- The US Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as modern-day slavery, an act that “involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.”
- Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking, but certain risk factors increase the likelihood of a trafficker targeting an individual.
- A multi-billion dollar criminal industry, human trafficking has been a hot-button issue worldwide as of late, and Delaware is not immune to the threat.
In June, an Elsmere father pleaded guilty to one count of human trafficking against his own immigrant son for making him work seven days a week in construction for no pay, according to an arrest warrant.
Before that, the U.S. Department of Justice charged a Lewes couple with nine counts of sex trafficking and six counts of forced labor in April. And in May, an illicit massage parlor was shut down after police suspected several trafficking victims were being forced to provide patrons with sex.
A multibillion-dollar criminal industry, human trafficking has been a hot-button issue worldwide as of late, and Delaware is not immune to the threat.
What is human trafficking?
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security defines human trafficking as modern-day slavery and an act that “involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.”
According to the U.S. Department of State, there are two types of human trafficking: forced labor and sex trafficking.
Forced labor “encompasses the range of activities involved when a person uses force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the labor or services of another person.”
The State Department says forced labor trafficking can occur in any setting, including agricultural fields, restaurants, hotels, massage parlors, retail stores and drug trafficking operations. The primary types of forced labor trafficking are domestic servitude in a private residence and forced child labor.
As for sex trafficking, it occurs when someone “uses force, fraud, or coercion to compel another person to engage in a commercial sex act or causes a child to engage in a commercial sex act.”
Sex trafficking can occur in private homes, massage parlors and hotels, among other places, according to the U.S. State Department.
Risk factors
Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking, but certain risk factors increase the likelihood of a trafficker targeting an individual.
These risk factors include, but are not limited to, substance abuse concerns, unstable housing, mental health concerns and recent relocation, according to Polaris, a nonprofit organization that works to combat and prevent human trafficking. Traffickers will use these vulnerabilities to create and exploit a dependency, Polaris says.
These tactics were used by the Lewes duo charged with trafficking earlier this year, as they purposely targeted and exploited victims with vulnerabilities, including drug addiction, poverty and homelessness, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
HOW LEWES COUPLE TRAFFICKED FOR YEARS:Lewes duo charged with sex trafficking targeted, assaulted drug-addicted women: Court docs
Delaware’s numbers compared with the U.S.
Funded by Congress, Polaris is partnered with law enforcement agencies nationwide and has built the largest known dataset on human trafficking in North America.
Polaris has operated the National Human Trafficking Hotline since 2007, according to the organization’s website, and identified 31 human trafficking cases against 40 victims in Delaware in 2021, the most recent year of public data. From 2017-2021, the hotline identified 158 cases against 352 victims in Delaware.
Based on the U.S. Census estimated population totals and Polaris’ 2021 data, Delaware had the 10th most human trafficking cases per capita in 2021 among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., at 3.09 cases per 100,000 people.
Delaware’s hosptials make an effort:This is how Delaware hospitals plan to combat (and diagnose) victims of human trafficking
Mississippi had the highest number of trafficking cases per capita, with nearly eight cases per 100,000 people, and Massachusetts had the lowest number at 1.33 per 100,000.
In terms of the number of trafficking victims, Delaware was in the middle of the pack with 3.98 trafficking victims per 100,000, the 22nd least number of victims. Connecticut had the least number of victims with 1.8 victims per 100,000 people, and New Mexico had the highest number of victims with 12.61 victims per 100,000.
Why the data may not tell the whole story
The National Human Trafficking Hotline allows victims and survivors to reach out and seek help. But the hotline’s partnership with law enforcement isn’t as cohesive as some officials want, and the number of human trafficking cases and victims is likely higher in Delaware and the rest of the country than Polaris’ data suggests.
In a 2020 University of Delaware study, researchers estimated that the number of trafficking victims identified in Delaware in 2019 could have been as high as 113. Conversely, Polaris publicly identified 79 victims in Delaware for that year. Based on the study, researchers also said there may be anywhere from 521-771 at-risk victims across the state.
One of the reasons Polaris’ data may not tell the whole story is that the hotline reports only adult cases to law enforcement with the consent of the victims or survivors. While the hotline is required by law to report all situations involving children, many cases against adults may not be identified and passed along to law enforcement. There are also many cases that may go completely unreported.
In an effort to change these policies, Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings and 33 other attorneys general cosigned a letter to congressional leadership earlier this year urging Congress to ensure Polaris provides the most accurate data possible.
“It appears to us that the Hotline is not performing the services it is already funded to perform,” the letter says. “Without changes to Polaris’s operating procedures, our state anti-trafficking initiatives gain little from participation in the National Hotline.”
In response to these concerns, Polaris issued a press release in March and clarified its mission, saying the hotline “must have the trust of victims and survivors we serve.”
“This is important because traffickers take consent, choice, and freedom away from victims. To effectively support survivors is to return to them control over their own lives and choices,” Polaris said. “When and if victims and survivors choose to involve law enforcement, the Trafficking Hotline supports the process every step of the way.”
In April, a bill was introduced in the U.S. House that would require the hotline to provide law enforcement with the information communicated during calls on request.
New Delaware trafficking unit produces results
In an effort to combat human trafficking, Jennings and the Delaware Department of Justice established the Human Trafficking Unit in February 2022, aiming to eradicate trafficking in the First State through education, prevention and prosecution, as well as to raise awareness and engage in community outreach.
Within the first month of operation, the unit shut down three illicit massage parlors − two in Wilmington and one in Dover, Jennings said in March 2022.
“These investigations highlight a continuing pattern that we’ve seen time and time again: Human trafficking often happens in plain sight,” Jennings said. “These were businesses that hundreds of people passed by each day without realizing the abuse that was happening behind their doors. In many cases, the defendants are fly-by-night serial business owners who will set up a new front as soon as one is shut down.”
TRAFFICKING IN NEWARK:Illegal massage business in Newark shut down after police find human trafficking victims
This year, the unit has helped arrest multiple suspected traffickers, including three New Castle County residents who were indicted on trafficking charges in March.
In the five years prior to the unit’s creation, Jennings said, Delaware officials and law enforcement had been involved in more than 50 trafficking-related arrests.
How to identify potential victims and find help
There are multiple indicators of someone potentially being a trafficking victim, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Here are a few:
- Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends, community organizations or houses of worship?
- Has a child stopped attending school?
- Has the person had a sudden or dramatic change in behavior?
- Is a juvenile engaged in commercial sex acts?
- Is the person disoriented or confused or showing signs of mental or physical abuse?
- Does the person have bruises in various stages of healing?
- Is the person fearful, timid or submissive?
- Does the person show signs of having been denied food, water, sleep or medical care?
- Is the person often in the company of someone to whom he or she defers? Or someone who seems to be in control of the situation, e.g., where they go or who they talk to?
- Does the person appear to be coached on what to say?
- Is the person living in unsuitable conditions?
- Does the person lack personal possessions and appear not to have a stable living situation?
- Does the person have freedom of movement? Can the person freely leave where they live? Are there unreasonable security measures?
As the department points out, not all indicators are present in every trafficking case, and the indicators do not prove that someone is a victim.
If you are a victim of human trafficking or would like to report a tip, here is the contact info for the National Human Trafficking Hotline:
Phone: (888) 373-7888
Text: (233) 733-HUMA
Chat: humantraffickinghotline.org/chat
