JANUARY 2020 • LONGISLANDPRESS.COM 11
CRISIS THRIVES IN SHADOWS
trafficking or commercial
sexual exploitation for those
aged 23 and younger. They
work to shift perceptions of individuals
arrested for prostitution
from a criminal-based perspective
to a victim-centered approach.
All agencies say the task of getting
victims out of the lifestyle is
enormously difficult. The women
don’t identify as prostitutes; they
say things like they “have an arrangement
with” or they are “the
girlfriend of,” or “work for” their
captor, experts say. The added obstacles
include the effects of long-term
drug addiction and homelessness.
Another major gap is comprehensive
mental health assessments in
the court.
“The courts actually need to employ
a mental healthcare provider, to have
one on staff,” Ahearn says. “It’s also
challenging for human trafficking
victims when they are in court and
the front room is open, especially
when gangs are involved.”
Their captors often drive them and
accompany them to court, which
proves intimidating.
Victims are recruited in a myriad of
ways, including social media.
“They pose as young people and prey
on young girls who are looking for
love. Someone comes in as Prince
Charming and they use brainwashing
tactics,” Scott says.
He adds that many victims are already
addicted, but The Safe Center
LI has treated victims who were
never addicted in their life who were
trafficked.
“Traffickers also recruit at various
locations like a women’s shelter or a
homeless shelter,” says Ahearn.
She also confirms that traffickers
may build a relationship with a
victim online through social media
or advertise fake or deceptive job
opportunities.
I n
2018, Suffolk District Attorney Timothy
Sini and the Suffolk County
Police Department joined forces with
the FBI and launched the Human
Trafficking Investigation Unit to
help combat the problem. Its primary
purpose is to both investigate and
prosecute human traffickers. However,
it is a multiagency effort to combat
human trafficking by partnering
with victims’ service organizations
like Scott’s and Ahearn’s to connect
victims to resources.
Services are made available after
a victim of trafficking is arrested
for prostitution and then diverted
into human trafficking court.
The charges are dismissed if they
have successful completion of the
program.
Scott and Ahearn agree that this
heinous industry feeding off Long
Island teens and young women must
end, and prevention is critical. Both
agency heads go to local schools to
raise awareness.
“We do programs anywhere
from 40 minutes
to two hours and speak
to parents or children,” he
says.
Scott notes that he’s gotten pushback
about the conversation of
human trafficking, but says parents
need to get on board because this is a
real problem.
“We have slavery on Long Island and
people want to ignore it,” he says.
Ahearn’s agency has gone into every
school district in both Nassau and
Suffolk. Their reach is wide, educating
more than 200,000 students on
various topics such as cyber safety
and preventing childhood sexual
abuse.
“We talk a lot about being manipulated
by adults, but we are taking
it one step further in high school
programs, in our cyber safety
course for teens and adults. And
we do discuss human trafficking
in the context of traffickers using
social media to recruit potential
victims,” she says.
As January is National Slavery
and Human Trafficking Prevention
Month, this is a hot topic at
the moment. The Safe Center LI
hosted a human trafficking conference
on Jan. 10, “Sold on Long
Island.” Stakeholders from the
private and governmental sector
gathered to discuss the crisis and
present new solutions.
Ahearn says one of those solutions
is safe housing. Victims in
Suffolk are generally housed at
domestic violence shelters, but they
need their own space, she adds.
“Since domestic violence shelter
providers maintain concern that
traffickers may try to recruit vulnerable
shelter residents, specialized secure
housing for victims is needed,”
she says. “In addition, since human
trafficking victims are such a unique
population, the staff providing comprehensive
services must be highly
skilled and trained.”
The good news for Nassau victims
is that The Safe Center LI does have
dedicated beds at a safe house with
specifically trained staff and a comprehensive
therapeutic program.
Akin to the opioid crisis that fueled
the human trafficking crisis on Long
Island, experts say the solution needs
to be threefold: treatment, enforcement,
and awareness — because the
public cannot help solve a problem it
doesn’t know exists.
How Long Island Press covered the
issue in 2007
According to the International
Labor Organization, there are
approximately 21 million people
currently enslaved in human trafficking
worldwide. (U.S. Air Force
graphic by Airman 1st Class Kyle Cope)
"Since human trafficking victims are such
a unique population, the staff providing
comprehensive services must be highly skilled
and trained,” says Laura Ahearn.
/LONGISLANDPRESS.COM
