Human trafficking crisis/ New York ranks fourth in the US

2024-08-04 23:02:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

New York ranks fourth for human trafficking cases in the United States, according to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center. As the correspondent of the Voice of America, Aunshuman Apte, reports, the authorities say that the numbers have increased recently with the increase in the flow of undocumented immigrants. The Voice of America correspondent spoke with a survivor of human trafficking who has undertaken a campaign to protect victims of human trafficking.

Laura Mullen, a survivor of human trafficking, spoke to city officials during a meeting about the plight of victims of human trafficking. She was trafficked in 2014.

"I was drugged and depressed next to a 24-hour store. An individual told me that you look hungry and offered me to take a bath at his house. So I ended up locked in his basement while I was trying to escape," says the human trafficking survivor.

She was offered drugs and forced to have sex. This lasted five years for Laura, who was afraid to report her trafficker.

"I was afraid to go to the police because what I was doing was criminal. Drug use is known to be illegal," says Laura Mullen, a victim of human trafficking.

She was arrested in 2019 on drug charges. After his release from prison, a non-profit organization, ECLI-VIBES, helped him start a new life. She became an activist against human trafficking.

Activists like her work against trafficking in New York City, noting the increase in cases with the increased flow of undocumented immigrants being exploited by traffickers.

Activists say that in frequent cases, the victims have no job, no family and do not know the laws or speak the language.

"Young immigrants meet many of these factors and are extremely vulnerable. For many of them, the monetary benefits are running out. They are being kicked out of the shelters they were given when they first arrived and have no ability to make a living in the local economy," says Sonia Ossorio, with the National Organization for Women.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams says the city is working to combat the problem, but needs federal funding and changes to labor law.

"The problem should not be ignored as we are seeing what is happening due to the inability of immigrants and asylum seekers to work. Many young women are being forced to use horrible ways to support their families. The way to stop human trafficking is to first hit those who commit the act. Second, the right of people to work. If they're allowed to work, they don't need to do illegal things," said New York City Mayor Eric Adams.

Activists warn that not all victims of trafficking are immigrants.

"Currently in New York, the vast majority of sex trafficking victims are native-born women and girls. They have painful stories from childhood, being homeless, orphanages, dysfunctional families or being sexually trafficked as children," says Taina Bien-Aimé, with the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women.

Survivor Laura Mullen says everyone has a role to play.