DOD Works to Prevent ‘Trafficking in Persons’
Trafficking in persons, also called human trafficking, is a crime and a human rights abuse. The three most common forms of trafficking in persons (TIP) that DoD personnel may encounter are:
- Sex trafficking
- Labor trafficking (also called forced labor)
- Child soldiering
A little known Defense Department office is working to ensure the fair treatment of workers by employees and contractors in countries all over the world.
The Combating Trafficking in Persons program management office is tasked with ensuring that U.S. taxpayer dollars do not contribute to trafficking in persons. As the largest single purchaser of goods and services in the world, the United States has long had a zero-tolerance policy regarding government employees and contractor personnel engaging in any form of trafficking in persons. In 2006, the DOD established the CTIP program management office with a dedicated program manager.
CTIP program managers in Afghanistan have helped thousands of workers since 2014. Recently, a worker wrote to express gratitude for the program manager’s help collecting pay that was owed him and fellow workers for time they spent in COVID-19 quarantine. “I don’t have enough words in my vocabulary to thank you appropriately. Money is important to all of us, but it will not last forever but the soothing feeling you get once you realize that you have been recognized and the justice has been served will last forever in our lives. Thank you so much for everything,” he wrote.
The program manager said the incident — and outcome — are the reasons CTIP exists.
CTIP Program Managers
What does the CTIP program manager do? On any given day, the program manager might be updating policies and training requirements; answering inquiries from Congress, the DOD inspector general or the Government Accountability Office; and collaborating with other federal agencies in the fight against people trafficking.
In some ways, program managers deployed on overseas bases are ombudsmen for the thousands of workers employed by the U.S. government through private contractors or subcontractors. Their duties include:
- Performing audits of “other country nationals” to ensure adequate working and housing conditions.
- Training personnel about the laws, regulations and policies on trafficking in persons.
- Interviewing workers to ensure no force, fraud or coercion is taking place and that OCNs are being treated well and paid for their work.
- Troubleshooting worker problems.
- Providing information and training so that contractors understand not to purchase sex or engage in other forms of sex trafficking prohibited by the Federal Acquisition Regulation.
To deter trafficking in persons from taking place through DOD contracts, the program manager must also gain the trust of the workers and develop a working relationship with contracting officers, contracting officer representatives, contractors, subcontractors and other relevant parties.
CTIP Self-Assessment Report
The CTIP program manager is charged with issuing the DOD Self-Assessment Report on Combating Trafficking in Persons annually to assess CTIP efforts by the department’s various components. The report includes details of violations of the federal laws, rules and regulations on trafficking in persons. In part, annual reporting helps contracting officers hold contractors and subcontractors accountable for abiding by federal acquisition regulations pertaining to combating trafficking in persons.
The CTIP program manager is working every day to help DOD personnel and U.S. government contractors and subcontractors fully comply with anti-trafficking laws and policies. Compliance with TIP laws and regulations ensures that workers are protected from sex and labor exploitation. It also ensures that vulnerable workers can perform vital services and manufacture goods procured by the United States; promotes economy and efficiency in government procurement; and increases stability and productivity in federal contracting.
Who are the traffickers?
Traffickers can be:
- Members of organized crime groups
- Terrorist organizations
- Gangs and warlords
- Foreign national or U.S. citizen
- Male or female
- Pimps
- Business owners
- Service members, DoD civilians, DoD contractors, and DoD family members
Force, Fraud, and Coercion
Traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion to compel victims to perform labor or services or commercial sex acts.
Here are some examples of force, fraud, and coercion drawn from actual cases. Please note, these examples do not comprise an all-inclusive list.
Force:
- Physical assault such as being hit, kicked, punched, stabbed, strangled, burned, shot, raped
- Confinement such as being locked in a room or closet, handcuffed, tied up, bound, or otherwise physically prevented from moving or leaving a situation
- Drugging a person to incapacitate him/her
Fraud:
- False promises of a better job, good pay, new life in the U.S., better circumstances for one’s family
- Use of fraudulent travel documents such as passports or visas
- False advertising
Physical Coercion
- Putting a gun to someone’s head
- Holding a person at knifepoint
- Threatening to hit or hurt someone
Psychological Coercion:
- Threats or intimidation against the victim or victim’s family, including threats to physically harm a loved one
- Blackmail (such as threatening to release nude photos of a person)
- Threats of deportation or sending someone to jail
- Showing a person a dead body and intimating that if the person doesn’t cooperate he/she will end up the same way
Where are victims of human trafficking found?
Victims of sex trafficking can be found anywhere, but are often found in:
- Bars and Brothels
- Dance clubs and strip clubs
- Massage parlors and spas
- Escort services
- Private parties
- Pornography industry
- On the Internet
In the DoD, labor trafficking has occurred in contracts that cover labor intensive industries such as:
- Food services
- Janitorial and disposal services
- Truck and driver services
- Security guards
- Construction work VISIT DOD