By: Mary Wurtz
Human trafficking is an issue impacting every state. The Department of Justice defines human trafficking as “a crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services, or commercial sex,” which often involves transporting individuals to complete these transactions. Consequently, traffickers often utilize public transit in their exploitation of others.
According to research conducted by The Council of State Governments, in partnership with the Federal Transit Authority, one way states can combat human trafficking is by giving special consideration to at-risk populations. Human trafficking can impact anybody, but the Polaris Project (a nonprofit organization that works to combat human trafficking) identifies the following populations as at-risk:
- People of color
- LGBTQ+ people
- People with unstable living situations
- People who have experienced domestic violence
- People with substance use disorders
- People with caregivers or family members with substance use disorders
- People who have fled their homes
- Youth involved in juvenile justice or foster care systems
- Undocumented immigrants
- People living in poverty
- People who have experienced sexual abuse
States have taken steps to address human trafficking, including developing statewide task forces and hiring a designated executive branch official to lead state initiatives. Some states have used these initiatives to identify at-risk groups and designed trafficking reduction efforts to protect these populations.
The Arizona Human Trafficking Council is a statewide group operated within the Governor’s Office of Youth, Faith, and Family. Each year, the Council partners with Arizona State University to conduct the Youth Experience Survey (YES). The survey is conducted annually among homeless young adults ages 18-25 in the Phoenix and Tuscon areas to identify challenges they face, including both sex and labor trafficking. In the first five years of the survey, the Council found that 31% of homeless youth have been sex trafficked. This data helps service providers gain a better understanding of the young people they serve.
The Georgia Human Trafficking Task Force has developed various working groups to address nine key objectives. One working group is dedicated to reducing trafficking (especially labor trafficking) among foreign-born individuals. The Office for Victims of Crime states that foreign nationals are at a heightened risk for trafficking, often because their fear of deportation prevents them from reporting exploitation or unjust labor practices. The Georgia Task Force’s Work Group on Foreign-Born and Labor Trafficking developed a screening tool to assist law enforcement in appropriately identifying foreign-born trafficking victims and updated the Georgia Labor Trafficking Roundtable Report with a legal analysis of labor trafficking policy to highlight best practices.
Children and young adults are another at-risk group, especially those who are homeless, members of the LGBTQ community or individuals in juvenile justice or foster care systems. Polaris estimates that one in seven children reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children become victims of sex trafficking. Many states have taken steps to specifically address children at-risk for trafficking.
Ohio has undertaken efforts to improve outcomes for youth victims of trafficking. Through Department of Justice grant funding, the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services developed new screening methods for child victims who enter state facilities and continually trains child welfare and juvenile justice professionals.
In 2013, the Washington State Legislature created the Commercially Sexually Exploited Children (CSEC) Statewide Coordinating Committee to increase protections for exploited youth by examining local and regional practices and incidence data to inform statewide practices. The Committee provides a framework of recommendations and methods to respond to CSEC. Part of this work includes overseeing and reviewing implementation of a Model Protocol for CSEC, which provides victim-centered responses to trafficking and screens, identifies at-risk youth and develops coordinated responses.
To address trafficking on public transit, states can use statewide task forces, data collection and training for service professionals to discover which populations are at the highest risk for trafficking and identify potential solutions. Addressing threats to at-risk groups can protect those most vulnerable to human trafficking and secure public transit systems.
