genderberg.com - The flesh trade

Officials call attention to the phenomenon of human trafficking

BY RYAN SLATTERY
Tuesday March 15, 2005

Officials call attention to the phenomenon of human trafficking They call it modern-day slavery. Young children, teenagers, women and men promised riches and a better life arrive in the United States from overseas -- but instead find themselves working for pitiful wages or are forced into the sex trade. And it's happening more often than people think.

Human trafficking is second only to drug dealing as the largest criminal industry in the world, and officials say the business has become so lucrative that it's growing.

And although the numbers are hard to nail down because most incidents go unreported, government officials estimate that roughly 600,000 to 800,000 victims are trafficked annually across international borders. Of those, it's estimated that between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked, enslaved and exploited for sex and labor each year in the United States -- more than half of the victims are children forced into prostitution, pornography, stripping and live-sex shows.

"It's a phenomenon," Steven Wagner, director of the Trafficking in Persons Program for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, told a crowd of local human rights activists at the Suncoast hotel-casino. "Every victim has a different story but there is an element that is common in all cases. They are paralyzed by fear. Fear of what may happen if they make a break for freedom."

Wagner was in town March 15 to launch a public-awareness campaign and announce the formation of the Nevada Rescue & Restore Coalition, a 37-member organization aimed at fighting the problem of human trafficking. Las Vegas is the 11th city to take part in the national program.

"We need to eliminate the buying and selling of people as if they are a commodity," said Belinda Thompson-Rutledge, executive director of the Goshen Community Development Coalition. "It takes a collective effort to eradicate slavery."

Sex trafficking is a $7-billion industry. It takes place in a variety of forms ranging from the highly visible (street prostitution) to more clandestine operations where massage parlors, spas, strip clubs and other businesses serve as fronts for prostitution. Because of the city's reputation as an anything-goes town, many fear the commercial sex trade is thriving in Las Vegas.

Kathleen Boutin, director of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, said the "barely 18" advertisements for outcall services in the local phone book are evidence that there is a problem here.

"It's despicable," Boutin said. "Something needs to be done."

Wagner agrees, but said separating the legitimate businesses from those fronting for prostitution are often hard to crack. He's hoping the partnership with the Nevada Rescue & Restore Coalition will help expose human trafficking in the Las Vegas Valley.

To get things started, Wagner presented WestCare Nevada with a $150,000 grant. The grant will allow the organization to double its street-outreach effort by hiring two new full-time staffers -- giving it a total of four employees to hit neighborhoods looking to assist and aid street prostitutes who may be trapped in a trafficking ring.

"It's an economic crime," admits Wagner of the commercial-sex trade. "It occurs because there is money to be made in a grossly illegal way. It needs to be stopped."

Ryan Slattery is a local freelance journalist and a regular CityLife contributor.

Origionally posted www.lasvegascitylife.com/articles/2005/03/15/local_news/news02.txt