Human trafficking in Nevada

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Human trafficking in Nevada is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor as it occurs in the state of Nevada, and it is widely recognized as a modern-day form of slavery. It includes "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs." [1]

Contents

The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported receiving 277 calls and emails in 2015 about human trafficking in Nevada. [2]

Contingency Account

By Nevada law, the State General Fund has contingency account for victims of human trafficking. [3] Organizations must first apply to the Director of the Department of Health and Human Services to receive these funds. The Grants Management Advisory Committee then reviews the application and makes recommendations to the director. The director then makes the allocation and places conditions, such as requiring the organization to submit reports. The organization can only use the money for programs and services for victims of human trafficking. [4] The Nevada Attorney General's Office, Soroptimist International of Reno, the Thelma B. and Thomas P. Hart Foundation and the Nevada Trucking Association have worked together to raise funds for the contingency account, holding the Refuge for the Rescued Benefit Dinner for Victims of Human Trafficking. [5]

Sex trafficking in Nevada

In 2013, Nevada passed Assembly Bill 67, which uses the federal definition of sex trafficking and increases penalties by one level. It makes victims eligible for state assistance and allows them to sue their traffickers. Sex traffickers will have to register as a sex offender, and their assets will be seized to pay for victim services. [6]

Prostitution of adults is legal in 11 rural counties in Nevada. By creating false identification, outside pimps can use these brothels to traffic "underage girls". [7] [8] [9] In an article published in 1998, Detective Greg Harvey, who operated in Eugene, Oregon, said such cases were common, and stated "[i]t's happening right now, it's amazing how many girls are shipped from here to different brothels in northern and southern Nevada. Many are underage." Another detective, Sgt. Pete Kerns, supported Harvey's claims: "Never buy the line that nobody under 18 works in (Nevada brothels)," he said. "It's happening." [9] However, "[n]o evidence shows brothel owners or managers are working with the Oregon pimps", [9] according to Sgt. Bill Petty of the Storey County Sheriff's Department. Petty also claimed that "cases of underage prostitutes are rare in his county", [9] while Storey County District Attorney Janet Hess "said only one case of an underage girl working at a brothel [had] reached her office in the last two years." [9]

In her 2007 report, Prostitution and trafficking in Nevada: making the connections, clinical psychologist and anti-prostitution activist [10] Melissa Farley presented the results of numerous interviews with brothel owners and prostitutes, claiming that most brothel prostitutes are controlled by outside pimps and that they suffer widespread abuse by brothel owners and customers. [11] Bob Herbert supports the claim, stating: "Despite the fiction that they are "independent contractors," most so-called legal prostitutes have pimps — the state-sanctioned pimps who run the brothels and, in many cases, a second pimp who controls all other aspects of their lives (and takes the bulk of their legal earnings)." [8]

Alexa Albert says that the trafficking is done in cooperation with brothel owners, so the prostitutes will be easier to control. [7] Assemblyman Bob L. Beers said that "[a] brothel owner is somebody who, when it gets down to the very essence, is nothing more than a slave-owner." [12] Former Nye County Commissioner Candice Trummell, director of the Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking, said "[i]t is way past time for Nevada to be the last state in the United States of America to finally stand against all forms of slavery." [12]

In 2009, an article in the Guardian stated that some brothels "impose some extraordinary restrictions on commercial sex workers" in order to "separate sex workers from the local community": some places forbid prostitutes to leave the brothels for extended periods of time, while other jurisdictions require the prostitutes to leave the county when they are not working; some places do not allow the children of the women who work in the brothels to live in the same area; some brothel workers are not permitted to leave the brothel after 5pm; in some counties registered sex workers are not allowed to have cars at all. [13] Another former prostitute who worked in four Nevada brothels attacked the system, saying, "Under this system, prostitutes give up too much autonomy, control and choice over their work and lives" and "While the brothel owners love this profitable solution, it can be exploitative and is unnecessary". She described how the women were subject to various exaggerated restrictions, including making it very difficult for them to refuse clients and having to deal with doctors who had a "patronizing or sexist attitude" (the brothels discouraged and in many cases forbade prostitutes to see doctors of their own choosing). [14]

Las Vegas

Although illegal, 90% of prostitution in Nevada occurs in Las Vegas. [15] In 2009 Las Vegas was identified by the FBI as one of 14 cities in the U.S. with high rates of child prostitution. [16] Las Vegas police claimed that "roughly 400 children are picked off the streets from prostitution each year." [17] The U.S. Justice Department has also named Las Vegas among the 17 most likely destinations for human trafficking. [18] The Christian anti-trafficking organization Shared Hope International says Las Vegas is a major hub for child sex trafficking, in part because of the hyper-sexualized entertainment industry, easy access to alcohol and drugs, and 24-hour gambling. [19]

STOP program

In 1994, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department developed a program called Stop Turning Out Child Prostitutes (STOP). It aims to identify and arrest child sex traffickers and provide an avenue for child prostitutes to live a successful life. It does this by using the following steps:

  1. Arrest - The police arrest the victim. A team of detectives is then sent to investigate the victim in hopes to locate the trafficker.
  2. Detention - The victim is detained through a material witness hold until after the trafficker has been prosecuted.
  3. Maintenance and Protection - Investigators maintain frequent contact with the victim. They explain the process of the trial and discuss what the victim plans to do after the trial.
  4. Court Appearance - The victim gives testimony at court and the hold is released
  5. Aftercare - If a satisfactory home environment cannot be found, the city may use a program such as the Paul and Lisa program or Children of the Night.

No statistics were kept before the program, but the police department said that most children would return to prostitution shortly after their arrest. Since the program has been implemented, 9.6% of prostitutes were rearrested for prostitution. They also increased the arrests of traffickers to 380. [20]

Shared Hope International said that the prosecution of traffickers is strong in Las Vegas, but criticized the city for arresting known victims of human trafficking, saying that victims of sex trafficking often get longer and more severe punishments than other youth arrested for misdemeanors. [21] Family Court Judge William Voy agreed, saying "These kids don't really belong in juvenile justice but don't fit anywhere else in the system. They're out there being victimized but also committing a delinquent act, prostitution. There is no alternative but the detention center." [19]

ATLAS program

In 2004, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Salvation Army Family Services coordinated a coalition called the Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery (ATLAS). It seeks to identify, rescue and restore victims of human trafficking and to prosecute traffickers in Nevada. [22] It also involves the FBI, women's and family shelters and rape crisis programs, Nevada Child Seekers and the Boyd Law School at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. [19]

Nevada Sex Trafficking Awareness Campaign

The Nevada Sex Trafficking Awareness Campaign is a campaign to raise awareness of sex trafficking in Nevada. It started in 2013, when sex trafficking was officially defined in Nevada. In October 2013, it put up billboards advertising the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline. In January 2014, it aired the documentary "Trafficked No More", about sex trafficking in Nevada. It featured the disappearance of Jessie Foster, who went missing in Las Vegas. [23] They have created handouts and pamphlets based on the documentary to distribute to schools. [24]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Nevada</span>

Nevada is the only U.S. state where prostitution is legally permitted in some form. Prostitution is legal in 10 of Nevada's 17 counties, although only six allow it in every municipality. Six counties have at least one active brothel, which mainly operate in isolated, rural areas. The state's most populated counties, Clark and Washoe, are among those that do not permit prostitution. It is also illegal in Nevada's capital, Carson City, an independent city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child prostitution</span> Prostitution involving a child

Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child prostitution is illegal as part of general prohibition on prostitution.

Prostitution is illegal in Russia. The punishment for engagement in prostitution is a fine from 1500 up to 2000 rubles. Moreover, organizing prostitution is punishable by a prison term. Prostitution remains a very serious social issue in Russia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in the United States</span>

Prostitution is illegal in the vast majority of the United States as a result of state laws rather than federal laws. It is, however, legal in some rural counties within the state of Nevada. Additionally, it is decriminalized to sell sex in the state of Maine, but illegal to buy sex. Prostitution nevertheless occurs elsewhere in the country.

Forced prostitution, also known as involuntary prostitution or compulsory prostitution, is prostitution or sexual slavery that takes place as a result of coercion by a third party. The terms "forced prostitution" or "enforced prostitution" appear in international and humanitarian conventions, such as the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, but have been inconsistently applied. "Forced prostitution" refers to conditions of control over a person who is coerced by another to engage in sexual activity.

Prostitution in Greece is legal at the age of 18, and regulated. It is estimated that fewer than 1,000 women are legally employed as prostitutes and approximately 20,000 women, half of whom are of foreign origin and the other half are Greek, are engaged in illegal prostitution. Many women affected by the economic crisis have turned to prostitution through poverty.

Prostitution in Peru is legal and regulated. UNAIDS estimate there to be 67,000 prostitutes in the country.

Prostitution in Senegal is legal and regulated. Senegal has the distinction of being one of the few countries in Africa to legalize prostitution, and the only one to legally regulate it. The only condition that it is done discreetly. Prostitution was first legalised in 1966. UNAIDS estimate that there are over 20,000 prostitutes in the country. The average age for a sex worker in Senegal is 28 years old and female.

Prostitution in Paraguay is legal for persons over the age of 18, but related activities such as brothel keeping are prohibited. Prostitution is common in the country. Brothels are also common, even some rural villages have a small bar/brothel on the outskirts.

Prostitution in Argentina is legal under Federal law. Article 19 of the constitution states: "The private actions of people that do not offend in any way the public order and morality, nor damage a third person, are only reserved to God, and are exempt from the authority of the magistrates." Organised prostitution is illegal. In addition, individual provinces may place further restriction on the trade. For example, in San Juan, publicly offering sex services for money is punishable by up to 20 days in jail. In 2012, newspapers were banned from carrying classified-ads offering sexual services. UNAIDS estimated there to be about 75,000 prostitutes in the country in 2016.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Ukraine</span>

Prostitution in Ukraine is illegal but widespread and largely ignored by the government. In recent times, Ukraine has become a popular prostitution and sex trafficking destination. Ukraine is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Ukraine's dissolution from the Soviet Union, saw the nation attempt to transition from a planned economy to a market economy. The transition process inflicted economic hardship in the nation, with nearly 80% of the population forced into poverty in the decade that followed its independence. Unemployment in Ukraine was growing at an increasing rate, with female unemployment rising to 64% by 1997. The economic decline in Ukraine made the nation vulnerable and forced many to depend on prostitution and trafficking as a source of income. Sex tourism rose as the country attracted greater numbers of foreign tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Bangladesh</span>

Prostitution is legal and regulated in Bangladesh. Prostitutes must register and state an affidavit stating that they are entering prostitution of their own free choice and that they are unable to find any other work. Bangladeshi prostitutes often suffer poor social conditions and are frequently socially degraded.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Cambodia</span>

Cambodia is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. The traffickers are reportedly organized crime syndicates, parents, relatives, friends, intimate partners, and neighbors.

Prostitution in Armenia is illegal under administrative law. Related activities such as running a brothel and pimping are prohibited by the Criminal Code, although there are known to be brothels in the capital, Yerevan, and in Gyumri. According to UNESCO, since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, prostitution in the country has grown. There are about 5,600 women involved in prostitution in Armenia, roughly 1,500 of them are in Yerevan. However, official police figures are far lower, for example 240 in 2012. Police and other safety forces reportedly tolerate prostitution. Many women turn to prostitution due to unemployment.

Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. The greatest threat of trafficking facing Indonesian men and women is that posed by conditions of forced labor and debt bondage in more developed Asian countries and the Middle East.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in the United States</span>

In the United States, human trafficking tends to occur around international travel hubs with large immigrant populations, notably in California, Texas, and Georgia. Those trafficked include young children, teenagers, men, and women; victims can be domestic citizens or foreign nationals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution law</span> Legality of prostitution

Prostitution laws varies widely from country to country, and between jurisdictions within a country. At one extreme, prostitution or sex work is legal in some places and regarded as a profession, while at the other extreme, it is considered a severe crime punishable by death in some other places. A variety of different legal models exist around the world, including total bans, bans that only target the customer, and laws permitting prostitution but prohibiting organized groups, an example being brothels.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Arizona</span> Overview of the situation of human trafficking in the U.S. state of Arizona

Human trafficking in Arizona is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor as it occurs in the state of Arizona, and it is widely recognized as a modern-day form of slavery. It includes "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in the United States</span>

Sex trafficking in the United States is a form of human trafficking which involves reproductive slavery or commercial sexual exploitation as it occurs in the United States. Sex trafficking includes the transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception and/or force into exploitative and slavery-like conditions. It is commonly associated with organized crime.

Human trafficking in Georgia is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor as it occurs in the US state of Georgia, and it is widely recognized as a modern-day form of slavery. Human trafficking includes "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power, or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs."

References

  1. ↑ United Nations (2000). "U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on April 24, 2014. Retrieved March 3, 2012.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ↑ "United States Report: 1/1/2015 – 12/31/2015" (PDF). National Human Trafficking Resource Center. National Human Trafficking Resource Center. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. ↑ NRS 217.530
  4. ↑ NRS 217.540
  5. ↑ Fundraiser helps Nevada victims of human trafficking
  6. ↑ Attorney General Masto Announces Bill to Combat Sex Trafficking Signed into Law
  7. 1 2 The Business of Desire | Books | Oakland, Berkeley & Bay Area | Stefanie Kalem. Eastbayexpress.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  8. 1 2 Herbert, Bob (2007-09-11). "Fantasies, Well Meant". The New York Times.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Pimps force underage girls to work in Nevada brothels, Oregon police say – Wednesday, Jan. 21, 1998 | 4:39 a.m.. Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  10. ↑ Hoge, Patrick (31 August 2004). "Sober forum, street theater on prostitution ballot issue". San Francisco Chronicle . Hearst Corporation.
  11. ↑ "Outlaw industry, ex-prostitutes say" by Lynnette Curtis, Las Vegas Review-Journal , September 6, 2007.
  12. 1 2 Outlaw industry, ex-prostitutes say – News – ReviewJournal.com. Lvrj.com. Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  13. ↑ Ditmore, Melissa (2009-04-16). "Sex and taxes". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 2010-05-22.
  14. ↑ Working In Nevada. Bayswan.org (1995-11-21). Retrieved on 2011-06-18.
  15. ↑ Chase, Linda (2009). Picturing Las Vegas. Gibbs Smith. p. 99. ISBN   9781423604884.
  16. ↑ Whaley, Sean. "State Lawmaker Plans To Continue Mission In 2011 To Combat Child Prostitution In Nevada". Nevada News Bureau. Archived from the original on 17 December 2011. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  17. ↑ "New Law Expands Crackdown on Child Prostitutes". Las Vegas Now. KLAS TV, CBS Channel 8. 2009-06-22. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2010-03-10.
  18. ↑ Sam Skolnik, "Do we have a human trafficking problem?", Las Vegas Sun, 29 January 2007
  19. 1 2 3 "Report: Las Vegas a Hub for Child Sex Trafficking".
  20. ↑ STOP: Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Vice Section
  21. ↑ Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Las Vegas, Nevada
  22. ↑ "Anti-Trafficking League Against Slavery". Archived from the original on 2016-04-12. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  23. ↑ After Eight Years, Hope Remains Alive Even If Missing Daughter Isn't
  24. ↑ "Trafficked No More". Archived from the original on 2022-04-04. Retrieved 2015-10-27.
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