basically takes two forms: labor and sex. According to Mary Ellison, an attorney with The Advocates for Human Rights, in Minneapolis, “The common elements among them [labor and sex trafficking] are the recruiting, harboring, providing or obtaining an individual” for an exploitative purpose, namely a sex act or some form of labor.

The Statewide Human Trafficking Tack Force, in its September 2008 report to the Minnesota Legislature, defined human trafficking as “recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring, enticement, provision obtaining or receipt of any person by any means for the purpose or facilitation of sexual or economic exploitation.”

Labor trafficking, according to the Task Force, mostly involves victims who are “exploited as domestic workers, in restaurants and in food processing facilities.” Victims who are sexually trafficked are “forced or coerced into performing commercial sex acts.”

What is often misunderstood about human trafficking is its locality. A common misperception is that sexual trafficking takes place in other countries and continents, such as Asia; and that labor trafficking is only tied to immigration in Mexico and other locales. The reality, however, paints a much different picture.

Sgt. John Bandemer, a member of the vice/human trafficking unit of the St. Paul Police Department, said, “I would say that it is a common misperception that it [human trafficking] involves only migrant workers in the Southwest or Asian prostitutes in the big cities. As with most things, these trends start on the coasts and move inward. I think we have seen a trend of our investigations having ties to the coasts, or that those organizations have put people in place here to test the market out.”

In addition to the metro area, there are reports of human trafficking occurring in small towns all across the state, making it truly a statewide issue.


Trafficking numbers
In an industry that operates underground, it’s difficult to gain reliable numbers on how many people are involved—both as victims and as perpetrators. Bandemer, however, estimates that 75 percent of trafficking victims in Minnesota are women and children, which he says coincides with federal numbers.

Ellison, citing a report by the Minnesota organization Breaking Free, said there are 8,000 to 12,000 people involved in human trafficking and prostitution each day in Minnesota. Ellison also cited the International Labor Organization, who said that more than 12 million people are trafficked for sex or labor each day globally.

The Task Force on human trafficking reported that between 2006 and 2007 there were more than 1,800 trafficking-related charges in the state.


Prosecution
Again because of the underground nature of human trafficking, and sometimes its international origins, it’s difficult for law enforcement to investigate.

Ellison said she has been told by law enforcement officials that human trafficking is the most difficult criminal case to investigate, often taking 18 months to three years to complete an investigation.

“It takes a long time to work with the victims of trafficking to even get them to a point where they might be comfortable in prosecuting their trafficker,” she said. “They are deathly afraid their trafficker is going to harm them or their family. So they’re really reluctant to cooperate.”

According to a report by The Advocates for Human Rights titled “Sex Trafficking Needs Assessment for the State of Minnesota,” some of the other factors that contribute to make this a difficult crime to prosecute include, “the trafficked person’s concern for criminal liability; the confusion between the state and federal definitions of trafficking; and misunderstandings about the role of local law enforcement in enforcing federal immigration law.”


Help for victims
While the victims of human trafficking—both labor and sex—live in an underground world with seemingly little hope, churches, ministries, nonprofit organizations and others are becoming more aware of the issue and more involved with assisting victims.

Numerous organizations have emerged in the past decade, many of them partnering with churches and ministries, to reach these victims and to educate their parishioners and the general public on the oftentimes unseen world of human trafficking.

Bandemer urges citizens to be aware of their surroundings. “Human trafficking is something people will see if they take a second look or ‘look beneath the surface’ of their everyday encounters,” he said. “Seeing a person who appears to not be in control of [himself or herself] or that [he or she is] being led around by another. It always comes down to who is in control.”


Next month: Part 2 of our series on human trafficking: “How Minnesota churches and ministries are helping victims of human trafficking”


ACTION BOX: For more information on The Advocates for Human Rights and their work, visit www.theadvocatesforhumanrights.org. For more information on the Minnesota Office of Justice Programs, Statewide Human Trafficking Taskforce, and their work, visit www.ojp.state.mn.us.