A regional division of the Not For Sale Campaign

Out at the NFSC Investigator's Academy, we were fortunate to hear from Kelly Tyne, a male survivor and an outreach coordinator for SAGE (Standing Against Global Exploitation) in California. Not only is he a dynamic speaker, but he reminded me of something we tend to overlook in the world of human trafficking - men. Oh, don't get me wrong, we're quick to point out that the majority of Johns are men and than a significant number of pimps are male and we're quick to criminalize them. But we forget that in the same vein that women are vulnerable to being trafficked, similar conditions worldwide exist that can make men vulnerable to becoming victims.

Kelly's correlation - that many addicts are likely to have some sort of trauma in their background and thus are a likely group to have been exploited - is only the tip of the spear when examining the issue of men in global human trafficking. I have a friend at a service provider in Atlanta who has repeatedly told me her greatest hurdle is arranging services for immigrant men.

It is not unusual to find Latino males trafficked into Atlanta for use in the various industries as cheap or free labor. Once ICE or local authorities bust up these rings, most men have little recourse for services and end up being deported. While there is legal assistance and federal benefits for men, we have no homes, no shelters for these men. In fact, in my discussions with people from all over the US, there are no shelters NATIONWIDE for men. In some cases, drop-in homeless shelters have provided immediate housing, but those have been the only roues available.

Further, there's a male stigmatization that comes into play with claiming our T and U visa benefits. Men are naturally inclined to hide incidents of physical abuse because we seek to maintain our social paternal models of "men are tough." We don't cry (just ask Chuck Norris) and we don't reveal weakness, many times even in private to those we trust.

As abolitionists, we must strive to seek out more data on male victims and recognize as exemplary the programs which have begun to address recovery and restoration issues. While I recognize the fight against human trafficking is daunting and thus it is easy to serve the most convenient victim, "ending slavery in our time" means all forms of slavery for all genders, all races, all ages.

July 25, 2009

there are male victims, too.

GEORGIA