Concord, New Hampshire, United States
In August 2007, Marianne, a former victim advocate for a domestic violence crisis center located on the Seacoast, received a call from the National Human Trafficking Hotline in New York City. They called to report that a victim of human trafficking in her local area had contacted them asking for assistance. The victim was a 17-year-old woman who had been kidnapped from her native country 5 years before at the age of 12. She had been working for those 5 years as a sex slave in a house in New Hampshire with 5 other young women of similar age. She was seeking refuge and fortunately, in the 45-minute time window she had to get free, she had been able to reach the Trafficking Hotline and the Hotline had been able to reach Marianne. Marianne was told by the Hotline worker that the young woman had not eaten for 2-3 days and that she should be very cautious in feeding her -- only giving her moderate amounts of food and beverage while her system recovered from being starved. The Hotline worker also advised Marianne that the victim had been cut by her captors in the abdomen and might need emergency medical help. 15 After picking up the victim, Marianne connected with the Hotline to inform them of her success. The Hotline then contacted the American Council of Bishops in Washington, DC. There were two people on the line whom Marianne put on speaker phone in the shelter. They wanted to hear from the victim herself. Unfortunately, about two minutes into the call the speakers mentioned that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would be contacted in the process of getting the victim help. Once the victim heard that, she started to pace the office and told Marianne that she wanted to leave. She ended up leaving the shelter and she never saw her again. Marianne stated that she knew at that moment that the mention of the word “immigration”had probably fulfilled a threat her captors had made to her. She concluded, The police didn’t find her. I never saw her again. I don’t know where she went or what happened to her. All I could think of was that she might have been forced to return to her captors in order to “feel safe” from what could happen to her in the “outside world.” I will never forget her. I pray for her and for her mother….and for the rest of the young women who were kidnapped and held against their will in that house in New Hampshire. As difficult as it is to believe that New Hampshire houses victims of human trafficking, I had evidence of such activity right before my eyes. She pointed out that she wasn’t able to protect her or to get her help, so the Commission’s work is very important for providing strong victim advocacy and protection in the future. The Demand for Trafficking in New Hampshire The crime of human sex trafficking can be characterized by a supply and demand relationship. The supply side of sex trafficking involves the men, women and children who are raped, beaten, and psychologically abused, only to then be sexually exploited and “sold” to others who often repeat this same violent cycle. The demand side of sex trafficking, on the other hand, is the 16 people (mostly men) who buy these services. Often referred to as “johns,” these men represent the demand that fuels this worldwide sex industry.