Human Trafficking in New Hampshire - Guest Post by Jennifer Durant

    Jennifer Durant is the public policy specialist at the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence.  She has been responsible for bringing awareness of the issue of human trafficking to New Hampshire and working very hard for the passage of NH's human trafficking law (see below).  The following was written for Human Trafficking Awareness Day in 2011.

January is nationally recognized as human trafficking awareness month. Human trafficking is modern day slavery that involves the sexual and labor exploitation of millions of men, women, and children worldwide. Human trafficking has no borders. Victims can be abused within their own communities or moved throughout the world to avoid detection, forced to live a life of servitude.

It is estimated that about 800,000 to 900,000 individuals are trafficked across international borders worldwide. In the United States alone between 18,000 to 20,000 victims are trafficked into or within this country every year. Sadly, approximately 80% of these victims are children.

New Hampshire is certainly not immune to human trafficking. While human trafficking is very difficult to quantify or count, there is evidence that New Hampshire has experienced both labor and sex trafficking. In fact, ALL 50 states have reported seeing some form of human trafficking. New Hampshire was the location of the second labor trafficking case in the nation brought under federal law in 2003. Timothy Bradley and Kathleen O’Dell both of Litchfield, New Hampshire were convicted of human trafficking for withholding promised wages and refusing to release passport and legal travel documents of four Jamaican men.

There has also been evidence of sex trafficking in New Hampshire. Over the past few years NH’s domestic and sexual crisis centers have worked with several victims of sexual exploitation, who have been forced into street prostitution or forced to work in brothels.

Almost all of New Hampshire’s border states have experienced human trafficking, indicating that this crime clearly exists in the Northeastern region of this country. In Vermont police invaded a brothel where Asian women were forced to work as sex slaves. Experts say the Vermont case fits the pattern of a problem that is reaching into the smallest corners of the country.

In Kittery, Maine, Russell Pallas, a former lawyer and one-time chairman of the Kittery Town Council, was convicted in 2005 of operating a brothel that was disguised as a health club where women and children, as young as 13 years old, were forced to work as prostitutes.

In East Boston, Brighton, and Allston, Massachusetts police made nearly 100 arrests in 2006, posing as johns and then arresting suspects allegedly operating brothels in apartments and houses tucked away on quiet residential streets.

If this problem is prevalent in our border states, then New Hampshire is certainly vulnerable to such activities. These highly publicized cases serve as examples of trafficking taking place in our area but it is important to remember that many cases of trafficking go unnoticed. Most are invisible victims because of their uncertain position of either being undocumented immigrants or seen as social degenerates who voluntarily enter the sex industry.

What can you do?

*Become familiar with our laws…

-In August 2009, Governor Lynch signed HB 474 into law, the first comprehensive human trafficking law in New Hampshire. Human trafficking is now defined in NH’s Criminal Code, making it a class A felony with enhanced penalties for trafficking someone under the age of 18.

*Talk about human trafficking in your community and ask others to educate themselves

-Invite a speaker from a local organization to talk to your group

-Read a book, hold a documentary screening, or write a blog

-Continue to educate yourself and others on the growing crime of human trafficking

Ratified in 1865, the 13th Amendment abolished slavery and outlawed involuntary servitude. And here we are today nearly 150 years later and there is a need for me to be writing this in 2010, for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. While the term human trafficking is fairly new, the act itself is clearly not. Until we effectively identify victims and provide them with the services they need; until we hold traffickers accountable in a meaningful way for their unspeakable crimes; and until we adequately prevent human trafficking from happening in the first place, the fight will continue – throughout the world, throughout the nation, and throughout the state of New Hampshire.



New Hampshire’s Human Trafficking Efforts

During the 2007-2008 Legislative Session, NHCADSV’s Public Policy Department helped drafted legislation that formed the Interagency Commission to Study the Trafficking of Persons Across Boarders for Sexual and Labor Exploitation to research the issue of human trafficking in the state. Public Policy Specialist, Jennifer Durant, organized the Commission, served as the group’s clerk, and authored a 50-page report setting forth recommendations for the legislature during the 2009-2010 Session. Jennifer has worked in collaboration with several state and social service agencies, law enforcement, and community members to garner support for this legislative effort.

As the result of her work on the Statewide Interagency Commission (SB 194, Chapter 122:1, Laws of 2007), Jennifer then became the primary author of an 8-page bill and lobbied for the passage of the first-ever attempt to criminalize human trafficking in New Hampshire. Signed by Governor Lynch in August 2009 and just in effect since January 1, 2010, it is now a class A felony to traffic a human being for labor and sexual exploitation. The law also allows the state to convict a trafficker with enhanced penalties if they exploit someone under the age of 18.
After two years of legislative successes on human trafficking NHCADSV continued to work with the state’s top leaders to train first-responders and create a statewide protocol to address human trafficking in New Hampshire. Jennifer became the State Coordinator for the newly formed New Hampshire Coalition Against Trafficking (NHCAT), a statewide Coalition that is part of a 2-year project operating with 4 other New England states. This Coalition was made up of key members and organizations in the work against human trafficking. Through NHCAT Jennifer worked to (1) increase awareness of the issue of human trafficking, (2) train providers to work with trafficking victims, (3) identify victims of human trafficking within the New England region, and (4) link trafficking survivors to needed services.

From 2009 to 2010 Jennifer organized and implemented one of the largest trainings on human trafficking for NH’s law enforcement, held on January 20, 2010. The January 20th NH statewide law enforcement training on human trafficking was a successful event in which attendance ranged from NH Prosecutors to State, County, Local, and Federal Law Enforcement officials. A total of 95 Law Enforcement officials attended the training. A little over 70% of attendees came from local police departments (65 officers).

The 8-hour training curriculum included detecting and investigating cases that involve human trafficking. The training was designed to help police officers understand, identify, and investigate human trafficking cases in New Hampshire

Informational pocket cards were created for the January 20th law enforcement training that were designed to be useful in other disciplines. The cards contain information on red flag indicators, as well as who to contact locally if it is believed that someone is being trafficked in the state.

Just to name a few, NHCADSV has worked closely with and has received support from the NH State Liquor Commission, NH State Police, NH Chief’s Association, Manchester PD, Nashua PD, NH Police Standards & Training, NH Sheriffs Association, NH Attorney General’s Office, U.S. Attorney General’s Office, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF).

After 2 years of work, the NH Coalition Against Trafficking (NHCAT) officially cae to a close in Spring 2011. .

Thanks to the work of NHCAT, a little over 4,300 materials on human trafficking were distributed throughout the state, either at trainings, awareness events, or fundraisers.

Thanks to the work of NHCAT, a little over 400 individuals were trained on human trafficking issues throughout the state of New Hampshire. These trainings covered a wide-range of disciplines including law enforcement, victim advocates, medical professionals, or professionals working in the child protection field.

NHCADSV continues to raise awareness on human trafficking throughout the state. On August 15, 2011 NHCADSV collaborated with a non-profit called Sex + Money - A National Search For Human Worth. The NH screening of this important film on child sex slavery here in the United States brought out 170 NH residents to the event.

Ellen Pence - Why Gender and Context Matter

The following is Ellen Pence's Keynote from the Batterers' Interventions Services Conference in November 2010.  Ellen was one of the early leaders in the violence against women movement and she will be sorely missed. She passed away after a long fight with cancer earlier this month.  This video shows her wit, wisdom, and passion for the movement.

The Traumatic Effects of Stalking

January is Stalking Awareness Month. This is a good time to take a look at the long term impact that stalking can have on the person being stalked. There have been a number of studies done on this issue and I will review some of the conclusions here.


In "Stalking – An Overview of the Problem" [Can J Psychiatry 1998;43:473–476], authors Karen M Abrams and Gail Erlick Robinson write:

"Initially, there is often much denial by the victim. Over time, however, the stress begins to erode the victim's life and psychological brutalisation results. Sometimes the victim develops an almost fatal resolve that, inevitably, one day she will be murdered. Victims, unable to live a normal life, describe feeling stripped of self-worth and dignity. Personal control and resources, psychosocial development, social support, premorbid personality traits, and the severity of the stress may all influence how the victim experiences and responds to it… Victims stalked by ex-lovers may experience additional guilt and lowered self-esteem for perceived poor judgement in their relationship choices. Many victims become isolated and deprived of support when employers or friends withdraw after also being subjected to harassment or are cut off by the victim in order to protect them. Other tangible consequences include financial losses from quitting jobs, moving, and buying expensive security equipment in an attempt to gain privacy. Changing homes and jobs results in both material losses and loss of self-respect."

Surprisingly, verbal, psychological, and emotional abuse have the same effects as the physical variety [Psychology Today, September/October 2000 issue, p.24]. Abuse of all kinds also interferes with the victim's ability to work. Abrams and Robinson wrote this [in "Occupational Effects of Stalking", Can J Psychiatry 2002;47:468–472]:

"… (B)eing stalked by a former partner may affect a victim's ability to work in 3 ways. First, the stalking behaviours often interfere directly with the ability to get to work (for example, flattening tires or other methods of preventing leaving the home). Second, the workplace may become an unsafe location if the offender decides to appear. Third, the mental health effects of such trauma may result in forgetfulness, fatigue, lowered concentration, and disorganisation. These factors may lead to the loss of employment, with accompanying loss of income, security, and status."

Mullen and colleagues have done extensive research on stalking impact in Australia. (Mullen, P.E., M. Pathe, and R. Purcell. Stalkers and Their Victims. (Cambridge University Press, 2000).Their 1997 survey of 100 stalking victims found that stalking resulted in significant activity changes for its victims, including the following:

• Major lifestyle changes or modification of daily activity for 94 percent of victims
• Curtailment of social activities for 70 percent of victims
• Decrease or cessation of work or school attendance for 50 percent of victims (due either to absenteeism or stalker invasion of work or school site)
• Relocation of residence for 40 percent of victims
• Change of workplace or school for 34 percent of victims.

The researchers also found important psychological problems resulting from the stalking, including these:

• Increased anxiety and arousal for 80 percent of victims
• Chronic sleep disturbance for 75 percent of victims
• Recurring thoughts or flashbacks to the stalking, resulting in distress for 55 percent of victims (often triggered by ordinary events such as a ringing telephone or doorbell)
• Appetite disturbance for 50 percent of victims
• Excessive tiredness, weakness, or headaches for 50 percent of victims
• Numbing of responses to others, including feeling of detachment for 38 percent of victims
• Nausea before going to places associated with the stalking for 33 percent of victims
• Increased alcohol or cigarette use for 25 percent of victims
• Contemplation of suicide for 25 percent of victims.

The researchers' analysis of these findings suggested that most of the stalking victims experienced at least one major symptom associated with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The authors explain that this is not surprising because "stalking possesses many of the features that may produce chronic stress reactions and related psychological sequelae."Those features include persistent, repetitive trauma; loss of control; state of persistent threat with associated symptoms that may far outlive the actual duration of the harassment; and loss of social supports normally available for crime victims because of mistrust and fear generated by the stalking itself. While many factors affected the specifics of the stalking impact on the victims, there was not one victim who did notexperience some level of harm "that in some cases amounted to profound deterioration in functioning."

It is also important to note that the impact of cyber stalking has the same affect, if not greater, than physical stalking.

According to the Iowa Rape Victim Advocacy Center (www.rvap.org), cyber-stalking can consist of a variety of activities, but it is generally defined as the continued and deliberate harassment, threatening behavior, or unwanted advances towards a person through the internet or other forms of on-line and computer communications. Cyber-stalking does not include occasional junk mail, but it does include any methodical or deliberate attempt to harass the victim.

Cyber-stalkers can find their victims through chat rooms, online communities, discussion forums, e-mails, or through a random search. Even people without access to the internet can be victims of cyber-stalking. All the stalker needs to do is find out personal information about the victim and they can then use that to impersonate the victim and solicit meetings with strangers without the victim ever getting on to a computer.

Cyber-stalking can take many forms, some of which are below.

• threatening or obscene e-mails
• spamming or e-mail bombing- sending large amounts of email to shut down the victims e-mail from working
• live chat harassment
• "flaming"- online verbal abuse
• leaving obscene or threatening messages in guest books or on message boards
• sending electronic viruses
• sending unsolicited e-mail
• tracing computer and internet activity
• impersonation of the victim to solicit sex acts
• identity theft

Cyber-stalking can escalate to physical danger for the victim. If a stalker obtains personal information, such as an address or phone number or even the social security number of the victim, this information can be used to stalk and harass the victim even after the cyber-stalking has ceased.