As of this posting, the United Nation (UN) reports that at least 12 million people have fled their homes since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. More than five million have left for neighboring countries, while seven million people are still thought to be displaced inside Ukraine itself. Conflicts such as these (as well as natural disasters such earthquakes and tsnamis) can lead to economic instability and lack of human rights, giving traffickers an advantage and making people more vulnerable to human trafficking situations. In conflict zones and wars, some rebel or military groups will use child soldiers and keep sex slaves. However, there is also a “market” for traffickers to lure children, many of whom may have lost their entire family livelihood, or their parents or adult caregivers, into promises of being cared for in another geographical location. A very recent example of this included the following:
“There was nothing obviously untoward about the woman who approached the Palanca border crossing between Ukraine and Moldova with a 15-year-old boy she said was her nephew. But something about the pair just seemed odd. The boy, in particular, appeared embarrassed and uncomfortable.
Suspicious, border officials started asking questions, bringing in social workers and psychologists. ‘We saw something was not okay, but didn't know what. So, we interviewed them separately’. It turned out their story was a lie. The woman was a stranger who had promised the boy a lucrative job in Cyprus -- a chance to ‘be a man’ and support his family living in Ukraine.
All he had to do was pretend to be her nephew, give her his passport and help her write a fake parental consent letter, he told the officials.
The Contemporary Scope of the Issue
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says its anti-trafficking advice hotline in Ukraine has received almost 19,000 calls since the war began -- twice the monthly average. "We know that these evil predators are using every trick in the book to dupe confused, vulnerable people with promises of a safe onwards journey"
According to the United Nations Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict: “The humanitarian crisis caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine is rapidly turning into a human trafficking one in which women and children, who make up the majority of the refugees fleeing the war, are being exploited”.
Human trafficking happens in every country in the world, in many different forms; however, the causes behind human trafficking are essentially the same for labor trafficking, sex trafficking, child trafficking, and all other types of modern-day slavery. Although different countries face different causes, the root causes remain similar throughout the world. According to the Human Rights Careers agency, there are 10 causes of humantrafficking around the world. Below are two of those categorical causes that are having a direct impact relative to the ongoing military conflict in the Ukraine:
Conflict and Natural Disaster
Conflict and natural disaster can lead to economic instability and lack of human rights, giving traffickers an advantage and making people more vulnerable to human trafficking situations. In conflict zones and wars, some rebel or military groups will use child soldiers and keep sex slaves. Additionally, both conflict and natural disaster can lead people to migrate out of their hometowns and home countries, making them more vulnerable to traffickers, especially if they are looking for work or paying smugglers to get where they want to go. And with increased economic instability, traffickers have opportunities to offer false job offers to people, leading them into trafficking situations.
Lack of Safe Migration Options
For those looking to migrate out of their home countries due to safety concerns or economic opportunities, they are especially vulnerable to traffickers. Traffickers can use illegal smuggling as a way to trick people into forced labor or sex trafficking. And for migrants looking for jobs in other countries, traffickers typically offer them job opportunities that seem legitimate, only to force them into a trafficking situation. For instance, when Russia was preparing for the Sochi Olympics, several men from Serbia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and other nearby countries were promised construction jobs, only to be paid very little and be treated poorly. And many women from countries like Nigeria, Ukraine, and other Eastern European and African countries are offered nannying or restaurant jobs in Western Europe, only to trapped in sex trafficking.
Changing the Lens
The Department of Homeland Security recently closed out National Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Month. The occasion reinforces the fact that human trafficking isn’t just a problem during the Super Bowl or during the awareness month of January, but year-round. While human trafficking intensifies around large sporting events, concerts, and conventions – leading to a significant increase in the purchase of adults and children for commercial sex (more about that in a minute) – it is an everyday problem that takes place in large and small communities throughout the United States and around the globe. Specifically, in 2021, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Child (NCMEC) received more than 17,200 reports of possible child sex trafficking. Although many may believe that the significant majority of trafficked men, women, and children are immigrants who come to the United States, in 2021, the US Department of Justice reported that 83% of sex trafficking victims in the U.S. are U.S. citizens.
Super Bowl Sunday
Dr. Christine Cauffield, CEO of LSF Health Systems, reports the #SuperBowl is one of the largest #humantrafficking events in the world, and the crime has increased 40% during the #coronavirus pandemic.
During the 2022 Super Bowl, held in Los Angeles, law enforcement agencies in California made nearly 500 human trafficking-related arrests and assisted more than 80 trafficking victims in the state during Super Bowl week. Sheriff Alex Villanueva reported that 74 adults and eight children were rescued, while 34 suspected traffickers were arrested. About 200 sex buyers were also taken into custody as part of the operation.
Looking to the future, Super Bowl LVII will be held on Sunday, February 12, 2023 at the State Farm Stadium, Glendale, Arizona. Recent Ukrainian migrants may be at risk to appear at this event as trafficking victims. It is important to be mindful of this situation – particularly for those who are practicing in the Arizona or southwest region of the nation (as well as those across the country who may see significant efforts to move people to the southwest during that timeframe [typically noted to encompass all of January and into mid-to-late March]).
Resources and Information Referenced:
https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign
https://www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/10-causes-of-human-trafficking/
Thank you, Dr. Clements, for sharing. There are so many aspects of trafficking that we do not think about in daily practice and patient care experiences. As forensic nurses we need to consider what can be done globally to respond to these violations of human rights.