I often see and hear victims of human trafficking being referred to as, “invisible,” due to the notions of secrecy associated with their plight. However, while I will not argue that human trafficking does invoke notions of secrecy, “invisible,” implies not seeing anything at all. Members of the general public, law enforcement, and the media certainly know human trafficking exists, as evidenced by my writing of this article and the recent influx of mainstream documentaries on the subject, but a lack of comprehensive understanding has lead to numerous pitfalls within many of the channels best situated to help. The phrase, “hidden in plain sight,” seems to better encompass the difficulties of dealing with an issue that, by virtue of its purposefully clandestine nature, puts those affected at the severe disadvantage of being regularly overlooked.
A study done observing 83 police agencies by Wilson, Walsh, and Kleuber in 2006, as well as a separate study done by Clawson, Dutch, and Cummings that same year revealed that, “officers were less than adequately prepared to recognize and differentiate human trafficking victims and often fail to investigate this emerging frame even when signs of this crime are in plain sight”. The studies noted that this inefficiency may stem from the fact that the only human trafficking-specific training many officers receive comes in the form of a short, interactive online course similar to one taken for ethics or sexual harassment. The ineffective training cuts into state and federal funds, all the while perpetuating misconceptions that may be contributing to missed opportunities for officers to locate victims and provide much needed services.
Furthermore, media portrayals and cultural proclivities lead to the belief that human trafficking is primarily an issue for foreign nationals, thus often placing the hope for its eradication primarily in the hands of the federal government. Wilson’s 2006 study also found that 72% of local agencies felt that trafficking was, “best addressed by federal law enforcement.” However, as local and state agencies are the most likely to come into contact with victims of human trafficking, it actually puts them in the best position to intervene.
Adding insult to injury, many scholars also argue that the very numbers used to quantify the prevalence of human trafficking are seriously skewed and likely inaccurate. Scholars blame biases from political and advocacy groups, as well as methodical follies and gaps in data for the serious discrepancy between the numbers of observed and estimated victims of human trafficking. Yet, this data will likely remain inaccurate until law enforcement and society begin to recognize the force, fraud, coercion, and abuse so deeply intertwined with this type of exploitation.
Further complicating the matter is the fact that many victims of human trafficking do not self-identify as such. Without adequate training to investigate and identify cases of human trafficking, these victims often remain unrecognized. We must shift our perspective, so that victims will no longer fall through cracks created by ineffective police training, various misconceptions about human trafficking, and statistical inaccuracies. Until we do so, these victims will remain – not “invisible” – but “hidden in plain sight.”
Jamie Pizzi is currently a first-year law student at the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Jamie is from Palm City, Florida and received her undergraduate degree in Anthropology and Political Science from Rollins College. After graduation, Jamie would like to do public interest work related to women’s rights or criminal law.
