Holiday Season Routinely See Rise in Human Trafficking U.S. Department of Justice officials maintain that their strong efforts continue to combat human trafficking.
By d-mars.com News Provider
Federal prosecutors said the fight against human trafficking, a crime that harms some of the most vulnerable members of society counts among their highest priorities.
“We are committed to vindicating the rights of human trafficking crime vic- tims by bringing their traffick- ers to justice and working to en- sure that survivors have access to restitution, services, and assis- tance that are needed to rebuild their lives,” U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg offered in a statement.
U.S. Department of Justice officials maintain that their strong efforts continue to combat human trafficking.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Attorney General released the Department of Justice’s National Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking.
The Strategy laid out the Department’s multi-year plan to combat all forms of human trafficking, focusing on efforts to protect victims of trafficking, prosecute human trafficking cases, and prevent further acts of human trafficking.
The Human Trafficking Institute estimates that there are 24.9 million victims of human trafficking globally.
sons). Of the 1,169 defendants charged in U.S. district court with human trafficking offenses in the fiscal year 2020— 92% were male, 63% were white, 18% were black, 17% were Hispanic, 95% were U.S. citizens, and 66% had no prior convictions.
By the end of 2020, for the 47 states that reported data, 1,564 persons were in the custody of a state prison serving a sentence for a human trafficking offense.
The District of Columbia reported zero new criminal human trafficking cases filed in federal courts in 2021.
The advocacy organization Hope for Justice defines human trafficking as modern slavery, where one person controls another for profit by exploiting a vulnerability.
Victims usually are forced to work or are sexually exploited, and the trafficker keeps all or nearly all the money. The control can be phys -
ical, financial, or psychological.
Childwelfare.com says the legal definition of trafficking involves “the exploitation of people through force, coercion, threat, and deception and includes human rights abuses such as debt bondage, deprivation of liberty, and lack of control over freedom and labor.”
The organization noted that trafficking could be for purposes of sexual exploitation or labor exploitation.
In 2004, officials formed the D.C. Human Trafficking Task Force to increase the prosecution of traffickers while identifying and serving the victims.
son.
“We let our guard down because you’re supposed to be joyful, and, you know, it’s a great time of year. And unfortunately, we have people out there that don’t care what time of year it is,” Tony Mancuso, a sheriff in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, told reporters in a preChristmas interview in 2021.
“California is home to some of the largest hubs for sex and labor trafficking in the United States, and it is beyond the time our state takes the necessary steps in combatting this crimi - nal enterprise,” Democratic Assemblymember Tim Grayson insisted.
Grayson noted that human trafficking was a $150 billion-a-year global industry and introduced a bill to establish the California Multidisciplinary Alliance to Stop Trafficking Act (California MAST). The bill aims to examine and evaluate existing programs and outreach for survivors and victims of human trafficking and provide recommendations to strengthen California’s response to supporting survivors and holding offenders accountable.
“In my search for a better life, I found myself exploited by various individuals similar to other child trafficking survivors,” said Jimmy Lopez, Survivor Advocate for the Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking.
“Human trafficking is an invisible crisis plaguing our state and forcing thousands of children to grow up too fast; we must stop trafficking in its tracks, and we must hold offenders accountable,” Lopez said.
In 2020, the Institute reported that federal courts in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and 4 U.S. territories handled 579 active human trafficking prosecutions, 94% of which were sex trafficking cases and 6% forced labor cases.
According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, individuals prosecuted for human trafficking increased from 729 in 2011 to 1,343 in 2020, an 84% rise.
The number of persons convicted of a federal human trafficking offense increased from 2011 (464 persons) to 2019 (837 persons) before falling in 2020 (658 per-
The task force’s primary goal is to “facilitate a more coordinated anti-trafficking effort in the D.C. area through protocol development, extensive community outreach, proactive investigations, law enforcement training, intelligence sharing, and more formalized partnerships between law enforcement organizations and non-governmental organizations.”
Additionally, while the holiday season counts as a time of joy, happiness, and fun, the nonprofit Shero Foundation said for human trafficking victims, the holidays are no different from any other day.
Law enforcement officials said traffickers typically increase their illegal activities during the holiday sea-
Callers can dial 711 to access the Hotline using TTY. You can also email help@humantraffickinghotline.org. To report a potential human trafficking situation, call the hotline at 1-888-373-7888. All communication with the hotline is strictly confidential.
If you or someone you know needs help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline toll-free hotline, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-888-373-7888 to speak with a specially trained Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocate.
Support is provided in more than 200 languages. Hotline officials said they are there to listen and connect those in need with the help required to stay safe.
Source: National Newspaper Publishers Association
Written by: Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
Rainbow Push Auto Scorecard Shows Vast Improvement in Diversity Efforts
By Stacy M. Brown NNPA Newswire Senior
Longtime National Newspaper Publishers Association’s (NNPA) partner General Motors joined Toyota in helping automakers set new ethnic diversity and inclusion standards in the United States.
Both automakers reflected best practices for ethnic diversity in five of six categories, according to the Rainbow PUSH/Citizenship Education Fund Automotive Project’s annual Automotive Diversity Scorecard.
“We have seen many automakers take big steps forward with their diversity programs as they have come to see the value of diversity and inclusion programs truly,” stated Jackson, the founder, and president of Rainbow PUSH Coalition.
The scorecard provides a snapshot of each automaker’s success at building and sustaining ethnic diversity and inclusion, primarily focusing on people of color. Jackson developed the scorecard in 2012.
diversity “initiatives and investments were non-existent, not disclosed, or did not provide enough relevant information for scoring.”
For the first time during the decade the scorecard’s been issued, no automakers received a red grade.
“We’ve made some progress over the last 12 months,” NNPA President and CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr. declared.
“But one of the things we learn from our history is that when you make progress, you must
Hyundai, Subaru, and Kia earned between four and one green grade.
“We cannot afford to be complacent — our work is far from being done,” Jackson said.
“The automotive industry and the communities it serves would benefit from having more Blacks in the C-suites and as owners of dealerships. In addition, our advertising agencies need larger budgets, and, of course, we need to make sure minorities play a meaningful role in the emerging electric vehicle supply chain.”
The six areas under consideration are employment, advertising, marketing, procurement, dealers, and philanthropy
The automakers earn red, yellow, or green grades, depending upon how well each performed in the six categories above.
A company earns a green grade when they’ve met the best practices for ethnic diversity.
Yellow grades signal some indication of diversity goals, initiatives, and accountability.
A red grade is essentially a failure, meaning an automaker’s
continue, or else you will slide back. So we join this coalition and the Global Automotive Summit in saying to all the auto industry that we want to make more progress.”
GM and Toyota received green grades in five areas and a single yellow grade in the sixth. GM earned its yellow grade in employment efforts, while Toyota’s was in the dealer network.
However, GM and Toyota scored the highest among the 12 automakers surveyed this year.
BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volkswagen scored the lowest, with yellow grades across the board. Between the high and low marks, Ford, Stellantis, Honda, Nissan,
Women Business Owners Are Optimistic About the Future
By
ven as they ride out inflationary pressures, supply chain disruptions and economic uncertainty, women owners and executives of small and mid-size majority-womenowned businesses have an optimistic outlook about the near-term future of their businesses, according to a recent survey.
The PNC Bank survey found that women business owner (WBO) expectations for their own companies remain strong, with 41% feeling highly optimistic -- up from 29% in the fall of 2020 but down from 67% in the fall of 2021 -- while the share of those feeling pessimistic has held constant at just 1%.
The survey also indicated that more than eight in 10 women business owners are very confident about their future success and nearly half say it comes from their own hard work and drive. Similar-
ly, 79% of WBOs are very satisfied with their role as business owners or leaders compared to 67% of men business owners (MBOs).
The survey suggests that women have a take-charge, can-do attitude. When it was difficult to find employees, 49% of WBOs versus one-third of MBOs say that they or their managers stepped in to cover open staff hours themselves. Additionally, they’re focused on growth: 81% surveyed are Woman Business Enterprise-certified, 73% market their certification, and 88% say that certification has been a helpful business development tool.
“ We are seeing a new pattern of selfempowerment among women business owners that is very encouraging,” said Beth Marcello, director of PNC Women’s Business Development. “Their own hard work to survive the pandemic is the source of their confidence and optimism today.”
“For the first time, we have evidence of increased financial confidence among
Dr. Chavis noted a connection between the auto industry, its success, and the African American community and young people.
“We present not just the past but the present and the future,” Chavis declared. “The NNPA continues to be the national media partner of the Global Automotive Summit sponsored by Rainbow Push Coalition for 23 years. We salute the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Chair John Graves for their consistent global leadership in working with the key executives of the automotive industry. This year’s focus on electric vehicles is timely and strategic for business and career opportunities for Black America.”
Telva McGruder, GM’s chief diversity equity and inclusion officer, said the company stands proud because of its progress.
“We recognize that we are in the heart of our journey and continue to drive robust DEI connection through our business actions,” McGruder stated.
“GM’s commitment to diverse-owned businesses and communities at large remains central to our overall strategy and ongoing investments.”
Source: National Newspaper Publishers Association
Written by: By Stacy M. Brown, NNPA Newswire Senior National Correspondent
women business owners. They are two times more likely than men to say they’re considering a new loan or line of credit to support business growth,” said Marcello. “They are monitoring their cash position and have a cash reserve, but they’re investing excess cash rather than stockpiling it; they are continuing to leverage the increased efficiency of the digital financial tools they migrated to during the pandemic; and they are confidently increasing pricing as the economy allows for it.”
Meeting the Challenges
While WBOs have concerns about inflation, profitability, and the supply chain, they believe they’re prepared for these challenges. Although similar portions of WBOs and MBOs experienced supply chain issues in the past year, 79% of WBOs believe they have the right amount of inventory they need to succeed.
WBOs also intend to maintain or expand on policies they initiated during the pandemic, including allowing flexible work arrangements (48%), increasing compensation (38%), and implementing employee health or safety enhancements
(33%). WBOs are more likely than MBOs to adopt Corporate Social Responsibility policies or practices, including gender pay equity (34% vs. 9%) and diversity and inclusion (29% vs. 14%). These disparities could be an indication of why fewer WBOs (30%) than MBOs (43%) are finding it harder to hire new staff compared to six months ago.
Identifying and addressing challenges faced by women financial decision-makers is a component of PNC’s Project 257: Accelerating Women’s Financial Equality, an initiative to help close the 257-year economic gender gap. More information about these efforts as well as helpful resources for women financial decisionmakers can be found at pnc.com/women. To connect with Project 257, follow PNC on social media: Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter.
While the pandemic created new economic challenges, many with lasting effects, women business owners largely overcame these obstacles, taking away lessons that have inspired their optimism and confidence today.
