Healey administration tightens focus on human traffickingDate: 6/26/2023 Gov. Maura Healey signed Executive Order 611 on April 12, which gives greater priority to the state’s efforts to combat human trafficking. The order puts such crimes, which include forced labor and involuntary sex work, under the purview of the Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence, and Human Trafficking.
“As Attorney General, I made combating human trafficking and supporting survivors a top priority, and we are continuing this work by elevating human trafficking from a subcommittee,” Healey said.
“Unfortunately, these heinous crimes happen more often to our friends, neighbors and family members than many of us realize.”
According to a press release announcing the expansion of the council, human trafficking was elevated out of a subcommittee “given the severity and prevalence of the crime in Massachusetts.” Lt. Gov. Kimberley Driscoll swore in additional members at the first meeting of the council under the new administration.
The 2022 Federal Human Trafficking Report detailed that last year there were 183 new cases of human trafficking filed in the federal courts. Five involved forced labor and 178 were prosecuted for sex trafficking. Sex trafficking victims were exploited for an average of 341 days, almost a year, while victims of forced labor were in servitude an average of 693 days. A complication for prosecution is that 16% of victims and 53% of sex buyers were solicited over the internet.
The number of federal defendants has dropped by 35% since 2018. While the coronavirus pandemic also disrupted human trafficking, enslavement frequently involved familiar people and common businesses. Recruitment by family members and intimate partners was reported in all forms of trafficking. Among incidents where the recruitment relationships were known, those of a recruiter trafficking a family member increased from 21% of the total to 31% in 2020.
Polaris, behind the National Human Trafficking Hotline, fielded data on child trafficking that shows victims usually know and trust those who exploit them. Human trafficking recruitment on Facebook increased by 125% during the coronavirus pandemic. While the most frequent forms of trafficking involve sex, trafficking is also a concern among domestic workers, those working in bars and strip clubs, restaurants, construction, hotels, landscaping businesses, carnivals and logging companies. Trafficked workers are often employed in isolated circumstances.
“I’m grateful to the diverse, experienced members of this council for stepping up to this opportunity to enact meaningful change in the commonwealth,” said Driscoll. “They have dedicated their lives to making our communities stronger and safer, and the governor and I are eager to receive their input on how we can better protect people from sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking.”
Organizations in Western Massachusetts are represented on the council. Members include Kim Dawkins, president and CEO of Pathways for Change, with offices in Worcester and the Connecticut River Valley, Elizabeth Dineen, CEO of YWCA of Western MA, headquartered in Springfield and Northwestern District Attorney David Sullivan. The CEO of the Jeanne Geiger Crisis Center, Suzanne Dubus, sits on the council, as does Isa Woldeguiorguis, executive director of the Center for Hope and Healing Inc., located in Lowell.
The Governor’s Council to Address Sexual Assault, Domestic Violence and Human Trafficking will be one of several bodies in the commonwealth set up to fight trafficking. The Attorney General’s Office features a Human Trafficking Division with cross-disciplinary specialists. Members train local law enforcement in how to recognize human trafficking. Other specialists pursue prosecution through the financial system, perform outreach to local communities and coordinate with the State Police.
The commonwealth’s Anti-Trafficking Task Force connects state and federal Attorney General’s offices. The joint project also taps into direct service providers while formalizing a trauma-informed approach to trafficking. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security Investigations are also allied with the task force, which is funded through two programs of the U.S. Department of Justice.
“Survivors of sexual assault, domestic violence and human trafficking deserve a voice, and this council has the opportunity to convene them and advocate for prevention, greater supports and services, and accountability for perpetrators,” said state Attorney General Andrea Joy Campbell. “I commend Gov. Healey and Lt. Gov. Driscoll for prioritizing these issues and expanding them to include human trafficking.”
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