Human trafficking conference highlights need for awareness, reporting – The Journal

Numbers continue to rise across the state and nation

Although human trafficking is a $236 billion industry, it remains a largely hidden and underreported crime that drags an estimated 49.6 million people, or 1 in 150 people, into modern slavery, according to Katrina Brittain Gober, regional director of A21.

Statistics peppered every speaker's speech at the Human Trafficking Awareness Conference held Wednesday at the Farmington Civic Center, highlighting the prevalence of human trafficking and the need for awareness and awareness. increased reporting. The conference, presented by the Human Trafficking Awareness Task Force and sponsored by the Family Crisis Center, was funded by the Crime Victims' Reparations Commission.

Soberta Bitsui, training and development manager, said in a recent KSJE radio interview that some of the funding was for human trafficking. So the center decided that a conference would be the best way to raise awareness in San Juan County. Various community leaders, including those in hospitals and social work, formed a committee to organize the event.

Registration for the event was free and reached capacity approximately a week before the conference. The conference brought together a wide range of service providers, organizations, health and social workers and other community partners.

Sean Tepfer, director of the Department of Homeland Security's Human Trafficking Center, opened the conference as the keynote speaker. He worked to dispel myths about human trafficking and highlighted that it can take place in any community around the world, but is often difficult to recognize because of the way the media describe it. He also pointed out that while sex trafficking often gets media attention, labor trafficking is just as prevalent.

San Juan County trafficking cases include 2020's Operation Navajo Gold, a raid on illegally grown hemp and marijuana farms on the Navajo Nation by Dineh Benally and a crew of Chinese workers who were allegedly trafficked for his employment, as well as trafficking in Ohio. woman who responded to a job posting for a masseuse and was allegedly forced to perform sexual acts and threatened to harm her family if she went to the police.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline statistics for 2021, the most recent available, report 59 cases of human trafficking in New Mexico involving 267 victims. Of these cases, 41 involved sex trafficking, seven involved sex trafficking and forced labor, and six involved labor trafficking. The victims included 43 adults and nine children, including 44 women, eight men and three from sexual minorities. Seven victims were foreign nationals. Since the organization began collecting statistics in 2007, the number of trafficking cases in New Mexico has increased each year.

Capt. Kevin Burns of the San Juan County Sheriff's Office was scheduled to speak alongside Sgt. Mitch Goins, but was unable to attend the conference. He told KSJE radio in an interview that the most predominant human trafficking problems in San Juan County are drug addicts who are “exploited for basic necessities” and labor trafficking. . Goins made that point during his presentation, which reviewed the San Juan County Sheriff's Office's 2017 case against Joe Maldonado.

The case began as an undercover operation to track drug trafficking, with Goins working undercover. When Maldonado offered to take the women to the next drug buy, the case evolved to include human sex trafficking. Maldonado was later sentenced to 10 years in prison on federal drug charges and is currently incarcerated in Florida with an expected release date of 2027; however, the sheriff's office was unable to file sex trafficking charges against Maldonado because the victim involved was unwilling to cooperate and no other victims were identified.

Goins pointed out that the victim in this case had substance abuse issues that were used by traffickers to coerce her, as well as fear of law enforcement and fear of retaliation against her family if she cooperated.

Tepfer explained that this is often one of the biggest challenges in prosecuting human trafficking cases. Victims may not even realize they are involved in a trafficking situation because the coercive tactics have a strong hold on them. Fear is also a major obstacle to cooperation. Victims may be afraid of retaliation from the trafficker or afraid and distrustful of law enforcement. Language barriers and trauma reactions can also make it difficult for victims to cooperate with investigations.

Helping trafficking survivors recover and rebuild their lives is a priority of groups like A21, a private organization founded in 2008. Gober, A21's regional director, said the organization's goal is “to 'reach, recover and reestablish themselves by advocating for trafficking survivors on their unique and independent journeys.

Gober said a key factor in helping trafficking survivors is ending the cycle of exploitation. Most victims are drawn into these situations because of vulnerabilities such as the desire for a better life, the need to work, the lack of basic necessities, or the susceptibility to emotional manipulation. Gober said one dealer said he could only sell drugs once, but could resell them multiple times to one person, which she said highlighted the importance of stopping the operating cycle.

According to Gober, global trafficking statistics show that 81% of trafficking situations involve forced labor, 25% of victims are children, and 75% of victims are women and girls. Cases are reported annually in all 50 states and Washington, as well as around the world.

“Romeo pimps” who engage in “love bombing” victims into trusting and loving them is one of the most common recruitment methods observed by A21, but family trafficking, where a family member provides access to another family member for sexual acts or work, is increasing. . Today, recruitment for trafficking often begins online, through various apps, with young children frequently targeted. A21 statistics indicate that the average age of trafficking victims is 13.9 years old.

Gober said A21 was initially criticized, saying it would fail because human trafficking was too big a problem to solve, but had helped more than 2,000 survivors. She added that they have also developed educational programs for schools that can be adapted to align with all 50 state standards and encouraged educators to ask for more information.

The afternoon session of the conference includes workshops focused on more specific aspects of human trafficking awareness and survivor support services, with presentations from Heidi Chance, who has worked for 13 years as a detective in the Phoenix Police Department's Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit, Lynn Sanchez, co-chair of the New Mexico Human Trafficking Task Force, and others.

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