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April 25, 2015

2019: OPERATION RECLAIM & REBUILD

Background

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  • 3-day statewide sex trafficking enforcement sweep in California during January

  • Part of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, recognized by the federal government

  • Over 90 state and federal agencies participated in the sting, which involved online and street-level undercover work

  • 339 arrests and around 50 victims of sex trafficking rescued, including 14 minors; the youngest was 6 years old

  • In California, commercial sex often occurs in seemingly legitimate businesses; over 3,300 massage parlors in California are fronts for sex trafficking; other key avenues for commercial sex include hotels/motels, brothels, online ads and escort services

  • Sex trafficking is a form of slavery: adults are victims if
    persuaded to engage in commercial sex by force, fraud, or
    coercion; minors are victims regardless of the presence of force, fraud, or coercion

  • Force is used to control victims, especially during early victimization to break down resistance:  physical restraint, physical harm, sexual assault, beatings, monitoring, confinement. 

  • Fraud is used to lure victims: false promises about employment, money, working conditions, love, marriage, and a better life. Over time, conditions, compensation and relationships change. 

  • Coercion tactics include threats of serious harm or physical restraint, psychological manipulation, document confiscation or blackmail  

  • An estimated 24.9 million people globally are victims of sex or labor trafficking 

  • Sex trafficking is the most rapidly growing form of crime worldwide and 98% of victims are women and children

  • In the U.S., about 100,000 children are victims of sex trafficking yearly
     

Psychological Impact

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  • About 80% of victims have PTSD

  • Other long-term psychological effects include:

  • C-PTSD, panic disorder, eating disorders, dissociation, anxiety, somatic complaints, depression, negative self-concept, shame, blame, social withdrawal, grief, emotional volatility, aggression, hopelessness, revictimization. High incidences of comorbidity.

  • Unhealthy coping strategies such as substance abuse, self-injury, running away, and risky sexual behaviors. These strategies, as well as trouble establishing trust with caregivers often derails treatment. 

  • Particularly with youths, traumatic bonding with the trafficker or denial that the exploitation was traumatic often leads survivors back into commercial exploitation. Psychological manipulation can be very hard to break.  

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