Human Trafficking in North Dakota
Today we have a guest contributor, Mr. Lowell Hochhalter, Co-Founder/CEO of The LifeGuard Group, an anti-trafficking organization. He has worked first-hand with victims of human trafficking for years, so I asked him to provide some thoughts about human trafficking in our region. NOTE THAT SOME OF THE FOLLOWING MATERIAL MAY NOT BE APPROPRIATE FOR CHILDREN.
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Let me introduce you to human trafficking. Not what you may have seen on TV or read in an article, but from our first-hand experience with the issue. More specifically, our first-hand experience in North Dakota.
One of the first comments we hear is, “Why don’t the trafficked victims just leave?” There are several reasons why victims do not “self-identify,” or report their exploitation. Roughly 85% of victims want to leave their present life but do not feel like there is any other option for them. Quite often reporting their human trafficking experience can be complicated and the judicial process can be lengthy and oftentimes retraumatizing. Traffickers threaten physical harm and abuse to families and loved ones if the victims report their exploitation.
The majority of victims report being in an intimate relationship with their exploiter, or the trafficker is a guardian or relative, which can evoke confusing emotions of loyalty and a perverted sense of love and belonging. The bond between the trafficker and their victim makes it very difficult to press charges even after they have left the exploitative relationship.
Victims and survivors of trafficking often experience stigma and shame as a result of their experiences. Additionally, in some cultures, gender roles and stigma can add pressure, and reporting trafficking may carry a significantly higher personal risk when compared to trying to bury that experience and trauma. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the average age of an individual recruited into sex trafficking is between 12 and 14 years old. In the United States, 45% of victims are trafficked by a family member, while 40% are trafficked by someone with whom the victim has a close relationship.
Victims are taught by their traffickers to distrust outsiders, especially law enforcement. They have a sense of fear and/or distrust toward the government and police because they are afraid they will be deported/or punished themselves. Traffickers prey on the most vulnerable, such as:
Runaway and homeless youth
56 percent of prostituted women were initially runaway youth
Within the first 48 hours, 75% of runaways or homeless youth will be approached by a pimp and/or trafficker.
Victims of prior abuse or domestic violence
Oppressed or marginalized groups
Foreign nationals lacking documentation
Impoverished or indebted
Displaced people (e.g., civil unrest, natural disasters, political instability)
Disrupted family situation
Tumultuous social situation
Mental illness (Depression, Suicidal)
Children in Foster Care
History of abuse, neglect, and trauma
Low self-esteem and minimal social support
Kids are vulnerable simply because they are kids
During their time of exploitation, victims have stated;
95% interacted with Law Enforcement
70% used the hospitality industry
88% sought healthcare
70% came in contact with an educator
Out of these listed industries, only ONE gives direct access to potential victims in a preventative manner: education.
The Bakken Tour: In 2013, 2014, and again in 2015, our team visited schools across North Dakota. In April 2014, we embarked on what we called "The Bakken Tour." Thomasine Heitkamp, Professor at the University of North Dakota, Grand Forks did a study to determine the impact of the Bakken oil fields in North Dakota and Montana. The findings described the oil patch as a “fertile ground” for sex trafficking women. Our organization was made aware of situations where pimps/sex traffickers actually moved up to the Bakken from Las Vegas because they could make more money up north.
We started our tour in the Capital city of Bismarck, at Century High School. We spent the next week traveling across the state to Minot, Williston, and Dickinson, finishing in Mandan. We spoke in public and private schools, rural and urban schools. One feature they all had in common was that in each location, at least one child came up to us after our presentation to tell us about a human trafficking experience they or someone they knew had faced.
Williston: Our visit to Williston was particularly impactful. After our school assembly program, we waited, as is our common practice, until every student exited the gymnasium. It was not uncommon for students to come up to our presenters, especially the woman who spoke as a survivor. There was a girl who stood away from everyone else; she looked to be about 11 years old. She didn’t approach us until everyone had left. She said, “Thank you for being here today, it means a lot.” We invited her to come back to the evening community rally, but she said she would not be able to. We urged her to really try and come. Her head dropped and her voice broke as she told us that her dad demanded that she get home right after school.
Here’s why. For the majority of the time, this little girl lived in their trailer house all alone. Meanwhile, her father who lived in one of the man camps would schedule times for his “co-workers” to visit his daughter so that they could have sex with her. Let that sink in.
Thankfully she was at the presentation that day, came up to us, and the door of opportunity was opened to identify what was happening to her and to ask for help. But there are many others who have not had this opportunity or have been too afraid to take those critical steps to the front of the auditorium.
This is why we must fight the battle against human trafficking in North Dakota. This is why human trafficking education can and should be presented in an informative and age-appropriate manner.
North Dakota is at a critical crossroads in their fight against human trafficking. Expanded energy policies are being proposed by the new federal administration, which will greatly help North Dakota. We applaud this. However, at the same time, we are very afraid that we will experience BAKKEN 2.0, and possibly an even much greater incidence of human trafficking than before.
It is imperative to take an aggressive mindset of prevention and education. It is not enough to simply be aware of human trafficking, we must educate our most vulnerable, our children, on how to protect themselves with the tools to recognize and respond and to create a web of protection around them.
Imagine if that frightened young girl came up and told you her story. How important would it be to you that no daughter would ever have to repeat a similar story?
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During this current legislative session, there are a number of anti-trafficking bills still alive, some dealing specifically with educating students about trafficking. The key bills are listed below.
HB 1569 – Sex trafficking awareness and prevention curriculum for students.
HB 1361 – Mandatory minimum sentences for human trafficking offenders.
HB 1308 – Established a human trafficking commission which will collect and evaluate state. data and promote awareness training.
SB 2330 – Human trafficking awareness and exploitation prevention education for students.
HCR 3028- Study our existing human trafficking victim reentry services.
We will keep you updated in our weekly summary emails about what is happening with each bill and also issue Call-to-Action alerts when these bills come up for critical votes. Stay tuned and thank you for your commitment to protecting victims of human trafficking in North Dakota!