Exploitation of Humans in Sex, Labor a Global And Local Issue

Modern-day slavery exists in the form of human trafficking. It is a crime that happens globally, but more disturbingly, it happens here in the Bay Area of California.

When humans are trafficked, bodies become objects of commodity. Human trafficking is the recruitment, brokerage or sale, harboring, transporting and receipt of persons for forced labor. Human trafficking comes in many forms. Women and children are commonly sold for sexual exploitation. Sex trafficking victims are forced into prostitution or into servile marriages as mail order brides. Humans are also sold for cheap labor. Trafficking victims may end up working in sweatshops, factories, domestic servitude conditions, restaurants, hotel housekeeping or agricultural fields.

Human trafficking is a crime that occurs in public spaces, especially in areas of tourism, high concentrations of labor and even in our own neighborhoods. Ironically, trafficking activities remain hidden because trafficking victims perform their labor in public areas.

Human trafficking activities are only detected when extreme incidents occur. Take for example the Lakireddy Bali Reddy case. In 1999, a young woman named Chanti Prattipati died in Reddy’s apartment due to a carbon monoxide leak. Prattipati’s death took place near the UC Berkeley campus.

After Prattipati’s death, the case revealed that Reddy trafficked many young women from India to work in his restaurant located on Shattuck Avenue and to become his personal sex slaves. Reddy’s case demonstrates that human trafficking is revealed when the victim is physically harmed. Reddy would not have been caught for the illegal trafficking and forced sexual and labor exploitation of young women if Prattipati had not died.

Today, so many human trafficking cases are left undocumented by law enforcement. Research by the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center identified 57 forced labor operations in almost a dozen cities in California between 1998 and 2003. With such a small number of trafficking cases, we can remain skeptic about how many human trafficking activities have been undetected by law enforcement.

How many victims have not been rescued from their captivity? No one knows for sure the exact number, because victims disappear, or they do not survive to tell their story.

Trafficking victims and survivors remain hidden because they are voiceless. Captors often use threats to prevent victims from telling others about their working conditions. In addition, victims may not be familiar with the location they are in and may not speak English. As a result, victims have difficulty seeking help or escaping. They become vulnerable and depend on their captors for survival. Victims continue to be silenced even when they become trafficked survivors. The media does not interview former trafficking victims. Instead, trafficking survivors are represented in the media by law enforcement or lawyers who speak on their behalf.

Trafficking victims and survivors are a group of individuals who are under-represented in society. The type of labor victims perform is often stigmatized by the public. This negative attitude would only cause for human trafficking to remain invisible.

Laws, policies and raising awareness are possible solutions to combating this modern day slavery. But before implementing those solutions, many should consider the reasons why trafficking activities go undetected on a daily basis.

The invisibility of Asian human trafficking will be discussed by local scholars, activists and law enforcement at UC Berkeley. A former prostitute and sex trafficking survivor will be present to share her story in honor of International Women’s Day. The launch of the Sex Trafficking Obliteration Petition Campaign will take place on March 8 in Heller Lounge at 7 p.m. The community is invited to learn more about human trafficking and how to assist trafficked survivors.