HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

Members of the Institute of Politics' Sex Trafficking Policy Group Loui Itoh '07 (left) and Alexandra C. Bell '08 talk with Massachusetts State Sen. Mark C. Montigny. (Staff photo Rose Lincoln/Harvard News Office)

A group of Harvard undergraduates studying sexual slavery in the United States recommended Tuesday (March 14) that states set up task forces of state, federal, and local officials as well as victims and victim advocacy groups to fight a horrific but, so far, low-priority problem.

The students, members of the Institute of Politics' Sex Trafficking Policy Group, discussed their results with Massachusetts State Sen. Mark Montigny during a briefing session at the Institute of Politics. Montigny has spearheaded efforts to establish such a task force in Massachusetts.

The state bodies, the students said in their report, should have four main goals: improving identification of victims, increasing prosecution of sex traffickers, aiding victim recovery, and promoting awareness of the problem in the public.

Though some states and the federal government have already taken action to curb sex trafficking, the report said that actions taken so far are dwarfed by the problem.

Nearly 300,000 American youth are in danger of being exploited by commercial sex operations, the report says, and between 14,500 and 17,500 foreigners are brought into the United States each year to work in brothels. Eighty percent of those foreigners are women and half are under age 18. Many of those foreigners are lured by promises of jobs or marriage and, on arrival, are trapped in apartments, raped, beaten, and forced to have sex with strangers.

Americans are equally in danger, with native-born women and youth reporting being held against their will, raped, and forced to have sex for money.

The magnitude of the task that lies ahead is illustrated by the relatively few victims found and the low numbers of prosecutions, the report said. Despite the tens of thousands of people thought to be trafficked into the United States over the last four years, just 611 victims have been found over that period. Similarly, the Justice Department filed just 29 human trafficking cases in 2004, when the estimated number of victims indicates that there are far more traffickers in operation.

In addition, the report states, there has been a failure to provide rehabilitation services to victims, with less than half of the 49 agencies surveyed by Free the Slaves and the University of California, Berkeley, able to provide all the services needed.

On Tuesday, Montigny agreed with the students' findings that recognition of the problem among law enforcement is key. Many law enforcement officers don't recognize the difference between willing prostitution and sexual slavery and have only misdemeanor laws against pimping to fight sex traffickers. Sexual slaves are often viewed as criminals and illegal immigrants instead of victims and are charged with prostitution and deported.

Montigny praised the students' efforts and echoed their call that more be done about the problem. He cautioned, however, that government task forces are often used as an excuse to do nothing. A task force on sex trafficking, he said, should have concrete goals, a staff, and a budget in order to have a chance to be effective.

Though many people think sex trafficking is a problem to be dealt with by international organizations or the federal government, Montigny said the students' focus on state and local government is appropriate because it's on the streets where brothels operate that police and other law enforcement agencies can best attack the problem.

Harvard junior Loui Itoh, one of the policy group's three chairs, said the exchange with Montigny was helpful. The group will now publish the report in final form and send it to government officials in different states.

Itoh was one of the driving forces behind the project. She said she became interested in the subject after doing some research on international sex trafficking for a class. In the course of her work, she was horrified to come across newspaper stories describing the problem here in the United States.

"I was shocked that this is basically a form of modern day slavery," Itoh said. "I find that shocking that this is going on in this day and age in America."

The policy group's work provided some comfort, however, Itoh said. Though the students learned more about the extent of the problem, they also met many dedicated people working hard to stop sex trafficking and to help the victims.

The Institute of Politics' Student Policy Group Program was developed in 2004 to encourage undergraduate research and advocacy. The groups are organized and led by undergraduates and aim to develop specific policy recommendations.

alvin_powell@harvard.edu

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