International trafficking in children: will new U.S. legislation provide an ending to the story?

• Author: Mathews, Stacey

1. THE TRAGEDY OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING: NO COUNTRY IS IMMUNE FROM THE DRAMA II. THE FIVE "WS" OF SEX TRAFFICKING: UNDERSTANDING THE STORY A. What is the plot in the drama of sex trafficking? B. Where is the story taking place? C. Who are the members of the cast? D. Why is the trafficking production so successful? E. When will the saga end? III. THE FIGHT AGAINST CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING UNDER THE DIRECTION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY A. The Convention on the Rights of the Child: The Most Dramatic of Them All B. The Hague Convention: Serving Abducted Actors C. Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child Pornography and Child Prostitution: An Attempt to Stop the Performance D. U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children: Linking the Producers to the Show IV. THE ROLE OF PREVIOUS U.S. EFFORTS: PREFACE TO n COMMANDING PERFORMANCE A. The Mann Act: The First Act on the U.S. Stage B. An Anthology of Laws C. Foreign Assistance Act: Performing Abroad V. POWERFUL NEW LEGISLATION: THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY A. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000: A Comprehensive Theme 1. Chapter One: Prevention 2. Chapter Two: Protection 3. Chapter Three: Prosecution B. The PROTECT ACT: An Encore to a Successful Performance 1. Strengthening the Action through Tougher Laws 2. Prosecutions under the PROTECT Act: Acting Out the Consequences 3. Operation Predator: Summarizing Past Offenses VI. SUGGESTIONS FOR REVISIONS TO INCREASE CURRENT EFFORTS: AN APPENDIX TO THE STORY VII. CURTAIN CALL: WILL NEW U.S. MEASURES RECEIVE A STANDING OVATION? I. THE TRAGEDY OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING: NO COUNTRY IS IMMUNE FROM THE DRAMA

   Ling was thirteen years old and living in Burma when her family sold her to a neighbor under the guise of becoming a domestic worker in another country. (1) The neighbor transported Ling to the Thailand border where she crossed into more than a new country--she walked into a terrifying new life. (2) Her captors took her to a brothel and forced her to have sex up to ten times per day, primarily with clients traveling from wealthy countries where such activities are illegal. (3) All the money she earned went to the brothel manager, who forced Ling to live with the most meager of possessions. (4) After enduring a year of this life and being exposed to the AIDS virus, police arrested Ling in a raid on the brothel and charged her with prostitution. (5) Upon completion of her sentence, officials deported Ling to Burma where there are no laws to protect victims of trafficking. (6) Her perpetrators remain unpunished. (7)

   In neighboring Cambodia, however, the police arrested sixty-nine year old Michael Clark, an American tourist, for participating in illicit sexual conduct with two boys under the age of fourteen. (8) Clark has since become the first person in the United States to be indicted under the PROTECT Act--the U.S. legislation designed to curb sexual abuse of children. (9) Due to this strong new legislation and Cambodia's willingness to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement, the Cambodian victims may see punishment meted out, unlike the young girl in Burma. (10)

   Sexual exploitation and trafficking in children is a growing affront on human dignity that has gained greater international attention in recent years. (11) Trafficking in persons is one of the most rapidly growing transnational criminal enterprises, (12) with child prostitution skyrocketing despite legislation designed to prevent and control the illegal activity. (13) In response, countries must pool their efforts and unify in the fight against the international trafficking trade--both in those where children are forced into prostitution, as well as those providing a market for such trade. (14) Much legislation has been passed in response to this problem. (15) To date, this legislation has been "all bark and no bite," professing the importance of ending trafficking, but lacking the necessary force to impact this insidious crime. (16) Despite slight efforts by the United States and the international community, the system has not worked to protect children. (17) A multinational response with international coordination of law enforcement is required to thwart the enormous problem of trafficking. (18)

   The United States is not immune to the atrocities of sex trafficking in children. (19) Although the extent to which trafficking impacts the United States has been fairly unknown in the general U.S. population, recent news reports and lobbying efforts by nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) (20) indicate a growing increase in public awareness by Americans. (21) In response to recent reports and statistics, (22) President Bush signed the newest piece of legislation, the Prosecutorial Remedies and Other Tools to end the Exploitation of Children Today Act of 2003 (PROTECT Act), (23) into law in the United States and urged the international community to follow suit. (24) This act follows on the heels of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) as a way to further strengthen the TVPA's prosecutorial objectives. (25)

   The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, in conjunction with the new PROTECT Act, offers promise. The PROTECT Act targets individuals--both U.S. citizens who commit sexual crimes against children abroad, and those who enter the United States to illegally traffic children. The TVPA approaches the issue from a more universal standpoint and provides measures for accountability of entire nations as opposed to individual perpetrators through bilateral and multilateral solutions. (26) The United States is making strides in the fight against trafficking but can only do so much without the assistance of other nations.

   This Comment first addresses the scope of the problem of sex trafficking in children. Next, it evaluates prior global legislation and analyzes why previous efforts failed to substantially curb trafficking. This Comment will then analyze the TVPA and PROTECT Act as a two-pronged legislative tool and compare how this legislation is different from past attempts to control trafficking. Finally, this Comment will offer a number of suggestions to help further increase the success of anti-trafficking efforts of the United States and the international community.

2. THE FIVE "WS" OF SEX TRAFFICKING: UNDERSTANDING THE STORY

   It is almost inconceivable that sexual slavery, through the trafficking of women and children, exists today. Not only is it a reality, but trafficking also is one of the largest and fastest growing human rights challenges facing the international community. (27) The story of sex trafficking in children is played out on stages around the world. It affects producers, directors, and audiences alike, all of whom reap enormous profits and royalties from the victimization of the most innocent of actors: children.

   1. What is the plot in the drama of sex trafficking?

      In 2000, the U.S. Congress found that trafficking in persons had become a modern form of slavery, globally affecting at least 700,000 persons--primarily women and children--each year. (28) The 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) published by the U.S. State Department estimates that the number of people trafficked annually across international borders has increased to between 800,000 and 900,000. (29) The United Nations approximates that each year 1.2 million children are trafficked worldwide. (30) These numbers relate to victims who are trafficked from one country into another and do not include the number of people trafficked within their own countries. (31)

      The ramifications of trafficking in children reach far beyond the mere deprivation of human rights. (32) Trafficking contributes to the social breakdown of families and communities, interferes with the passing of cultural values, and thus weakens society as a whole. (33) This phenomenon divests countries of human capital, promotes crime, and undermines public health. (34) In some countries, the financial gain from trafficking has led to government corruption and organized crime, which overwhelms the resources of law enforcement, immigration, and the judiciary. (35) Further, lack of financial resources makes it impossible for some countries to effectively prosecute offenders or protect victims. (36)

      Profits from trafficking by "travel" agents, pimps, and criminal organizations are estimated at five to ten billion dollars per year. (37) The International Labour Organization (ILO) describes trafficking as "the underside of globalization." (38) Trafficking is linked to a myriad of other criminal activities such as money laundering and document fraud. (39) U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft recognized that "[t]rafficking is a transnational criminal enterprise. It recognizes neither boundaries nor borders." (40) Secretary of State Colin Powell emphasized that it is critical to the United States' relationship with the international community to become involved on a global issue of such magnitude. (41)

      The international community differs on what constitutes sex trafficking. (42) For the purposes of this Comment, the definitions from the TVPA are used. The TVPA defines sex trafficking as "the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act." (43) "Severe forms of trafficking in persons" is partially defined as, "sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained eighteen years of age." (44)

      The World Tourism Organisation defines sex tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary purpose of effecting a commercial sexual relationship by the tourist with residents at the destination." (45) Americans participate in "sex tours," for which they receive an itinerary that...