Combatting New Challenges on the Homefront During COVID-19

Responding to Global Human Trafficking Challenges During the Pandemic

The OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) and the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) recently launched a new joint report outlining the impact of COVID-19 on human trafficking. In an attempt to identify the still-developing global challenges imposed on survivors and at-risk groups during the pandemic, the report surveyed survivors and front-line organizations from 100 countries. ECPAT-USA is actively working to address these trends--namely the lack of access to essential services and the increase of online exploitation of children--within the United States. 

The COVID-19 pandemic’s disruption of government services has heaped new challenges onto survivors, the report’s survey suggests. Survivors reported that they were generally poorly informed about changes in service provisions during the pandemic, leading to a negative effect on survivors’ ability to access necessary services such as shelter.

Of the survivors surveyed globally, over 60% expressed a need for access to medical and psychological services. A female survivor from the U.S. quoted in the report recounted the harrowing PTSD symptoms she and others are facing during the pandemic: 

“Survivors are suffering – mental health is suffering – we are having flashbacks of being trapped, of nearly dying, suffocating, of not having food, etc.” 

In an effort to combat these worrying trends, the report recommends governments adopt policies including the classification of survivor and victim services as essential, increased access to information, and the prioritization of specialized shelter for victims. 

The passage of such policies, however, requires constant advocacy and visibility of the increased risk of human trafficking to government officials. As such, in the wake of the pandemic, ECPAT-USA is working to keep evolving human trafficking concerns at the forefront of policymakers’ minds through initiatives such as our 5 Boro Survivor Solidarity Ride, which visited trafficking “hot spots” throughout the city and garnered the attention of officials including Senator Kristen Gillibrand and the Commissioner of the NYC Mayor’s Office to End Domestic Violence & Gender-Based Violence. ECPAT-USA has also created a public conversations resource guide, which helps leaders confront and understand the existence of sex trafficking in their communities.

Additionally, the report identifies the increased vulnerability of at-risk groups during the pandemic, particularly highlighting new risks facing children. As more aspects of our daily lives move online, so do traffickers. The report outlines the explosion of online grooming and exploitation of children, as well as an exponential growth of child sex abuse materials (CSAM) shared online. As one front-line stakeholder quoted in the report explained, “Recruitment tactics during COVID-19 are almost exclusively online now. Recruitment continues through social media platforms but is also expanding into online video games.” 

The report recommends that states implement policies increasing the identification of online sexual exploitation victims and the enforcement of laws against perpetrators. ECPAT-USA shares these concerns, but we also recognize that there are steps each of us at home can take to increase our family’s safety online. Our #ReadItSetIt campaign seeks to provide young internet users, parents, and educators with the tools they need to protect themselves and one another online. 

While we can’t fully understand how COVID-19 will impact both our communities and the world, the ODIHR and UN Women’s report illustrates the challenges already facing survivors and victims of human trafficking right now. During this pandemic, ECPAT-USA wants to help ensure that safety not only means being free from exposure to the coronavirus but also means being free from sexual exploitation. By continually advocating for an increase in essential survivor services and educating youth, parents, and educators on how to protect themselves from sexual exploitation, we can begin tackling these challenges today.

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