More than
150 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slavery is still a way of life
for thousands in the United States.
No official estimates for human trafficking exist, but the number is thought to be in the hundreds of thousands, including 100,000 sexually exploited children (Polaris Project, n.d.-a).
No official estimates for human trafficking exist, but the number is thought to be in the hundreds of thousands, including 100,000 sexually exploited children (Polaris Project, n.d.-a).
The Internet and mobile technology contribute
to the problem. Websites like backpages.com peddle women, predators lurk on
social media, and pedophiles use government routers meant for pro-democracy activists
in authoritarian countries to share files and shield their identities (Schweizer,
2014).
Two years ago, anti-trafficking advocates
in the United States launched the BeFree (233733) texting helpline. BeFree
connects users to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC, 2015),
which operates a round-the-clock toll-free hotline to help victims and gather tips
on suspected activity. The hotline is federally funded, but the Polaris
Project, a nonprofit non-government organization, runs it (NHTRC, n.d.). Call
specialists at NHRTRC respond to text messages using cloud-based customer
service relationship (CRM) software.
BeFree is the brainchild of sex
trafficking survivors who participated in a survey conducted for Thorn: Digital
Defenders of Children, a foundation that works with technology companies and
nonprofits to fight the sexual exploitation of children (Thorn, n.d.-a). Thorn
then partnered with Polaris, the philanthropic arm of the CRM software maker Salesforce.com,
and Twilio, a cloud communications firm (Polaris Project, 2013).
Beyond the axiom that making more
communications channels available to victims is a plus, the ability to text for
help offers distinct advantages over phone calls. The first is opportunity. Traffickers
exert great control over their victims, but more than 60 percent of Thorn survey
respondents had access to a cellphone while being trafficked, especially young
women recruited more recently (Bouche, D. V., & Thorn, 2015, pp. 17-18). In
addition, 60 percent of those with phone access communicate with johns via text
(Bouche, D. V., & Thorn, 2015, pp 23-24).
Discretion is another advantage. Victims
fearful of being overheard making plans to escape on the phone can text in
silent mode. BeFree is also easier to remember than the hotline’s 10-digit
phone number, which does not spell out a mnemonic.
Finally, the texts themselves
provide Polaris with more data. Combined with information taken from telephone calls,
emails, and Web forms, they can identify patterns and craft strategies to
respond (Ravindranath, 2013). For
example, text messages brought human trafficking in traveling carnivals to
their attention. (Ravindranath,
2013).
BeFree shows promise, particularly
in encouraging victims to get help. In the first 18 months after BeFree
launched, NHRTC received twice as many texts from victims than they did phone
calls (Badavi, n.d.). As a percentage of all the reports made to NHRTC,
however, texting lags. In 2014, less than 1,300 texts came versus nearly 21,500
calls (Polaris Project, n.d.-b). Web form reports slightly outpace texts, while
emails lag behind texts (Polaris Project, n.d.-b).
The number of texts may be low
because BeFree is still relatively new and unknown. The statute enabling
Polaris to run the NHRTC did not allow for texting, so BeFree must operate through
a separate funding stream (NHTRC Call Specialist, 2015). That means Polaris can
publicize the site, but NHRTC cannot, even though the same call specialists are
engaged. Congress likely did not anticipate texting when the NHRTC statute was enacted.
Perhaps it can be fixed when NHRTC is next reauthorized.
Another challenge, albeit a
surmountable one, was the vernacular and mores of texting. For example, call
specialists are used to asking open-ended questions on the phone, but texting
is more effective when specialists ask “yes or no” questions. (Ravindranath, 2013). Moreover, because a
victim’s access to a cell phone may be fleeting, exchanges may occur over time
and thus lack the immediate assistance a phone call would generate (Ravindranath, 2013). Human trafficking is
the world’s second largest organized crime, generating $150 billion a year (ILO,
2014). Law enforcement and non-government organizations cannot match those
resources. BeFree and other new technologies will not solve the problem, but
have the potential to be part of the solution.
References
Badavi, M. A. (n.d.). Statistics from BeFree Texting Helpline. Retrieved 11 March
Bouche, D. V., & Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children.
(2015). A report on the use of
technology to recruit, groom and
sell domestic minor sex trafficking victims. Retrieved 11 March 2015, from https://www.wearethorn.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/Survivor_Survey_r5.pdf
International Labour Office (ILO). (2014). Profits and
poverty: the economics of forced
labour. http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---declaration/documents/publication/wcms_243391.pdf.
National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC). (n.d.). Mission. Retrieved
NHTRC Call Specialist (name withheld by request). (2015,
March 11). Personal
communication. Phone.
Polaris Project. (n.d.-a). Human Trafficking. Retrieved 12 March 2015, from
Polaris Project. (n.d.-a). Human Trafficking. Retrieved 12 March 2015, from
Polaris Project. (n.d.-b). 2014 Statistics. Retrieved 12
March 2015, from
Polaris Project. (2013, March 28). Press Release. Texting
increases human
trafficking victims’ access to
help. Retrieved 12 March 2015, from
http://www.polarisproject.org/media-center/news-and-press/press-releases/757-texting-increases-human-trafficking-victims-access-to-help
Ravindranath, M. (2013, December 8). How text messages help
the Polaris
Project zero in on human
trafficking. Washington Post. Retrieved from
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/on-it/how-text-messages-help-the-polaris-project-zero-in-on-human-trafficking/2013/12/06/035ce5e8-5ea2-11e3-bc56-c6ca94801fac_story.html
Schweizer, K. (2014, April 16). Pedophiles Lured by Avatar
in Tech Industry Porn
Fight. Bloomberg. Retrieved from
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2014-04-15/pedophiles-lured-by-avatar-in-tech-industry-porn-fight
Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children. (n.d.-a). About us.
Retrieved 11 March, 2015.
Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children. (n.d.-b). BEFREE Text
Shortcode. Retrieved 11
March, 2015, from
https://www.wearethorn.org/befree/
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