Fight Human Trafficking NOW-New York State

Fact Sheet

What is human trafficking?
	Trafficking is the global practice of exploiting vulnerable women, men, and children for use as commodities in conditions of sexual and labor servitude. Traffickers use fraud, deception, coercion, threats, and force to transport, harbor, or obtain a person to perform commercial sex or labor acts against their will.
	The UN estimates criminal trafficking groups take in 7 billion a year – of which 80% are women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation.
	The United States is the second highest destination in the world for trafficked women. An estimated 15,000 and 20,000 victims of human trafficking are in the U.S. at any given time. The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Prevention Act was widely supported federal legislation passed to combat the issue on a national level.
	New York is consistently named as one of the top cities that traffickers use as both a point of entry into the U.S., transit location, and as a final destination point for their victims. According to the U.S. Justice Department, New York City’s JFK Airport is a main trafficking hub. Trafficking is not just an international problem.
	In 2004, only 4 states had laws against human trafficking. Today, more than 27 states have enacted tough anti-trafficking legislation. New York has no such legislation. Few states in the nation can claim as compelling a need, or as immense an opportunity to make a direct impact on the devastating effects human traffickers has been leaving throughout the world.

In our own neighborhoods:
	August 2006 - Thirty-one people involved in an international trafficking ring were arrested. Operating at least 10 brothels from Rhode Island to Washington D.C. (two brothels were on West 26th St. and 59th St.,), traffickers brought Korean women into the country, took their identification and travel documents, and threatened to turn them over to “authorities” or hurt their relatives in Korea if any of them tried to leave. The women were forced to work in prostitution to repay their travel debts. In this case, 67 women were rescued. Some of the brothels, which generated tens of thousands of dollars a month, had special rooms or compartments where the women could be hidden in the event of a raid.
	July 2006 - Two men and one woman from the former Soviet Union were arrested by police for allegedly forcing women to work as prostitutes in Elmhurst and Corona. According to affidavits, over the past seven years the defendants operated five brothels and shuttled 20 to 25 Russian women working in them to and from the locations to work from 10am to 8:30pm. One of the trafficking victims said she first met a defendant when she responded to an ad in a Russian newspaper. The defendants told her he would arrange a job as a housekeeper. He asked for her passport so that he could process the paperwork. Upon arrival, he told her she would have to work as a masseuse for 3 to 6 months before her passport would be returned. She was soon asked provide sex. She says the defendant threatened to kill her and harm her family in Russia if she did not comply. The fees charged were $200 for sex, $150 for oral sex, and $100 for manual manipulation.
	April 2006 - Three defendants pled guilty to 27 charges connected with operating a human trafficking ring between Tenancingo, Mexico and New York City from 1991 to 2004. In one of the largest sex trafficking cases to date under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the men admitted to luring young, uneducated Mexican women to the United States. Once alone with the traffickers, the women were raped, imprisoned, and forced to work in brothels throughout NYC for seven days a week, servicing about 25 men a day. The men who sought out the brothel paid $25 to $35 for sexual acts with the women. The profits were split between brothel owner and traffickers. Two defendants were sentenced in federal court to 50 years in prison, and a third defendant was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
	March 2006 - A large brothel in Flushing, Queens, housing Korean women who spoke little or no English, was shut down after a 10-month investigation by the US Attorney for the Eastern District of NY. The brothel had a “boarding house” where the women, who were illegal and smuggled into the US, were kept. Immigrant documents, drugs, and $800,000 were seized. The brothel, which generated $4,000 a day, was successful to a large extent because the traffickers had bribed two veteran police officers, who received free sex, drinks, cash, and tips on other criminal activity. These officers were charged with public corruption and are awaiting prosecution. This large trafficking operation regularly advertised in the World Journal, a daily Mandarin newspaper.

The media: The marketing arm of trafficking
	In New York State, traffickers supply New York City’s large established sex industry with workers, women they’ve lured to New York with promises of jobs as nannies, housekeepers or models. Traffickers funnel women into brothels to fulfill the shortage of workers and meet the demand of the market.
	The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Services documented 250 brothels in 26 cities, including New York, with trafficking victims in the year 2000.
	Traffickers use mainstream media outlets to advertise their business. Community newspapers grow rich with sex ads. “Adult” advertisements generate 35% of newspaper gross revenue on a weekly basis. Many papers report that they would be unprofitable or unable to publish if not for these advertisements. Ads featuring specific ethnicities or “in call only” escort services are most often found to have human trafficking ties, according to the Department of Justice.
	In New York City, The Village Voice generates an average of $80,000 a month on the adult ads that line its back pages, according to the classified ad sales department. The Verizon Yellow Pages generates hundreds of thousands of dollars annually on its extensive escort service and massage parlor advertising categories.


New York: A hub for human traffickers has yet to make trafficking a crime
New York State is one of 26 states that have yet to pass any anti-trafficking legislation. As of this September 24 states have passed legislation, with twelve states passing legislation in the 2006 session. The 2006 New York State legislative session ended without passage of a widely supported bill, sponsored by Assembly member Jeffrey Dinowitz (D-Bronx). The bill attracted a large level of support with more than 100 Assembly members signing on as co-sponsors. The bill, supported by the New York State Anti-Trafficking Coalition, remained stalled in the Codes Committee. Urge Assembly member Joseph Lentol and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who control the Codes Committee, to push forward to establish a strong law that will put traffickers out of business.

On the Federal level: Maloney leads the fight against trafficking
Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) recently introduced a bill that appropriates $2 million to create a special office within the IRS to prosecute sex traffickers for violating tax laws. The bill raises penalties for tax violations by sex traffickers, such as failing to file returns or not reporting income, to a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $50,000 fine. Maloney, who co-founded the Congressional Human Trafficking Caucus, authored the End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act of 2005, which authorizes $50 million for grants to state and local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute persons who engage in the purchase of commercial sex acts. The funds have yet to be appropriated.

To report trafficking crimes or to get help
You can report trafficking crimes or get help by calling the Department of Justice Hotline ( Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line at 1-888-428-7581, voice and TTY). New laws provide options for trafficking victims regardless of immigration status. Operators have access to interpreters and can talk with callers in their own language. The service is offered on weekdays from 9AM to 5PM EST. After these hours, information is available on tape in English, Spanish, Russian, and Mandarin.
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