By: Jordan Mann<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, October 20th, the Ascension Catholic School in Oak Park hosted a lecture on\u00a0\u201cHuman Trafficking.\u201d FBI Supervisory Special Agent Brian Dugan was the guest speaker for\u00a0this disturbing lecture.<\/p>\n
Dugan pointed out that although the subject is disturbing; it is important\u00a0to disseminate this information because an informed populace goes a long way in fighting this crime.\u00a0The lecture began with an explanation of human trafficking; which is\u00a0modern day slavery. If the victim is over the age of 18; force, fraud or coercion must have\u00a0been a factor in the crime. If the victim is a minor it is a crime without the need to prove force,\u00a0fraud or coercion.<\/p>\n
Human smuggling is not the same crime. Human smuggling is a border\u00a0violation and involves getting a person into or out of a country. The person being smuggled is\u00a0not a victim. Although it can turn into human trafficking if the person being smuggled is forced\u00a0to work for no pay after being smuggled.<\/p>\n
Human trafficking is described as forced labor and is not exclusive to the sex trade.\u00a0Trafficking victims are also forced to work as nannies or maids, sweatshop workers, janitors,\u00a0food service employees, migrant farmers, fishery workers, tourist or hospitality workers, beggars\u00a0and even in some nail salons.<\/p>\n
It is estimated that there are almost 30 million victims of human\u00a0trafficking globally and hundreds of thousands of those victims are in the US. At least 105,000\u00a0minors are victims of sex trafficking in the US according to the Justice Department. In Chicago, 90% of trafficking victims work in the sex trade; the percentages change in rural areas but the\u00a0majority still work in the sex trade.<\/p>\n
Sex trafficking is considered the fastest growing organized crime.\u00a0Dugan pointed out that the FBI uses a victim-centered approach to these crimes. They are\u00a0there to help get the victims get away from the traffickers and prosecute only the traffickers. This\u00a0unit does not arrest prostitutes who are adults and in the business by choice. The FBI does offer\u00a0to help them get out of the life but it is only an offer and no force is used. However, when they\u00a0encounter minors, they are helped whether they want help or not.<\/p>\n
This is a very difficult job for law enforcement officers and one of the few units that is\u00a0strictly volunteer in the FBI. The work takes a huge emotional toll on the agents according to\u00a0Dugan; they do this because they know someone has to help these victims.<\/p>\n
At the end of the lecture Dugan passed out a laminated card titled \u201cYou May be a\u00a0Trafficking Victim if\u201d:<\/p>\n
– You are not being paid for your work, or your wages are held by your boss.<\/p>\n
– Your working conditions make you feel unsafe.<\/p>\n
– You are not free to come and go as you please.<\/p>\n
– You feel threatened or members of your family have been threatened<\/p>\n
– Your personal belongings and ID have been taken from you.<\/p>\n
– You are subjected to physical violence or emotional abuse at work.<\/p>\n
– You have had false a ID given to you.<\/p>\n
– Your communication with family and friends is restricted or denied.<\/p>\n
– You are denied rest and are forced to work while you are sick.<\/p>\n
If you, or someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, please call the Chicago FBI\u00a0Office<\/strong> at 312-421-6700<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Jordan Mann On Tuesday, October 20th, the Ascension Catholic School in Oak Park hosted a lecture on\u00a0\u201cHuman Trafficking.\u201d FBI Supervisory Special Agent Brian Dugan was the guest speaker for\u00a0this disturbing lecture. Dugan pointed out that although the subject is disturbing; it is important\u00a0to disseminate this information because an informed populace goes a long way […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,1],"tags":[392],"class_list":["post-1684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-life-culture","category-uncategorized","tag-human-trafficking"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/42"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1684\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spectator.cuchicago.edu\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}