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HumanTraffickingI N A F R I C A N A M E R I C A N C O M M U N I T I E SPREPARED BY JEAN KOVAR, KELCE LEMONS, AND LYZA LOPEZ A C O M M U N I T Y A W A R E N E S S W O R K B O O K
A Note Before You Begin We understand that this topic can be emotionally difficult. This workbook was created to educate, raise awareness, and support learning. The creators are not minimizing the seriousness of human trafficking or the experience of survivors. The activities in these pages are designed to help you think, reflect, and engage at your own pace. Please take breaks if necessary.PAGE 1
PAGE 3 WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING PAGE 5 TEXAS TRENDS PAGE 6 RURAL RISKS PAGE 7 RECOGNIZING HUMAN TRAFFICKING PAGE 8 WHY SPOTTING TRAFFICKING ISN’T RELIABLE PAGE 9 SCENARIO PAGE 10 CULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS PAGE 11 CULTURAL DISPARITIES PAGE 12 BARRIERSPAGE 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is human trafficking?FACT ONETrafficking is happening all over the world. This includes rural communities.FACT TWOControl over a person is the biggest goal of a human trafficker.FACT THREEThe recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring of people. This is done through force, fraud, or deception all in an effort of exploitation. (United, n.d.).CIRCLE ALL THE GROUPS OR LOCATIONS WHERE TRAFFICKING CAN OCCUR. MEN WOMEN CHILDREN RURAL COMMUNITIES URBAN COMMUNITIES SUBURBS ONLY BIG CITIES ONLY IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES ALL AGE RANGES ALL CULTURAL BACKGROUNDSANSWERS: MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN, RURAL COMMUNITIES, URBAN COMMUNITIES, SUBURBS, ALL CULTURAL BACKGROUNDS, ALL AGE RANGES(UNITED, A.D.)(UNITED, A.D.)
Human Traffickers seek to control their victims. This can come in many forms: sexually, physically, financially, and emotionally (United, n.d.).(UNITED, A.D.)Human Traffickers may also inflict violence or various schemes to get the victim to comply with demands (United, n.d.).FACT FOUR Human Traffickers must do one of the following: Recruit, Transport, transfer, Harbour, or receive victims in order for the act to be considered ‘trafficking’.FACT FIVE Human Trafficking can look different. Some victims experience child labor, sexual abuse, and at times, organ removal(UNITED, A.D.)FACT SIX In 2022, 69% of trafficking was specifically sexual exploitation.PAGE 4
In 2019, Texas had the second-highest reported Human Trafficking in the country (Ladd & Jones, 2022). Texas Trends Texas is a hub for Human Trafficking. This is especially true for cities such as Austin, Houston, San Antonio, and even Dallas/Fort Worth (United, a.d.). TEXAS STATS Trafficking in African American Communities As Texas is coming in as a close second for Human Trafficking, it is important to remember that the act itself is not gender, culture, race, or age specific. The statistics of African American victimization of human trafficking are overrepresented nationally. However, for Texas specifically, the statistics are rarely broken down by race. This makes it difficult for researchers to truly evaluate the effects of human trafficking on African Americans in Texas. CONNECT THE DOTSPAGE 5IMAGE SOURCE: ENCHANTEDLEARNING.COM
RESOURCES VISABILITY OPEN SPACES EDUCATION Rural RisksIn rural areas, there is a lack of resources, such as neighborhood watch programs or routine patrol. There is not a lot of outting oppertunities for citizens to spot victims. For example, the closest grocery store could be an hour away. Rural areas have buildings and homes that are a distance apart. This leave potential trafficking to go unnoticed. Those in rural areas may have a lack of education on how to spot HTRural areas may increase risk factors or barriers to assistance. Here is why:(Ladd & Jones, 2022)PAGE 6 REFLECT ON THE RISKS OF RURAL COMMUNITIES
Recognizing Human Trafficking COMPLETE THE SENTENCES USING THE WORDS FROM THE WORD BANK. According to Polarisproject.org, Human Trafficking trainings have focused on teaching people about the "signs" or "indicators" of trafficking. These might be things like a person looking disheveled, upset, or scared. But as we've learned more about how trafficking really works, we have also learned that in many cases, there isn't going to be anything visible that would alert you that a stranger is being trafficked. ________ 1 _______________ 2 _______________ 3 ________ 4 __________ 5 __________ 6 _____________ 7 Disheveled Indicators Scared Signs Stranger Upset VisibleANSWERS: 1) SIGNS 2) INDICATORS 3) DISHEVELED 4) UPSET 5) SCARED 6) VISIBLE 7) STRANGERPOLARIS. (N.D.).
When we talk about warning signs, the first thing to understand is that appearance isn't evidence. appearance isn't evidence Why “spotting” Trafficking Isn’t ReliablePAGE 8 Human trafficking doesn't have a "look", and relying on surface- level assumptions is especially harmful for Black communities. Because of systemic racism and stereotypes, African Americans are more likely to be misidentified as perpetrators of crime versus victims. We see this in the data. According to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Black girls are arrested for prostitution-related offenses at rates more than 4.5x that of white youth, even though many of them are actually being exploited. This misidentification occurs when we fill in the gaps with bias rather than information. bias can lead to criminalization And that's why proximity and context matter. Proximity means you actually know the person or have interacted with them. Context means you understand their situation, their relationships, and the conditions around them.(Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2020)
Scenario You stop at a gas station and observe an African American woman who appears disheveled and is approaching people in their cars. She eventually gets into a vehicle with an older man and they drive away. Is this situation:A. Someone getting a rideB. Someone being traffickedC. You have no ideaD. Someone willingly engaging in commercial sexANSWER: C
Cultural & Environmental Considerations40% of missing persons are persons of color, yet African-Americans make up only 13% of the population (Census.gov). In an interview with the Urban Institute, traffickers admittedly believe trafficking Black women would land them less jail time than trafficking White women if caught (Urban Institute, n.d.)SEX TRAFFICKINGBLACK AND MISSING IN AMERICASOCIOECONOMIC STATUS Due to unemployment, debt, and need to provide for themselves and their children, Black victims are less likely to leave the situation to make ends meet (Institute for Women’s Policy Research, n.d.)FOSTER CARE Foster children are 10x more likely to be sexually abused. Black children are sexually abused 2x as much as their White counterparts in the foster care system (Rights4Girls, n.d.).“ADULTIFICATION” The Center on Poverty & Inequality created a study which found that adults viewed Black girls less innocent and more adult-like than white girls. The sexualization and “adultification” of Black girls contributes to a school to prison pipeline.PAGE 10
Cultural Disparity Runaways A LOT OF MINORITY CHILDREN ARE INITIALLY CLASSIFIED AS RUNAWAYS, AND AS A RESULT DO NOT RECEIVE THE AMBERT ALERT. Criminals MISSING MINORITY ADULTS ARE LABELED AS ASSOCIATED WITH CRIMINAL INVOLVEMENT, GANGS AND DRUGS. Desensitization IT IS BELIEVED THAT MISSING MINORITIES LIVE IN IMPOVERISHED CONDITIONS AND CRIME IS A REGULAR PART OF THEIR LIVES. “It’s important for us to exist because we are the only non-profit organization that is a voice for an often ignored group. Thery’re ignored by law enforcement. They’re ignored by the media, and they’re ignored by the community.” - The Black and Missing Foundation, Inc. (BAMFI)
BarriersLimited context or incomplete information Behaviors misread through bias Silence used as a safety strategy Lack of visible “signs”IDENTIFYING (SEEING)REPORTING (NAMING)Mistrust of systems Fear of criminalization No safe or private way to disclose Prior negative experiences with instituionsESCAPINGDependence on trafficker for basic needs Isolation or resticted movement Threats, coercion, or manipulation Lack of accessible support services
IN THE HATTHEAppearance isn’t evidenceCATBias can lead to criminalizationReal signs require proximity & context(Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, 2020)
tractionWhat are their profiles and visual personas? Describe them and detail their needs.TARGET 1Visualize the people who will turn to you for solutions.TARGET 2Who are the customers you want to cater to?
THEteamLYZA LOPEZJEAN KOVARKELCE LEMONS
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REFERENCESLadd M, Jones EB. Texas Human Trafficking. (2022). In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 Jan-. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK573077/ Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. (2020). Youth arrest rates by offense and race. US Department of Justice. https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/statistical-briefing- book/special_topics/faqs_fairness/qa11501 Polaris. (n.d.). Human Trafficking Training. [Training Module]. https://polarisproject.org/training/ United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (n.d.). Human trafficking. United Nations. https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/human-trafficking.html