BY Estephania Baez
It constitutes modern slavery; it is a human-rights violation that strips victims of their freedom and their dignity. It is human trafficking, the illegal trade of human beings.
In the past two years, there have been 110 cases in San Diego County. Forty percent of the rescued victims came into San Diego through the Mexican border, and 90% of them are women between the ages of 12 and 21.
“Traffickers use force, coercion, and deceit; for example, they tell [the potential victim] that they has been chosen as a model. They think they’re going to model, but then when they go sign up, they are told ‘you have to wear this tiny skirt, and the modeling session will be at a hotel and you can either come and do it or I will kill you.” After the threat comes the coercion. Victims are generally told ‘I know where your family lives’, so right away [the victims] start to think that what matters most is to keep their family safe because otherwise they will be killed,” shared Marissa Ugarte, Director of the Binational Safety Corridor Coalition, an organization dedicated to investigating and rescuing trafficking victims.
Human trafficking is one of the most lucrative illegal businesses worldwide. Over 130 countries have reported cases and, according to U.N. reports, there are more than 2.4 million people currently being exploited.
After the victims are rescued, they are offered rehabilitation; however, this process is sometimes delayed due to the fact that they have to face their aggressors in court. To help in this regard, the San Diego District Attorney’s Office is promoting a new initiative that would simplify the legal proceedings.
“The intent of the bill is for judges to prosecute cases that happened in different jurisdictions at a single, previously agreed-upon jurisdiction. This would save the victims from having to go to Orange County, then Riverside, then San Diego to testify at each trial. This would also mean savings to the court, because it would be tried as a single case, so it would only require one judge, one prosecutor, and one attorney,” stated San Diego District Attorney Bonnie Dummanis.
“I have people who love me now, but my dream is to have my own little family: a husband, a baby, to have a home and get up each morning knowing that I have to go to work and then pick up my daughter at daycare,” said “Samantha”, a former victim.
“I just want a normal life.”
“Samantha” is one of thousands of trafficking victims. She managed to get out of a nightmare she had thought she’d never wake up from. “Our pimp wanted $500 a night from each of us. If we didn’t make enough money, he would beat us up. We could not eat, we could not sleep, he’d ’just send us back out. Sometimes we would have to stay at the corners until 4 or 5 a.m.,” shared “Samantha,”
“Samantha,” together with 6 other women, lived at over 200 San Diego County hotels, and at times had to have sex with more than 15 men in a single night. This went on until one day she was brave enough to escape from her ordeal. Trafficking victim advocate groups received her with open arms. Today, “Samantha” is battling the ghosts of her past on her way to recovery. “I am safe now. It’s been 4 or 5 months since I left, but sometimes I still feel anxious, scared. I don’t trust people. I have my issues, and sometimes I have my moments,” added Samantha.
According to a study by the San Diego D.A. ’s Office Investigation Department, more than 50% of sex workers in San Diego County are being forced to perform this illegal activity. Most come from South American countries and were transported to the U.S. through trickery, under the false promise of a job and a better life. According to the same study, last year there was increase in the number of victims who do not report it for fear of being murdered.