Rehabilitation and community integration of trafficking survivors in the United States

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 29, Issue 1, 2007, Pages 112-136

  Shigekane, Rachel ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ADVOCACY; LEGISLATION; SOCIAL JUSTICE; SOCIAL SECURITY; TRAFFICKING;

NORTH AMERICA; UNITED STATES;

EID: 34047177068     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2007.0011     Document Type: Article

References (157)

1. U.S. Dept. of Justice, Report to Congress From Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2003, at 3 (1 May 2004), available at www.usdoj.gov/ trafficking.htm.
2. Julie Su, El Monte Thai Garment Workers, in No sweat fashion free trade and the Rights of garment workers 143 (Andrew Ross ed., 1997);
3. see also Julie Su, El Monte Thai Government Workers: Slave Sweatshops, Sweatshop Watch available at www.sweatshopwatch.org/index.php?s=68.
4. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, 22 U.S.C. § 7101.
5. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003, Pub. L. No. 108-93 (19 Dec. 2003).
6. Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 § 1, 22 U.S.C. § 7101 (2003).;
7. see also Trafficking and Victims Protection Act of 2000 §5, 22 U.S.C. §7101 (2000).
8. Dina Francesca Haynes, Used, Abused, Arrested and Deported: Extending Immigration Benefits to Protect the Victims of Trafficking and to Secure the Prosecution of Traffickers, 26 Hum. Rts. Q. 221, 240-41 (2004).
9. See also 22 U.S.C. § 7101 (b)(E)(i)(I).
10. Interview with Jennifer Stanger, Media/Advocacy Director, CAST, in L. A., Cal. (9 June 2003).
11. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, supra note 3, § 7105.
12. Id. § 7101.
13. Id.
14. U.S. Dept. of Justice, Attorney General's Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2005, at 5-6 (June 2006), available at www.usdoj.gov/whatwedo/ whatwedo_ctip.html.
15. Haynes, supra note 6, at 247.
16. U.N. Econ. & Soc. Council [ECOSOCI, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, at 3, 10, U.N. Doc. E/2002/68/Add.1 (20 May 2002).
17. The United States is one of the few countries that provide a legal mechanism for trafficking survivors to remain in-country permanently. Belgium is another country that offers permanent residency to trafficking survivors but only if the information provided by the survivor was significant in brining a case to court. Haynes, supra note 6. at 264.
18. Kevin Bales, Laurel Fletcher, Steve Lize, Rachel Shigekane & Eric Stover, Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States (2004), available at www.hrcberkeley.org/research/globalization_pub.html.
19. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, supra note 3, § 7102.
20. Forced Labor Convention (ILO No. 29), adopted 28 June 1930, 39 U.N.T.S. 55, art. 2 (entered into force 1 May 1932).
21. Annette Lansink, Interim Report on Women and Migration, Committee on Feminism and International Law, International Law Association/Berlin Conference 2004, 4, available at www.ila-hq.org/pdf/ Feminism%20&%20international%20Law/Draft%20Report%202004.pdf.
22. Id.
23. For more information on the differences between human trafficking and smuggling, see U.S. Dept. of Justice, The Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center/Fact Sheet: Distinctions Between Human Smuggling and Human Trafficking (Jan. 2005), available at www.usdoj.gov/ trafficking.htm.
24. Attorney General's Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2005, supra note 11, at 6. The US government does not keep record of persons trafficked into the US but does track information on trafficked persons in the US who received federal aid. This number may be indicative of a general pattern or trend in the origins of trafficked persons.
25. Id.
26. Kara C. Ryf, The First Modern Anti-Slavery Law: The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, 34 Case W. Res. J. Int'l L. 45, 47 (2002).
27. Kevin Bales, et al., Hidden Slaves: Forced Labor in the United States 10 (2004), available at www.hrcberkeley.org/research/globalization_pub.html.
28. Attorney General's Annual Report to Congress on U.S. Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2005, supra note 11, at 6.
29. Assessment of US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2004, 6 (Sept. 2005), available at www.usdoj.gov/ag/ annual/reports/tr2005/assessmentofustipactivities.pdf. Note that these statistics indicate where survivors reside and not necessarily where the trafficking operation took place.
30. Id. at 10.
31. Judith Herman, Trauma and Recovery 74-79 (1997).
32. Psychological trauma may manifest itself in a myriad of symptoms including hypervigilence, anxiety, agitation, passivity, helplessness and an inability to actively engage with the world or to exercise initiative. Over time, somatic symptoms such as insomnia, tension headaches, gastrointestinal disturbances and abdominal, back or pelvic pain may appear. Id. at 86-90.
33. Id. at 74-79.
34. Id. at 79.
35. Janice G. Raymond & Donna M. Hughes, Sex Trafficking of Women in the United States (2001), 83-84, available at action.web.ca/home/catw/ readingroom.shtml?x=16939.
36. Janice G. Raymond, Jean D'Cunha, Siti Ruhaini Dzuhayatin, H. Patricia Hynes, Zoraida Ramirez Rodriquez, Aida Santos, A Comparative Study of Women Trafficked in the Migration Process, 207-209 (2002), available at action.web.ca/home/catw/readingroom.shtml?x=17062.
37. Id.
38. See also London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, et. al., The Health Risks and Consequences of Trafficking in Women and Adolescents: Findings from a European Study (2003), available at www.Ishtm.ac.uk/hpu/ docs/traffickingfinal.pdf.;
39. Psychosocial Support to Groups of Victims of Human Trafficking in Transit Situations (Guglielmo Schinina ed., 2004), available at www.forcedmigration.org/psychosocial/papers/WiderPapers/ iom_notebook4.pdf;
40. Raymond & Hughes, supra note 32(for more information on the health consequences of trafficking on women and girls in the sex industry).
41. Free the Slaves Washington, D.C. & Human Rights Center at the University of California-Berkeley, Hidden Slaves Forced Labor in the United States (Sept. 2004).
42. Debra Levi Holtz & Chuck Squatriglia, Berkeley Landlord Arrested in Sex Scheme, S.F. Chron., 20 Jan. 2000, at A17.
43. Interview with Nancy Hormachae, Attorney, in Berkeley, Cal. (25 June 2003).
44. Id.
45. Telephone Interview by Laurel Fletcher with Michael Rubin, Attorney, (14 June 2004).
46. Id.
47. United States Sentencing Memorandum at 13, United States v. Reddy, No. CR-00-4028 (D. N. Cal. 12 June 2001).
48. Judgment in a Criminal Case, Statement of Reasons at 16-18, United States v. Reddy, No. CR-00-4028 (D. N. Cal. 21 June 2001).
49. Id.
50. Interview with Hormachae, supra note 37.
51. Opinion and Order at 15-16, Nguyen Thi Nga v. Daewoosa Samoa Ltd., No. 133-99, No. 68-99, No. 93-00, (Am. Samoa 16 Apr. 2002).
52. Press Release, US Dept. of Justice, Garment Factory owner convicted in Largest Ever Human Trafficking Case Prosecuted by the Department of Justice (21 Feb. 2003), available at www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2003/February/ 03_crt_108.htm.
53. Stipulation of Facts at 1-5, United States v. Elekana Nu'uuli loane, No. CR-01-00342 (D. Haw. 31 Aug. 2001).
54. Press Release, US Dept. of Justice, Garment Factory Owner Convicted in Largest Ever Human Trafficking Case, supra note 46.
55. Id.
56. Interview with Thuy Nguyen, Case Manager, Boat People S.O.S., in Westminister, Cal. (10 June 2003).
57. Opinion and Order at 32, Nguyen Thi Nga v. Daewoosa Samoa Ltd., No. 133-99, No. 68-99, No. 93-00 (Am. Samoa 16 Apr. 2002). The two workers died of drowning during a swimming excursion.
58. Id. at 27-32.
59. Id. at 17-22.
60. Interview with Tuyen [pseud.], by Natalie Hill, in Westminister, Cal. (10 June 2003).
61. Interview with Nguyen, supra note 50.
62. Id.
63. Interview with Hormachae, supra note 37.
64. Id.
65. Id.
66. Id.
67. United States Sentencing Memorandum at 4-5, United States v. Reddy, No. CR 00-40028 (D. N. Cal. 12 June 2001).
68. Affidavit of Donald Henley in Support of Criminal Complaint against Vijay Kumar Reddy at 3-6, United States v. Reddy, No. CR-00-40028 (D. N. Cal. Jan. 31, 2000).
69. Anna Wang, Beyond Black and White: Crime and Forgiveness in the News, 8 Asian L.J. 187, 188-89 (2001).
70. Id.
71. Interview with Bob (18 July 2003).
72. Psychiatrist Judith Herman writes that constriction in the capacities for active engagement with the world and a narrowing in the range of initiative become habitual with prolonged captivity and must be unlearned after liberation. Herman cites as an example the challenges faced by a political dissident returning to a life of freedom after years of imprisonment. He had difficulties opening doors, because he was inhibited to reach for doorknobs, he couldn't remember how to make a dark room light, how to work, to pay bills, shop, visit friends or answer questions. Herman, supra note 28, at 90-91.
73. Attorney General's Annual Report to Congress on US Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons in Fiscal Year 2005, supra note 11, at 6-7.
74. Freedom Network USA, available at www.freedomnetworkusa.org/members.htm.
75. HumanTrafficking.org, available at www.humantrafficking.org/countries/ united_states_of_america/ngos
76. Patricia Kelley, The Application of Family Systems Theory to Mental Health Services for Southeast Asian Refugees, 2 J. Multicultural Social Work 1 (1992).
77. Cora Le-Doux & King S. Stephens, Refugee and Immigrant Social Service Delivery: Critical Management Issues, 2 J. Multicultural Social Work 31, 33 (1992).
78. Id. at 39-40.
79. Id. at 40.
80. Kelley, supra note 71, at 2.
81. Hilary N. Weaver & Barbara J. Burns, I Shout with Fear at Night: Understanding the Traumatic Experiences of Refugees and Asylum Seekers, 1 J. Social Work 147, 150 (2001).
82. Id. at 154.
83. Id. at 154-56.
84. Diane Bernier, The Indochinese Refugees: A Perspective from Various Stress Theories, 2 J. Multicultutral Social Work 15, 20 (1992).
85. Id. at 23.
86. Id. at 18-19.
87. Id. at 16-18.
88. Id. at 22.
89. See generally, Julian Chun-Chung Chow & Paige Wyatt, Ethnicity, Language Capacity, and Perception of Ethnic-Specific Services Agencies in Asian American and Pacific Islander Communities, 1 J. Immigrant & Refugee Serv. 41 (2003).
90. Id. at 44-45.
91. In one study, one-half of a sample of Vietnamese refugees consulting for physical complaints had emotional problems as measured by mental health tests. Bernier, supra note 79, at 26.
92. Id. at 25.
93. Boat People S.O.S., available at www.bpsos.org.
94. Boat People S.O.S., The Daewoosa Case, available at www.bpsos-org.
95. Interview with Nguyen, supra note 50.
96. Id. Nguyen volunteered that she did not have any experience when she commenced with Boat People S.O.S. and did not receive any training but learned, "on the job."
97. Id.
98. Mrugaya W. Gorde, Christine A. Helfrich, Marcia L. Finlayson, Trauma Symptoms and Life Skill Needs of Domestic Violence Victims, 19 J. Interpersonal Violence 691, 692 (2004).
99. Id. at 691.
100. Michael A. Anderson, Paulette Marie Gillig, Marilyn Sitaker, Kathy McCloskey, Kathleen Malloy, & Nancy Grigsby, "Why Doesn't She Just Leave?". A Descriptive Study of Victim Reported Impediments to Her Safety, 18 J. Family Violence 151 (2003).
101. Id at 152.
102. Id. at 153.
103. Id. at 153-54.
104. Id.
105. Id.
106. Gorde, et al., supra note 92, at 691-92.
107. Id.
108. Id. at 693.
109. In one study, the duration of abuse experienced by the sample ranged from one incident to twenty-three years with an average of five years. Id. at 694.
110. Id. at 704.
111. Id.
112. See generally, Gorde, et. al, supra note 93;
113. Kimberly K. Eby, Exploring the Stressors of Low-Income Women with Abusive Partners: Understanding their Needs and Developing Effective Community Responses, 19 J. Family Violence, 221 (2004).
114. Gorde, et al., supra note 92, at 691, 699-701.
115. Eby, supra note 106, at 221, 231.
116. Gorde, et al., supra note 92, at 691, 699-701.
117. Id at 704.
118. Office for Victims of Crime, Trafficking in Persons, available at www.ojp.gov/ovc/help/tip.htm.
119. Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, available at www.nextdoor.org.
120. Interview by Natasha Pinto & Rachel Shigekane, with Nalini Shekar, Next Door Solutions to Domestic Violence, San Jose, Cal. (17 July 2003).
121. The Reddy survivors attracted many visitors, particularly journalists and television broadcasters to the shelter. Some of the domestic violence residents feared that the wide-spread attention would result in a public disclosure of the shelter location and the identities of its residents. Interview with Hormachae, supra note 37.
122. Interview by Pinto & Shigekane with Shekar, supra note 113.
123. Id.
124. Interview with Hormachae, supra note 37.
125. The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, available at www.castla.org/aboutus/history.htm.
126. Id.
127. The name Khai is a pseudonym used to protect this person's identity.
128. David Rosenzweig, Jury Convicts Woman of Exploiting Thai Workers, L.A. Times,13 Aug. 1999, at B1.
129. Interview with Khai [pseud.], in L.A., Cal. (10 June 2003);
130. See also David Rosenzweig, Thai Illegal Immigrant Testifies in Slavery Trial, L.A. Times, 21 July 1999, at B2.
131. Rosenzweig, Jury Convicts Woman of Exploiting Thai Workers, supra note 121, at B1.
132. David Rosenzweig, Woman Gets 8 Years in Thai Slave Case, L.A. Times, 11 Jan. 2000, at 132;
133. Rosenzweig, supra note 121.
134. Interview with Erica Tumbaga, Case Manager CAST, in L.A., Cal. (9 June 2003).
135. Id.
136. Interview with Khai, supra note 122.
137. Interview with Jennifer Stanger, Media/Advocacy Director, CAST, in L. A., Cal. (9 June 2003).
138. Matthew Heller, The Joy of Freedom, WholeLifeTimes (Jan. 2005), available at http://www.wholelifetimes.com/2005/wlt2701/ joyoffreedom2701.html.
139. Interview with Stanger, supra note 128.
140. The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, supra note 118.
141. Rosenzweig, Jury convicts Woman of Exploiting Thai Workers, supra note 121, at B1.
142. Telephone interview with Sak Vasunilshorn, Thai Community Development Center, in L.A., Cal. (19 June 2003).
143. Interview with Khai, supra note 122.
144. Telephone Interview with Sak Vasunilshorn, Thai Community Development Center, in L.A., Cal. (19 June 2003).
145. Id.
146. Id.
147. Holtz & Squatriglia, supra note 36, at A17.
148. Matthew Yi, Guilty Plea in Smuggling of Girls, S.F. Examiner, 8 Mar. 2001, at A21.
149. Bob Edelko, Dead Girl's Family Settles with Landlord, S.F Chron., 8 Apr. 2004, at B5.
150. Jim Herron Zamora, U.S. Jury likely in Berkeley Landlord Sex Case, S. F. Examiner, 21 Jan. 2000, at A1.
151. Id.
152. Id.
153. Interview by Natasha Pinto & Rachel Shigekane with Kavitha Sreeharsha, Staff Attorney, API Legal Outreach, in S. F., Cal. (3 Oct. 2003).
154. Id.
155. Yi, supra note 139, at A21.
156. Interview by Pinto & Shigekane with Sreeharsha, supra note 144.
157. Id.