AMES, Iowa -- The U.S. Department of State estimates that up to 27 million persons are victims of human trafficking worldwide, mostly involving forced labor and sex. And since 2005, research by the Network Against Human Trafficking (NAHT) shows that more than 125 victims of labor and sex trafficking have been identified right here in Iowa.
That's why the NAHT and Iowa State University are teaming up to present the first Iowa Conference on Human Trafficking in ISU's Memorial Union on Wednesday, Oct. 26, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
"We're just trying to raise awareness that we all have a role in identifying potential trafficking victims and in establishing community context where people are safe from that type of exploitation," said Teresa Downing, an Iowa State assistant professor of sociology who also serves on the board of directors of the NAHT.
Former attorney general of Iowa to keynote
Bonnie Campbell, a former attorney general of Iowa whose work has addressed trafficking in Iowa and internationally, will be the luncheon keynote speaker. Francis Bok, who was trafficked as a child soldier in the Sudan and has emerged as an international leader in raising awareness about this issue, will be the morning keynote speaker.
Conference panelists also include Anna Brewer, an FBI special agent; Denise Timmins, assistant attorney general of Iowa; Vivian VanVleet, the victim witness coordinator at the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa; John Focht, a detective in the Council Bluffs Police Department; Roxann Ryan, criminal intelligence analyst in the Iowa Department of Public Safety; Kaffie McCullough of the Juvenile Justice Fund; and Tiffany Williams of the Break the Chain Campaign, among others.
The conference will include panels that address such topics as identifying, reporting and preventing human trafficking; legal resources and laws to assist victims of human trafficking; sex trafficking, labor trafficking, and federal and state perspectives on law enforcement of human trafficking.
The conference will address some of the reasons why someone may fall victim to human trafficking.
"Homeless and runaway youths are highly vulnerable to being trafficked, and we have hundreds of them in our state," Downing said. "Over half of all homeless or runaway youth are approached for sex within the first few days of being on the street. And of those who participate in what we call 'survival sex' -- which is sex for money, food, drugs, or a place to live -- about 75 percent of them end up being trafficked by a pimp. Any person who is under age 18 and involved in sexual activity for commercial purposes is considered a victim of human trafficking."
Officials sometimes unaware of trafficking victims
Downing reports that while state and federal laws define human trafficking, even people working in social services aren't always aware of kids who are trafficking victims. It is difficult, she says, to identify non-domestic victims of labor trafficking because employers will take their passports and threaten employees with deportation if they report abuse.
"We know that globally fewer than five percent of human trafficking victims are identified right now. So these 125 people who were trafficked in Iowa likely represent just a small portion of all persons who are trafficked in our state," she said. "And one of the issues for us here in Iowa is that we believe that trafficking doesn't happen here. We think it happens in other countries and if it does happen here, it happens to immigrants. But it happens to native-born Iowans, too."
The conference is open to the public and costs $40 -- $20 for the first 70 students who register (student ID is required).
While NAHT and ISU are co-sponsoring the event, Youth and Shelter Services, other social services, law enforcement entities, non-governmental agencies, as well as Iowa State's Gender & Relationships on Campus club are also supporting the conference. It is also co-sponsored by ISU's Committee on Lectures, which is funded by the Government of the Student Body.
