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Human Trafficking

Op-ed: How an obscure business law facilitates human trafficking in massage parlors

Someone looking to comparison shop for commercial sex at one of Utah’s 50 or so illicit massage parlors can visit an online review board and get graphic descriptions of experiences with individual women in these locations.

Meanwhile, the privacy of the people who actually own the businesses where these acts take place is scrupulously protected nationwide by U.S. law. There is a very real and tragic cost to this irony. Research shows the majority of these women are likely victims of human trafficking. Corporate secrecy makes prosecuting the traffickers and helping the women find freedom extremely difficult.

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Committee Advances Bill to Target Financing of Human Trafficking

House Financial Services Committee Votes Unanimously in Favor of the End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2017 (H.R.2219)
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to advance legislation targeting the financing of human trafficking, in a move welcomed by the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition.

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Letter to Reps. Hensarling and Waters Supporting End Banking for Human Traffickers Act (H.R.2219)

The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT Coalition) sent a letter to House Financial Services Committee Chairman Jeb Hensarling and Ranking Member Maxine Waters in support of the bipartisan End Banking for Human Traffickers Act of 2017 (H.R.2219), which would increase the role of financial policymakers and the financial industry in combating human trafficking.

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Illicit massage parlors prolific and lucrative, study finds

Houston hosts hundreds of massage parlors described in sleazy online sex forums like RubMaps.com that generate about $107 million in illicit revenues each year, according to a new study by Vanessa Bouche, a Texas Christian University political science professor and human trafficking expert.

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The Anonymous Companies That Protect Human Traffickers

Human trafficking is one of the most insidious crimes in our world today.  It’s a business that profits on depriving basic rights — buying and selling them for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Unfortunately, it is the third-or fourth-largest illegal industry in the world (depending on how one measures) — and one that is growing rapidly.  It is estimated to amount to $150 billion in profits each year while keeping 21 million people in slavery — at least that we know of.

Human traffickers hide in the shadows, making them extremely elusive to authorities. Vanessa Chauhan, a strategic engagement adviser at Polaris and FACT Coalition member, says, “It’s a hidden crime and unless you’re looking for it, you’re not going to find it.”  To remain hidden, some traffickers use illicit schemes, including complex webs of anonymous companies, that allow them to quietly launder the proceeds from their illicit activity and shield them from accountability.

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