Logan Cunningham

Annotated Bibliography

Austin, R. & Farrell, A. (2017). Human trafficking and the Media in the United States. ​Oxford

Research Encyclopedia of Criminology​. Retrieved from http://criminology.oxfordre.com/

view/10.1093/acrefore/9780190264079.001.0001/acrefore-9780190264079-e-290?print=

pdf

Rachel Austin and Amy Farrell explore the media’s role in the human trafficking
industry, as well as their role in educating the public about said epidemic in their article
“Human Trafficking and the Media in the United States” published in the Oxford
Research Encyclopedia of Criminology. Austin and Farrell claim that media coverage of
human trafficking spiked around 2005 and has risen steadily since that time, yet this issue
is still a pressing epidemic in the US. While human trafficking has become a “hot topic”
for the media in recent years, they often misrepresent the issue or focus exclusively on
certain aspects of the problem, creating a misinformed public on a very real issue.
Research on human trafficking in print media revealed that portrayals of human
trafficking were for the most part oversimplified and inaccurate. Incorrect framing of
human trafficking in the popular media may lead policymakers and legislators to adopt
less helpful anti trafficking responses, particularly focused on criminal justice system
solutions. By including information such as this in a research paper pertaining to the lack
of proper education of the public on human trafficking, one would be able to gain a better
understanding of why the public does not see the human trafficking epidemic as a real,
pressing issue, furthering the argument that increased education is necessary.

Coorlim, L. (2017, March 14). Sex trafficking: The new American slavery. ​CNN.​ Retrieved from

https://www.cnn.com/2015/07/20/us/sex-trafficking/index.html

This article sites a specific example of sex trafficking in the United States, beginning in a
Florida middle school. What started as a controlling relationship between an innocent
teenager and an older man turned into a form of sexual exploitation that one would never
expect to become a part of. Sacharay, the teenager in the story, began being sold to
dozens of men a day, something she only agreed to because in turn, her trafficker gave
her the affection and attention she so desperately wanted. Furthermore, this article points
out how Atlanta, Georgia is a “hub” for human trafficking in the United States. In
Atlanta, traffickers can command higher prices for their goods and services, as well as the
fact that the city houses the busiest airport in the world. The article also discusses The
Living Water Center, an organization providing victims of human trafficking with two
things that never seemed possible: a GED and a job. This article provides the reader with
a personal insight into the sex trade in the United States, while also beginning the
 conversation on organizations and programs that can help victims get out of trafficking
rings and start over in life.

Hepburn, S., & Simon, R. J. (2010). Hidden in plain sight: Human trafficking in the United

States. ​Gender Issues, 27​(1-2), 1-26.

Stephanie Hepburn and Rita J. Simon focus on the worldwide similarities within the
human trafficking industry in their article “Understanding Human Trafficking in the
United States” in order to give the reader a better understanding of the human trafficking
industry in the United States from a global comparison. The United States is one of the
top ten destinations for human trafficking, with tens of thousands of people trafficked
into the country each year. Hepburn and Simon note that although trafficking for the
purpose of commercial sexual exploitation is more publicized in the media, it is not the
only form of trafficking that takes place in the US. According to the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime, domestic, food and care services, garment, and agricultural
slavery makeup 42.6% of trafficking cases. One of the largest issues discussed by
Hepburn and Simon was the relaxation of laws pertaining to human trafficking in the
United States. On September 5, 2005, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA), temporarily suspended the enforcement of job safety and health standards in
hurricane-impacted counties and parishes in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, and
Louisiana. Similarly, Affirmative Action requirements were also suspended. These
changes opened the floodgates for worker exploitation and human trafficking, something
that happens all too often in the United States, yet is never given a second thought. By
including this information in a research paper, one would have better evidence as to why
human trafficking has become such an epidemic in the United States, making American
more aware of the causes they can help to alleviate.

Kotrla, K. (2010). Domestic minor sex trafficking in the United States. ​Social Work, 55​(2),

181-187.

This journal article from Kimberly Kotrla dives into the epidemic of sex trafficking with
minors in the United States. Furthermore, Kotrla explores social workers connection to
human trafficking, and how many are unfamiliar with research indicating that youths
constitute the most vulnerable group in the United States for becoming victims of sex
trafficking. Kotrla notes that the trafficking of thousands of American children for
commercial sexual exploitation would not exist if the demand for them were not present.
Yet, the human trafficking industry is able to survive and thrive due to the “culture of
tolerance” that supports flourishing markets in the United States. Although the markets
are distinct in each of the four major commercial sex markets - Jamaica, the Netherlands,
 the United States, and Japan - they are require some level of tolerance within the
community in order to exist. Placing an emphasis on this “culture of tolerance” as well as
the lack of education in the social work field are two very important topics that have not
come up in many research articles. Noting the tolerant nature of Americans, as well as
their lack of education, in a research paper is essential when attempting to determine
ways in which to further knowledge of the human trafficking industry in the United
States.

Logan, T.K., Walker, R., & Hunt, G. (2009). Understanding human trafficking in the United

States. ​Trauma, Violence, and Abuse, 10​(1), 3-30.

K. Logan, Robert Walker, and Gretchen Hunt, in their article “Understanding Human
Trafficking in the United States” define human trafficking as “(a) the recruitment,
harboring, transporting, supplying, or obtaining a person for labor or services through the
use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of involuntary servitude or slavery”. Their
definition actually comes from the Trafficking Victims Act of 2000, one of the key pieces
of legislature regarding human trafficking in the US. This definition provides a common
link between many research articles, seeing as that very definition is almost universal to
the educated community. While Logan and his associates laid the foundation for what
human trafficking is, their research on the types of human trafficking occurring within the
country did not match with other research previously conducted, creating an interesting
disparity. Several reports mentioned by Logan and his associates categorize “personal
service or servile marriage” as relatively large in comparison to other categories, while in
other sources, forced labor exploitation was found to be relatively overpowering. While
this does not discredit the work done by Logan and his partners, it does create several
interesting research questions to be further examined, such as: “What is the true largest
form of human trafficking in the United States?”

Recognize the signs. (2018). ​Polaris Project​. Retrieved from https://polarisproject.org/

human-trafficking/recognize-signs

This article from the Polaris Project lists several potential red flags to look for in order to
identify victims of human trafficking effectively. Common work and living conditions
include, but are not limited to, when the individual in question: is not free to leave or
come and go as he/ she wishes, is under 18 and is providing commercial sex acts, is
unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips, owes a large debt and is unable to pay it
off, or was recruited through false promises concerning the nature and conditions of
his/her work. Those involved with human trafficking are also usually fearful, anxious,
depressed, submissive, and tense. They also tend to avoid eye contact, lack health care,
and show signs of physical and/or sexual abuse. Typically, they have few or no personal
possessions, are not in control of his/her own money, have no financial records, and are
not in control of his/her own identification documents. The article makes sure to note that
 their list is not exhaustive and represents only a selection of possible indicators. Also, the
red flags in their list may not be present in all trafficking cases and are not cumulative.
This article provides the reader with a comprehensive list of red flags to keep in mind
when questioning whether an individual is involved in human trafficking, something
many people are not aware of.

Survival stories. (2018). ​Richmond Justice Initiative​. Retrieved from http://richmondjustice

initiative.com/human-trafficking/survival-stories/

Unlike many articles pertaining to the topic of human trafficking, the Richmond Justice
Initiative uses their platform to post “Survival Stories” of women who survived human
trafficking in Richmond, Virginia. Two stories posted on the website currently are those
of Holly Austin Smith and Barbara Amaya. Both Austin and Amaya began their journeys
with human trafficking by running away from home at the young ages of fourteen and
twelve. Austin was quickly thrown into a sex trafficking ring on Pacific Avenue in
Atlantic City, New Jersey. Luckily, after her first night on the job, a police officer
recognized her as underage and arrested her. The same cannot be said for Barbara
Amaya. When she ran away, she was taken in by a couple who fed her and seemed to
care for her, yet used her for several months before selling her to another trafficker. She
ended up spending eight years in New York City being trafficked. Both women are alive
and well today, but are very passionate about educating those around Richmond, as well
as all over the country, about the dangers of human trafficking. Including personal stories
such as these in a research paper is pertinent in order to gain the attention of the reader,
bringing the story to life more than a mere statistic could.

Thrupkaew, N. (2015, March). ​Human trafficking is all around you. This is how it works​ [Video

file]. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/noy_thrupkaew_human_trafficking

_is_all _around_you_this_is_how_it_works/up-next

This TEDTalk focused on Noy Thrupkaew’s personal connection to human trafficking in

the United States, as well as her insight into the subject as an epidemic in the United
States. Thrupkaew points out that Americans tend to think that human trafficking is only
about forced prostitution, when in reality, it is embedded in their everyday lives. For
example, forced prostitution accounts for 22 percent of human trafficking, while 68
percent is for the purpose of creating the goods and delivering the services that most
people rely on daily, from sectors such as agricultural work, domestic work, and
construction. Thrupkaew also exposes the criminal justice system for their lack of
assistance when it comes to the issue of human trafficking, claiming that they are too
often part of the problem, rather than the solution. In fact, between 20 and 60 percent of
the people in the sex trade that were surveyed said that they had been raped or assaulted
by the police in the past year alone. As a result of all of these things, Americans should
consider human trafficking to be more of a domestic issue than it is currently considered,
 seeing as the exploitation of workers is something all Americans contribute to and are
affected by, whether they realize it or not.

Wilson, J., & Dalton, E. (2007). Justice System Response. In ​Human Trafficking in Ohio:

Markets, Responses, and Considerations​ (pp. 29-42). Santa Monica, CA; Arlington, VA;

Pittsburgh, PA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/

stable/10.7249/mg689oacp.10

Similar to their chapter on service providers and community responses, Jeremy Wilson
and Erin Dalton explore the justice system’s response to human trafficking in a chapter of
their book “Human Trafficking in Ohio”. According to Wilson and Dalton, select staff in
nearly all the law enforcement organizations that participated in their study received
training on human trafficking. For example, in Columbus, most of the training was
provided by local experts or the state. Similarly, according to the same survey, only four
of the departments indicated that they had personnel assigned to deal exclusively with
issues involving human trafficking, although 37 percent acknowledged that the
department had personnel or a unit whose duties would include addressing
human-trafficking issues or cases. None of the local, state, or federal law enforcement
agencies that participated in the study in Columbus had dedicated human-trafficking
resources, furthering the hypothesis that the United States is under-educated on the
severity of human trafficking. By including information such as this in a research paper
pertaining to the education of Americans on the epidemic of human trafficking, one
would be able to gain a better understanding of the domestic ignorance of the American
population.

Wilson, J., & Dalton, E. (2007). Service Provider and Community Responses. In ​Human

Trafficking in Ohio: Markets, Responses, and Considerations​ (pp. 43-50). Santa Monica,

CA; Arlington, VA; Pittsburgh, PA: RAND Corporation. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org/ stable/10.7249/mg689oacp.11

Jeremy Wilson and Erin Dalton explore the role of service providers, as well as
community responses in a chapter of their book “Human Trafficking in Ohio”. At the
national level, the US Department of State has funded anti-trafficking programs in 50
countries. Similarly, the US Department of Health and Human Services has provided
education, outreach, and direct assistance to trafficking victims. Finally, the DOJ’s Office
of Victims of Crime has awarded 27 grants funding 25 direct service projects for victims.
Wilson and Dalton also note the plethora of services needed for human trafficking
victims, including, but not limited to, legal services, medical services, and information or
referral services. Many of these services are available, but respondents contend that they
are not adequately funded. Many of the service providers in the United States indicate a
strong desire to reach more victims, but lack the funding to do so. By including
information such as this in a research paper detailing the education of Americans on
human trafficking, one would have a better understand as to why the epidemic in the
United States is such a large issue, and more importantly, an issue that many people are
unaware of.