Human trafficking in California 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 California, 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."
California is particularly vulnerable because of "proximity to international borders, number of ports and airports, significant immigrant population, and large economy that includes industries that attract forced labor." It serves both as an entry point for slaves imported from outside the US as well as a destination for slaves. Slavery is found throughout California, but major hubs are centered on Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, and San Francisco. According to the 2011 Department of State report, California, together with New York, Texas, and Oklahoma, has the largest concentrations of survivors of human trafficking. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center reported receiving 3,609 calls and emails in 2015 about human trafficking in California.
Demographics
Exact numbers are difficult to obtain since human trafficking is illegal in California. Research by San Diego State University indicate that potentially 495,293 undocumented Mexican workers have been victims of labor trafficking in California. The National Human Trafficking Resource Center keeps statistics on the number of calls to their hotline and the number of cases. From December 2007 to June 2015, they received 13,215 calls on human trafficking in California, which resulted in 3,628 cases. The most common type of trafficking was sex trafficking, followed by domestic work, traveling sales crews, begging rings, health and beauty services, and agriculture.
Law
In 2005, California passed Assembly Bill 22, California’s first law setting higher criminal penalties for human trafficking.
In 2011, California enacted a new law called the "Transparency in Supply Chains Act." The law requires certain retailers to disclose their efforts to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from their supply chains. The law went into effect January 1, 2012, and it applies to any company that is in the "retail trade" that has annual worldwide gross receipts in excess of $100 million and annual California sales exceeding $500,000.
In 2012, California SB-1193 was passed which required certain businesses to post a human trafficking hotline in a public location.
California criminal code specifies that the Attorney General should give priority to human trafficking matters. Law enforcement agencies are required to use due diligence in identifying victims. Additional fines are levied against people convicted of trafficking, which is to be used for child sexual abuse prevention and counseling and to serve minor victims of human trafficking.
Illegal immigrants
According to research at San Diego State University, approximately 30.9% (or 38,458) of undocumented Mexican workers in San Diego county have been victims of human trafficking. They found that around 6% of illegal immigrants were trafficked by their smugglers while entering the United States. 28% were trafficked by their employers after entering the United States. They found that 36% of undocumented Mexicans working in cleaning businesses were victims of human trafficking, 35% of those working in construction, 27% of those working in landscaping, and 16% of those working in agriculture. In an effort to curb the spread of trafficking, California Attorney General Kamala Harris and Mexico Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez signed an accord in 2012 to expand prosecutions of criminals typically members of transnational gangs who engage in the trafficking of human beings between the United States and Mexico.
Regional Anti-Human Trafficking Task Forces
California does not have a single task force to combat human trafficking, but instead has nine regional task forces. The U.S. Department of Justice awarded grants to create six regional task forces in 2004 and 2005, and in 2009 and 2010, the California Emergency Management Agency used American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grant funds to create three new regional task forces. Task forces and made up of law enforcement and local, state, and federal prosecutors, as well as other governmental leaders and nongovernmental organizations. The task forces are as follows:
- East Bay Human Trafficking Task Force
- Fresno Coalition Against Human Trafficking
- Los Angeles Metro Area Task Force on Human Trafficking
- North Bay Human Trafficking Task Force
- Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force
- Riverside County Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force
- Sacramento Innocence Lost Task Force
- San Diego North County Anti-Trafficking Task Force
- San Jose/South Bay Human Trafficking Task Force
Organizations
- Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST) is a Los Angeles-based anti-human trafficking organization. Through legal, social, and advocacy services, CAST helps rehabilitate survivors of human trafficking, raises awareness, and affects legislation and public policy surrounding human trafficking.
- California Against Slavery is an organization that focused on passing the Californians Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE) Act.
- Slavery Footprint is an Oakland-based organization that seeks to raise the awareness of slavery. They investigated the supply lines of 400 consumer products to determine the likely number of slaves it takes to make each of those products. They put the information into an online survey where you can determine the number of slaves that are needed to maintain your personal lifestyle.
- H.E.A.T Watch is an Alameda county-based effort to combat under the leadership of the county's district attorney. It sponsors H.E.A.T. Watch Radio which has news stories and interviews about the commercial sexual exploitation of children and human trafficking.
- Not for Sale is an international non-profit organization based out of San Francisco, California that works to protect people and communities around the world from human trafficking and modern-day slavery.
- The Standing Against Global Exploitation Project (SAGE Project) is a project based in San Francisco that focuses on raising awareness about and providing support for victims of sexual exploitation.
- Orange County Human Trafficking task force focuses on ending human trafficking in the county of Orange.
- South Bay Coalition to End Human Trafficking is based in the area south of the San Francisco bay. It has a hotline and offers training courses for professionals and interested individuals.
- Sacramento Against Sex Slavery in Massage Parlors is a Sacramento-based organizations that focuses on ending sex slavery in massage parlors.
- The Thai Community Development Center is a Los Angeles based anti-human trafficking organization that works to bring redress and restitution to Thai victims of human trafficking.
Examples
Lakireddy Bali Reddy was one of Berkeley's richest real estate tycoons and restaurateurs, who operated a sex trafficking ring in Berkeley California. His victims were continually raped and forced to work in his restaurants and rental properties. He was discovered when one of his slaves died of carbon monoxide poisoning. He was convicted and served a little less than an eight-year sentence in Lompoc Federal Prison. His sentence prompted a public conversation which led to reform to California law regarding human trafficking.
JB Farm Labor contractor hired hundreds to work on an asparagus farm in San Joaquin County. Once hired, they were held hostage and threatened with physical harm if they complained to authorities. After California Rural Legal Assistance was unable to locate JB Farm Labor contractor, they sued the grower who was ordered to pay the workers back-pay.
In the landmark El Monte Thai Garment Slavery Case, a sweatshop in El Monte imprisoned 72 workers. The prisoners were not allowed outside and were told their families would be harmed and their homes burned if they tried to escape. A raid on the sweatshop lead to the arrest of 8 traffickers. The victims were freed and won a $4 million settlement with the help of the Thai Community Development Center. The case lead to reform in legislation which offered visas to victims of human trafficking. The incident later became the subject of an exhibit in the Smithsonian Institution.
The Trans Bay Steel, Inc. contracted with Kota Manpower Co., and Hi Cap Enterprises, Inc., to hire 48 weld workers to work on the San Francisco Bay Bridge. However, only 9 went to work with Trans Bay Steel. The others were held against their will, had their passports confiscated, had their movements restricted, and were forced to work without pay at Thai restaurants owned by Kota Manpower and Hi-Cap in Los Angeles and Long Beach. Trans Bay Steel was sued by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and forced to pay an estimated $1 million in relief and compensation.
Supawan Veerapool was sentenced to 8 years of prison for imprisoning her domestic workers for 9 years. The worker's passports were confiscated and they were forced to work twenty-hour days, six days a week. The two workers escaped to the Thai Community Development Center and later were able to stay in the United States after receiving T-Visas.
San Diego Adult Service Provider was a member-only website that was used for sex trafficking. Members were charged $100 a month and the website operator personally vetted every member in order to evade law enforcement. The website was taken down in 2016.
See also
- History of enslavement of indigenous peoples in California
References
