The Arizona League to End Regional Trafficking (ALERT) is a coalition representing partnerships with law enforcement,

faith-based communities The description person of faith (plural: people of faith) refers to any person who can be delineated or classified by an adherence to a religious tradition or doctrine, as opposed to those who do not publicly identify or in any way espouse a reli ...

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administ ...

agencies, attorneys and concerned citizens. ALERT helps victims of

human trafficking Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extr ...

by providing: food and shelter; medical care; mental health counseling; immigration assistance; legal assistance; language interpretation; case management; and other culturally appropriate services throughout the state of Arizona. Through education, outreach and a variety of programs and services, ALERT strives to end the suffering and dehumanization of victims of human trafficking. Human trafficking is almost modern-day

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

. It is the act of subjecting a person to involuntary servitude,

peonage Peon (English , from the Spanish ''peón'' ) usually refers to a person subject to peonage: any form of wage labor, financial exploitation, coercive economic practice, or policy in which the victim or a laborer (peon) has little control over em ...

debt bondage Debt bondage, also known as debt slavery, bonded labour, or peonage, is the pledge of a person's services as security for the repayment for a debt or other obligation. Where the terms of the repayment are not clearly or reasonably stated, the pe ...

or slavery, for labor or commercial sexual services, through the use of force, fraud or

coercion Coercion () is compelling a party to act in an involuntary manner by the use of threats, including threats to use force against a party. It involves a set of forceful actions which violate the free will of an individual in order to induce a des ...

. Trafficking victims are enslaved in situations that are abusive, exploitative, inhumane, and illegal. They are primarily economically disadvantaged men, women and children from all over the world. They are forced to work in the

sex industry The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry includes activities involving direct provision of sex-related ...

or in labor such as domestic servitude, manufacturing, construction, agricultural work, hotels, restaurants, nail salons, etc."ALERT: FAQ" http://traffickingaz.org/?page_id=8 ALERT was created in February 2003 through a grant awarded by the

US Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United Stat ...

Office for Victims of Crime The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) is a part of the Office of Justice Programs, within the U.S. Department of Justice. The OVC's mission is to provide aid and promote justice for crime victims. The office was created in 1988 in an amendment t ...

(OVC).

Objectives

*Provide direct services to aid and support victims of trafficking. *Seek to educate the public about human trafficking and train various communities in victim identification. *To establish a regional network throughout Arizona and expand the anti-trafficking initiative.

Common Forms of Trafficking

SEX TRAFFICKING Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the ...

: The most well-known form of human trafficking is sex trafficking, in which primarily women and children are trafficked, often unwittingly, and sometimes in large numbers, to work in the sex industry. Victims may be confined and abused by their traffickers. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...

reports that the U.S. is one of the top three destination countries to which such people are trafficked. International trends show that in industrialized countries (U.S., Europe, Japan), forced labor for commercial sexual exploitation is the predominant form of trafficking. *AGRICULTURAL WORK: Trafficking of migrant agricultural workers is prevalent in the United States. The illegal status of workers is exploited by their employers by forcing them to work in sub-standard conditions for pay below

minimum wage A minimum wage is the lowest remuneration that employers can legally pay their employees—the price floor below which employees may not sell their labor. Most countries had introduced minimum wage legislation by the end of the 20th century. B ...

. Cases involving hundreds of victims have been prosecuted in California, Florida, and upstate New York. Nearly all of the victims were trafficked into the U.S. across the Arizona-Mexico border. *DOMESTIC SERVICE: The Human Rights Center at Berkeley reports that the second highest incidence of forced labor in the U.S. takes place in

domestic service A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...

. Victims are found virtually or literally imprisoned in their employer’s house, to be forced to work long hours under abusive conditions. U.S. citizens and foreign nationals residing in the U.S. bring in thousands of domestic workers into the U.S. annually and many of them suffer abuse. This type of trafficking is characterized by the demand for cheap household help, the lack of legal protections for domestic servants, and the absence of monitoring of work conditions. * SWEATSHOPS: Forced labor under sweatshop-type conditions has been found in the United States and within US territories (such as

Guam Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...

and

American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internatio ...

). Several large cases have been found in New York City and Los Angeles because they are natural concentrations of the U.S. garment and

textile industry The textile industry is primarily concerned with the design, production and distribution of yarn, textile, cloth and clothing. The raw material may be Natural material, natural, or synthetic using products of the chemical industry. Industry p ...

. Lack of workplace inspections or enforcement of

labor laws Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

, combined with the context of coercion and fear, create an environment for forced labor.

Legislation

As awareness levels of human trafficking increase, there is more legislation that offers assistance to victims as well as new federal crimes against traffickers. *

Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 The Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) is a federal statute passed into law in 2000 by the U.S. Congress and signed by President Clinton. The law was later reauthorized by presidents Bush, Obama, and Trump. In addi ...

(US) – This is the most comprehensive U.S. law, to date, addressing human trafficking. Amongst other things, the law allows victims to apply for

T visa A T visa is a type of visa allowing certain victims of human trafficking (which includes both Labor Trafficking and Sex Trafficking) and immediate family members to remain and work temporarily in the United States, typically if they report the crime ...

s, which allow for three-year temporary stays which can lead to

permanent residency Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with suc ...

status. *Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Acts of 2003, 2005, and 2008 (US) – These Acts enhanced protections for victims of trafficking, some of whom faced “unintended obstacles” in being able to legally remain in the U.S, and instituted revisions and additions to the prevention of trafficking and prosecution of traffickers. * Unlawfully Obtaining Labor or Services; classification (AZ) - Arizona Legislation making it illegal to obtain labor or services through the use of bodily harm, threatening or restraining victim, and/or withholding victim's personal records. *Sex Trafficking; classification (AZ) - Arizona Legislation that defines what sex trafficking is. States that it is illegal to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means another person with the intent of causing the other person to engage in prostitution by force, fraud or coercion. If a person is under the age of eighteen, it is illegal to entice, harbor, transport, provide, or obtain by any means that person with the intent of causing that person to engage in

prostitution Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in Sex work, sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, n ...

. *Trafficking of Persons for Forced Labor or Services; classifications; definitions (AZ) - Arizona Legislation that defines labor trafficking as "transport another person or to entice, recruit, harbor, provide or otherwise obtain another person for transport by deception, coercion or force". Also states that it is illegal to knowingly traffic another person or benefit from the trafficking of another person for labor or services."Arizona Legislation: Labor Trafficking" http://www.azleg.state.az.us/FormatDocument.asp?inDoc=/ars/13/01308.htm&Title=13&DocType=ARS

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arizona League To End Regional Trafficking Organizations based in Arizona Organizations that combat human trafficking Human trafficking in the United States

Objectives

Common Forms of Trafficking

Legislation

See also

References