FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 7, 2019
Wolf Administration Outlines Efforts to Combat
Human Trafficking, Encourages Public to Learn and Watch for Signs
Harrisburg, PA – Executives from the Pennsylvania
departments of Transportation (PennDOT) and Human Services (DHS), Pennsylvania
State Police (PSP), and the Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American
Affairs were joined by advocates and a human trafficking survivor today to
discuss efforts to combat human trafficking and educate the public on the
issue.
Human trafficking is the
exploitation of people using force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of
commercial sex, forced labor, or domestic servitude. According to the
International Labor Organization, there are 21 million victims of human
trafficking globally generating $150 billion annually for traffickers. January
is recognized as Human Trafficking Awareness Month, with January 11 marking
#WearBlueDay to raise awareness of trafficking.
“Human trafficking is happening
across the world, and unfortunately, right here in Pennsylvania,” PennDOT
Secretary Leslie S. Richards said. “We and other agencies are addressing this
issue, and we’re also raising public awareness about this horrible practice.”
PennDOT is one of the first
state government agencies nationwide to educate its employees on human
trafficking awareness, with all staff at driver’s license centers and Welcome
Centers receiving training. The training was also made available to other
department employees, transit agency employees, and is available online under
the “Human Trafficking” Media Center at www.penndot.gov.
The National Human Trafficking hotline
(1-888-373-7888) is a 24/7 resource for victims and service providers that also
collects data about human trafficking for every state and the District of
Columbia. Since 2007, the hotline has received a total
of 3,994 calls that generated 1,046 cases in Pennsylvania.
As of June 2018, the hotline
received 246 calls that led to 127 reported cases in Pennsylvania. Of those
cases, 106, or 83 percent, dealt with sex trafficking. Fourteen cases, or 11
percent, dealt with labor trafficking, three cases were not specified as either
sex or labor trafficking, and four cases were a combination of both. In 2017,
562 calls were received, and they led to 199 reported cases, of which 154 dealt
with sex trafficking, 23 dealt with labor trafficking, 15 were not specified as
either, and seven were a combination of both. Most of the individuals who
placed calls were concerned community members who knew the signs of trafficking
and how to report to the authorities.
Members of the PSP Organized
Crime Task Force participate in human trafficking investigations that lead to
arrests and prosecutions with multiple federal, state, and local law
enforcement agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI),
Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the PA Office of
Attorney General.
“The Pennsylvania State Police
works every day with our local and federal law enforcement partners to prevent,
identify, and investigate human trafficking, but we cannot be everywhere,” said
Captain Derrick Baker, Director of PSP’s Special Investigations Division. “By
educating themselves on the warning signs, and calling authorities when things
don’t seem right, the public can help police in our mission to fight human
trafficking in Pennsylvania.”
While demographic data isn’t
available for every 2017 case in Pennsylvania, available data illustrates the
lives impacted by human trafficking: 168 of the survivors were female and 19
were male. Fifty-four were children and 120 were adults, and 41 victims were
U.S. citizens or legally present residents, while 27 were foreign nationals.
“As we work to help child
victims of human trafficking, we must provide services and support necessary to
help live safe, healthy lives and cope with the trauma they experienced,” said
DHS Deputy Secretary for Children, Youth, and Families Cathy Utz. “We continue
to work with advocates and our partners at the federal and local level to
ensure the availability of quality services to meet their unique needs."
The public is urged to report
potential human trafficking situations to the national hotline, which
coordinates with law enforcement and other professionals, at 1-888-373-7888.
While it is challenging to identify a trafficking situation, potential warning signs
could include:
lack of
knowledge of a person’s community or whereabouts;
restricted
or controlled communication where people cannot speak for themselves;
people not
in control of their own identification documents; or
signs of
branding or tattooing of a trafficker’s name (often on the neck).
Concerned citizens are urged to
say something if they see something. If you suspect a trafficking situation, it
is better to call the hotline and be wrong than to not call at all.
“Human trafficking is the fastest
growing criminal industry in the world, targeting the most vulnerable in our
communities – and is destroying the lives of an entire generation of victims,”
said Governor’s Commission on Asian Pacific American Affairs Executive Director
Tiffany Chang Lawson. “It is a human rights crisis that cannot be fought alone
by local law enforcement agencies, and that’s why partnerships like these are
so incredibly important.”
Representatives from the
Villanova Law Institute to Address Commercial Sexual Exploitation, including
Director Shea Rhodes and Survivor Leader Tammy McDonnell, participated in the
event and shared first-hand experiences in human trafficking. The Pennsylvania
Commission on Crime and Delinquency and the University of Pennsylvania’s Field
Center for Children’s Policy, Practice & Research also joined the event.
PennDOT has compiled resources
from the U.S. Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Homeland
Security’s Blue Campaign to end human trafficking, Pennsylvania-based resources
as well as related videos and graphics in its “Human Trafficking” Media Center at www.penndot.gov.
MEDIA CONTACTS: Erin Waters-Trasatt, PennDOT,
717-783-8800
Ryan Tarkowski, PSP, 717-
705-3893
Brittany
Lauffer, DHS, 717-425-7606
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