CBA Record Feb-March 2017

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YLS Special Issue lPROTECTING OUR CHILDREN
CBA RECORD 39
International law, specifically the Pal-
ermo Protocol, broadly defines “trafficking
in persons” as “the recruitment, transpor-
tation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of
persons, by means of the threat or use of
force or other forms of coercion, of abduc-
tion, 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
the prostitution of others or other forms
of sexual exploitation, forced labour or ser-
vices, slavery or practices similar to slavery,
servitude or the removal of organs.” G.A.
Res. 55/25, Art. III (Nov. 15, 2000) (avail-
able at ). Notably, it
is not possible to consent to be trafficked
under international law.
US law more narrowly defines “sex
trafficking” as “the recruitment, harbor-
ing, transportation, provision, obtaining,
patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the
purpose of a commercial sex act,” 22 USC
§ 7102(10), and defines “human traffick-
ing” as sex trafficking of a minor or “the
recruitment, harboring, transportation,
provision, or obtaining of a person for labor
or services, through the use of force, fraud,
or coercion for the purpose of subjection
to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt
bondage, or slavery.” 6 USC § 641(2); 22
USC § 7102(9).
U.S. law impliedly permits adult con-
sent to be prostituted; a situation that
would more likely be considered human
trafficking under international law. As
such, our law has yet to step away from
the myth that prostitution is a victim-
less crime. Any hint of consent is likely a
veneer, and, in reality, the vast majority of
those caught in sex trafficking rings do not
stay by choice. A. Cotton et als., Attitudes
Toward Prostitution and Acceptance of
Rape Myths, J. of Applied Social Psych.
(Sept. 2002) (“There is a growing literature
that documents the human-rights abuses
intrinsic to prostitution, which include
sexual harassment, economic servitude,
educational deprivation, job discrimina-
tion, domestic violence, racism, classism,
vulnerability to frequent physical and
sexual assault, and being subjected to
body invasions that are equivalent to tor-
ture.”). Illinois law does, however, provide
immunity from prosecution to prostituted
minors. 720 ILCS 5/11-14(d).
The perpetuation of the attitude (that
prostitution is largely voluntary or that
demand is the inevitable result of male
libido) is why U.S. prostitution laws have
focused on the prosecution of women
rather than men. To counteract these atti-
tudes, organizations like CAASE educate
young men in an effort to decrease the
demand that leads to the sexual slavery
of so many, and to disrupt the stereotype
that men who purchase sex are “just doing
what men do.” L. Janson et als., ‘Our Great
Hobby’: An Analysis of Online Networks
for Buyers of Sex in Illinois (Jan. 2013),
It is the huge disparity between supply
and demand that drives sex trafficking.
This is especially troubling in light of an
Atlanta area study that concluded “42%
of men who purchase sex either specifi-
cally seek out young females, or are will-
ing to ignore all warning signs that the
female they are about to have sex with is
an adolescent.” The Schapiro Group, Men
Who Buy Sex with Adolescent Girls: A
Scientific Research Study (2010), http://
What Lawyers Should Do
There are many things lawyers can do to
help victims of human trafficking. Attor-
neys can volunteer at organizations like
CAASE to provide pro bono legal counsel
to trafficking victims.
Lawyers who feel ill-equipped to repre-
sent trafficking victims should counsel their
corporate clients to ensure that they are
not aiding and abetting human trafficking.
See 18 U.S.C. § 1593A (“Whoever know-
ingly benefits, financially or by receiving
anything of value, from participation in
a venture which has engaged in any act
[], knowing or in reckless disregard of the
fact that the venture has engaged in such
violation, shall be fined under this title
or imprisoned in the same manner as a
completed violation of such section.”); 18
U.S.C. § 1595 (“An individual who is a
victim of a violation of this chapter may
bring a civil action against the perpetrator
(or whoever knowingly benefits, financially
or by receiving anything of value from par-
ticipation in a venture which that person
knew or should have known has engaged
in an act in violation of this chapter) in an
appropriate district court of the United
States and may recover damages and rea-
sonable attorneys fees.”).
For example, manufacturing clients
should ensure that their supply chains are
free from trafficked labor. Also, certain
industries are much more likely to indirectly
support human trafficking. Those industries
include hotels, landlords of residential
real estate, and taxi cabs and ride-sharing
companies. A client’s employees should
be trained to recognize and respond to
suspected human trafficking. All too often,
persons in those industries are not only
aware of human trafficking, but directly
and intentionally benefit from it.
While only 10% of men purchase
sex, men still almost exclusively drive the
demand that causes sexual slavery. A client
with male employees who frequently travel
(e.g., truckers or salesmen) should take
steps to educate their employees on the
destructive nature of sex trafficking to
ensure that no employee participates in it.
While the problem of human traffick-
ing seems monumental, remember the
individual human that each statistic repre-
sents. You can contribute to giving that one
person freedom. For a list of recommenda-
tions on the State Department’s list of 15
ways you can combat human trafficking,
visit
Oliver Khan is Assistant Counsel at the
American Association of Insurance Services,
Inc. and a Co-Editor-in-Chief of the YLS
Journal