The RETURN of AATOP!

IOFA is excited to announce the re-launch of the Asian American Trafficking Outreach Project (AATOP) with generous support from Help for Children/Hedge Funds Cares.

AATOP will build upon the pilot project’s efforts to raise awareness, engage the Asian American community and build capacity of AA serving providers to identify, refer and respond to the needs of survivors of human trafficking in culturally and linguistically appropriate ways.

AATOP’s Beginnings:

The International Organization for Adolescents (IOFA), created AATOP as a one year pilot project with funding from the Asian Giving Circle in 2012.  Its goals were to build capacity of Asian American service providers to identify, refer, and respond to survivors of human trafficking from Asian American communities.  AATOP also worked to increase Asian American service organizations to participate in anti-trafficking coalitions and task forces.  AATOP reached these goals by partnering with various Asian American service providers to hold trainings and community events.

AATOP’s Pilot Program Key Outcomes and Accomplishments: 

• reached out to and built relationships with around 25 API-serving social service, legal, research, community, leadership, and educational institutions and organizations
• hosted a general community forum with a variety of service providers
• hosted a meet and greet for attorneys with the Asian Pacific Legal Advocacy Network (APLAN)
• conducted a human trafficking training for attorneys with the Chicago Bar Association (CBA)
• developed a mental health specific training for clinicians working within these communities
• hosted a Filipino-specific community forum with Filipino project partner CIRCA Pintig
• had staff teach as a guest lecturer at University of Illinois Chicago’s Asian American Studies Program.

AATOP’s Relaunch:

With support from Help for Children/Hedge Fund Cares (HFC), AATOP’s 2016 activities will focus on connecting with social service providers serving Asian American children and youth.  AATOP will work in collaboration with these programs to increase their capacity to identify trafficked children and/or youth and refer them to culturally and linguistically appropriate trauma informed services.

AATOP Project Goals:

• Engage and educate Asian American communities across Chicago to create a coordinated response to human trafficking.
• Train a cadre of health, mental health and other social services professionals serving Asian American communities across Chicago to identify and assist trafficking survivors.
• Implement culturally and linguistically appropriate outreach activities and campaigns to to raise awareness of human trafficking in Asian American communities across metropolitan Chicago.
• AATOP’s outreach and training activities will be guided by a Community Advisory Board whose members will represent the diverse Asian American community.  The community advisory board will assist AATOP connect to resources and give input to ensure activies are as culturally and linguistically appropriate as possible.

The Asian American Trafficking Outreach Project (AATOP) aims to fill a critical gap that currently exists in outreach efforts to potential victims of human trafficking in Asian American communities. Many Asian countries are listed as sources of trafficked labor according to the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons Report. Vulnerable Asian immigrants in Chicago are susceptible to human trafficking in massage parlors, restaurants, factories, and other low-wage, unregulated industries that rely heavily on undocumented labor.  Young people within Asian communities are uniquely vulnerable, as they may be dealing with social pressure and stigma related to their adult development, in addition financial hardship.

Although victims of trafficking have the right to services and benefits under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, Asian American victims of this crime face significant obstacles in accessing services in the Chicago metropolitan area to which they are entitled. To date, little has been done to adapt training and outreach efforts to the Asian American community. The need for sensitization within the community regarding victim-centered service and treatment has also been noted by community-based researchers. IOFA’s initial survey of agencies serving human trafficking victims found that while agencies received significant numbers of clients of Asian descent, Asian American-focused organizations remain underrepresented in anti-trafficking coalitions and task forces.

This project seeks to address mental health needs within Asian American communities and promote safe environments and improved service delivery to human trafficking victims and those at risk within this population.  The inclusion of Asian American serving organizations in anti-trafficking efforts in Chicago, coupled with training and technical assistance, will provide organizations working in Asian American communities with resources they need to successfully identify and serve human trafficking victims.

Follow us on social media!

Facebook: AATOP CHICAGO
Twitteer: @AATOPCHICAGO
Instagram: @AATOPCHICAGO
Blog: aatopchicago.blogspot.com

For more information, contact Project Coordinator, Jody Haskin at jhaskin@iofa.org 

or Jae Jin Pak, AATOP Community Advisory Board Chair at jpak@iofa.org

Learn more about IOFA and AATOP at http://iofa.org

Who is a Victim of Human Trafficking in Chicago?

In 2003, a New York Times identified Chicago as a national hub for human trafficking. Chicago’s airports, including one of the world’s largest airports, the O’Hare International Airport, and the major crossings of large interstates make entry for traffickers and victims much more accessible. These victims are then dispersed from this major Midwest location to neighboring states, cities, and towns. Not to mention that with the percentage of foreign-born individuals at 21.1%, trafficking victims could look like any number of immigrants in the city. However, it’s important to note that trafficking victims can be both non-U.S. citizens and U.S. citizens. In addition, Chicago as a vibrant tourist attraction keeps demand high as people travel in and out of the city.

Here are some more facts and statistics that call for the urgent need to address human trafficking in Chicago:

• In the state of Illinois, most of the Latin American and Asian trafficked victims are found in the Chicagoland area.
• Chicago hosts an abundance of large scale events that attract traffickers to bring victims to cater to event attendees.
• 16,000 to 25,000 women and girls are trafficked each year in Chicago. One third of them get involved in trafficking by the age of 15 and 62% by the age of 18.
• In Cook County (in which Chicago belongs), massage parlors and strip clubs front sex trafficking businesses.
• The labor trafficking takes advantage of the large immigrant population in Chicago. This includes forced begging and soliciting, domestic servitude, and forced labor in restaurants.
• Between December 2007 and June 2009, the National Human Trafficking Resource Center received 257 calls from Illinois, which ranks fifth on highest number of calls after Texas, California, New York, and Florida.

Illinois currently has legislation in place that that aims to protect and not criminalize human trafficking victims. The Trafficking of Persons and Involuntary Servitude Act of Illinois went into effect in 2006, proclaiming it an offense for trafficking persons for forced servitude including minors, increasing access to health and social services for victims, and imposing severe penalties for traffickers. During the same year, the Illinois Predator Accountability Act was enacted to allow sex trafficked victims to sue their abusers and anyone who profited from their activities. Furthermore In 2010, the Illinois Safe Children Act was signed into law, thus being one of the first states to implement comprehensive legislation that trafficked children under 18 will be protected from criminal prosecution.

This article describes the criminalization of prostitution in Chicago that relegates sex workers to felony status. Even when they want to exit the sex industry, they are hard pressed to find legitimate employers who will hire ex-felons. If they are denied a self-supporting job and public services, they often return to sex work as their only immediate source of income and survival. While I interned as a case worker last year for a social service agency, I saw numerous ex-felons come through our job readiness training program. Although we could refer them to several appropriate employers, the job options were extremely limited. Sex workers should be given more opportunities for self-advancement, including education, supportive services, social services, and broader job options. There is no use in labeling an individual as a felon and then expect them to contribute to the job economy if they cannot access formal employment opportunities.

In 2011, the Justice for Victims of Sex Trafficking Crimes Act was signed into law, enabling sex trafficking victims who were convicted as prostitutes to clear their criminal records of forced commercial sex acts. Children and many non-consenting adults who are forced to perform commercial sex acts are not actually engaging in prostitution; instead, they are falling victim to abusive individuals who exploit their age, lack of options, and social isolation for profit. They need protection and the right to resources and provision of necessities like clothing, food, transportation, and counseling that will help them to rebuild their lives. Despite these legislative victories, victims still need specialized services to help them get back on their feet. Trafficked victims did not choose to be slaves. Often those in the sex industry have been coerced into the life and do not need their dignity stripped further by being labeled as criminals.

Sources:

United States Census Bureau. (2012). State and Country Quick Facts: Chicago (city), Illinois.

Traffick Free. Human Trafficking in Illinois Fact Sheet.

Illinois Government News Network. (2010). Governor Quinn Signs Law to Protect Children from Sexual Exploitation. Illinois Safe Children Act Helps Law Enforcement Stop Sex Traffickers; Ends Criminal Prosecution of Innocent Child Victims.

Illinois Department of Human Services. Human Trafficking in Illinois Information Sheet.

Heartland Alliance National Immigrant Justice Center. (2011). New Illinois Law Upholds Human Rights of Sex Trafficking Survivors.