AAUW Monterey Branch Meeting January 23, 2016

Deborah Pembrook (left), the speaker, and Jane Cross (right), the organizer

The Monterey Peninsula Branch’s guest speaker in January was Deborah Pembrook, Chair of the Coalition to End Human Trafficking in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties. Deborah is a survivor advocate with many years’ experience in the anti-trafficking movement. Deborah shared her own story as a victim of human trafficking in her youth and explained many of the misconceptions surrounding this issue.

Deborah explained that human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. This crime occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will. She said some of the special things about Monterey County that can attract human traffickers include tourism, busy commercial highways and the large agricultural labor industry.

One persistent misconception surrounding human trafficking is the problem with charging exploited children, some as young as 12 years old, with prostitution instead of treating them as victims, even though they are below the age of consent.. Anyone under 18 who is being “induced to perform” a commercial sex act is a victim of trafficking. You don’t even have to show force, fraud or coercion for a child to be identified as a sex trafficking victim.

Advocates like Deborah have been fighting to see these kids as victims and treat them as victims, not as bad kids—both by the criminal justice system and Child Protective Services–to require that those kids be given protection instead of being prosecuted. We don’t want to simply put them back on the street – we need organizations and infrastructure to help and assist them so they will not fall victim of trafficking again.

Deborah urged us all to find out more about what to be aware of as far as detecting possible  human trafficking behavior and to call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center 1-888-373-7888 or text BeFree (233733) to report possible sex trafficking or forced labor. Visit https://traffickingresourcecenter.org/ for more information.