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U.S. Tax Dollars Could Support War Zone Sex Trafficking
On paper, U.S. policy on sex trafficking in war zones is very clear: subcontractors or military personnel who engage in trafficking women or children will be prosecuted. In practice, however, the policy is significantly more lenient. In fact, there have been exactly zero prosecutions of sex trafficking in war zones since the policy went into place, despite several reports of women being forced into the sex trade in multiple countries. That means you might still be paying for trafficking with your tax dollars.This past February, the Army received a report that women who were being held in involuntary servitude in Iraq were being sexually assaulted by the supervisors of a U.S. Army subcontractor. The women were allegedly moved around the country, forced into poor living and working conditions, and sexually assaulted by a number of civilians. The Army has said those allegations were “were investigated and not substantiated.” However, they have refused to say whether or not they actually interviewed any of the victims.
Also last year, a former Blackwater guard reported he witnessed soldiers paying Iraqi girls as young as 12 for oral sex. But the alleged victims' families withdrew sworn testimony related to those allegations when a lawsuit was settled favorably. And from 2006 to 2007, 90 Chinese women were freed from brothels in Afghanistan, where they were being held against their will, and where management for the U.S. security provider ArmorGroup openly bragged about how much money they made selling women. ArmorGroup investigated those reports internally, but the U.S. military and State Department failed to follow up.
Individually, these incidents are perhaps dismissible as unusual, one-time events. But together, they begin to form a pattern that shows the Army's significant lack of interest in determining whether or not U.S. subcontractors and employees are trafficking women. Human trafficking is, by its nature, a hidden crime. It's one which requires in-depth investigation to uncover. But we haven't seen in-depth investigations resulting from allegations made regarding human trafficking. Instead, we've seen easy dismissals of reports, buy-outs of lawsuit plaintiffs, and a shifting of responsibility to companies to investigate internally. These are not techniques that will ultimately bring human traffickers to justice and prevent U.S. taxpayer money from funding these serious human rights abuses.
One possible explanation for the lack of prosecutions is the lack of will to investigate. Another is the lack of clarity in the Justice Department's zero tolerance policy towards trafficking. The policy makes no clear distinction between women who are trafficked into prostitution and those who are in the industry voluntarily. Couple that with the difficulty sometimes in distinguishing between trafficked and non-trafficked women in the sex industry, and prosecutors aren't sure where to best apply resources. Furthermore, abused women and even full modern-day slavery rings are lower priorities for investigations and prosecutions than issues like fraud and corruption. But no matter the reason, the Justice Department's claims that they refuse to tolerate sex trafficking just aren't being enforced.
A zero-tolerance policy looks nice on paper, but in practice, it is rarely enforced. If the U.S. wants to get serious about making sure no U.S. subcontractors are trafficking women (and thus, no U.S. taxpayers are shelling out cash to support trafficking), they need to clarify their policy, really investigate claims, and be willing to prosecute perpetrators.
Photo credit: babasteve
Amanda Kloer has been a full-time abolitionist for six years. She currently develops trainings and educational materials for civil attorneys representing victims of human trafficking and gender-based violence.
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