People as Products: Human Trafficking and Communication

Miranda R. Carter

A Massive, Ever-Growing Problem

There are more people living in slavery in 2018 than there ever has been in the history of
the world. According to the Alliance 8.7 site, there were an estimated 40.3 million people living
in bondage in 2017, and, according to the rescue and rehabilitation organization A21,
contemporary slavery is the number-one growing criminal industry in the world, estimating a
profit of $150 billion U.S. dollars annually. Only 1 percent of victims are ever saved (Human
Trafficking).

“Human trafficking” is term that encompasses all the many specific forms modern
slavery takes, including sex trafficking, bonded or forced labor, domestic slavery, child marriage,
and child soldiers. The word "trafficking" oftentimes gives people the picture of secret, forced
migrations across borderlines in poor countries, but trafficking is not restricted to bustling cities,
foreign countries, nor areas of low economic status. Trafficking is an industry indulged in
American backyards.

Communication has the power to both assist and eradicate this epidemic. Understanding
traditions and theories of communication can help us understand how traffickers go about
manipulating their victims and how widespread, strategic information can help cure this
devastating issue.

Seeing Through the Disguise

Brad Riley, the founder of iEmpathize—an organization dedicated to the prevention of

crimes against children—identified five roles traffickers play during the process of manipulation.

Pretenders play the part of someone they are not. Promisers claim to give their victims
desirable opportunities or material items. Providers offer to take care of the wants of their
victims. Protectors assert themselves physically or claim they would be willing to assert
themselves physically to take care of their victim. Lastly, punishers resort to physical or
emotional violence to control a victim. Many traffickers take on one or more guises throughout
their manipulation processes, and almost all eventually take on the role of a “punisher” to keep
their victim in bondage once they have been obtained (Riley).

Though human trafficking can happen by force, such as in the case of abduction, or even
by choice, which can happen when a person feels they have no other way of surviving conditions
of poverty and/or war-torn countries, most victims are approached by their traffickers online or
in person and develop a foundational level of trust in them before an opportunity arises for
victimization. This often happens through online job advertisements, romantic relationships, or
even through betrayal of one’s family in cases of severe poverty. The trafficker uses both
intimacy and intimidation to assert control.

Communication and Manipulation

In the first chapter of Communications as… Perspectives on Theory, Celeste M. Condit

explains that communication is not used out of interest in the semiotic tradition (words and
symbols) alone, but rather based in the role words and symbols play in making and deepening
connections between people (Condit, p. 3). She uses this example:

“Two people talking about a tiger in the jungle are not interested in a full and precise
definition of tiger. Nor are they generally interested in denying that there is an essence to tiger.
They are interested in maintaining certain relationships (me/my children) instead of other
relationships (children/tiger’s food)” (Condit, p. 4).

It is safe to say the conversations traffickers have with their potential victims have split
purpose. Exploiters “groom” their victims, or in other words create fertile ground for a
trustworthy-looking relationship to grow before abusing their victims’ vulnerability for the
exploiters’ advantage. When young girls get “boyfriended,” it is often because their future
trafficker has conversations with them about personal joys and struggles, including their home
lives, their dreams, their frustrations, their friends, insecurities, etc. and make them feel heard,
appreciated, and encouraged. Slowly the girl begins to place trust in this person and may respond
affirmatively to the suggestion of meeting with them.

While Condit is not implying here that all conversations are based in a malicious agenda,
she is suggesting that what is being said matters so much less than what the words being used
achieve for the people engaged in conversation. For those with honest intent, “It’s going to be
okay. Want to come over?” are warm words used to comfort the other person. The meaning of
the words matches the person’s purpose for using those words. For those with alternative intent,
however, these are sometimes the last words seen on the phone of someone who agreed to meet
with the stranger and became a victim, totally blindsided by the prospect that this seemingly kind
and understanding person on the other side of the screen did not mean what they said.

So, if communication is a tool used to progress the problem, how do we use

communication to approach this issue in a productive way? I believe it comes down to two
concepts: education and empathy.
Education

Those who have careers in identifying, responding to, and rehabilitating those who are
victims of human trafficking cannot be everywhere at once. They rely heavily on the public to
call in suspicious behavior. The only problem is, most of the public does not feel empowered to
make such a call because of the lack of education and training we receive when it comes to
identifying a possible victim or perpetrator, and because we are unsure as to who to reach out to
even if we’re positive something suspicious is going on. Many Americans hear the word
“slavery” and think of it as an outdated concept that perished after the nineteenth century. Few
people truly consider that the girl in the back of the taxi with her “boyfriend” may be drugged,
not drunk, or that the young man who lives in the same quarters as his boss on a farm in southern
California thought he was headed to more freedom than his own nation could offer, not less.

Systems theory is a communication approach worth applying to the fight against human
trafficking. Traditionally used for more black-and-white, data-centric issues in business, systems
theory is geared toward “consideration of the individual in relation to a larger social context”
(Friedman). Making the masses understand why the dignity and freedom of another human
applies to them from social, cultural, ethical, professional, and personal angles would encourage
awareness and establish a common understanding of the societal nuances of trafficking.

Utilizing the rhetorical tradition, or “communication as artful public address” (Griffin, p.

40) would help connect society to this issue on a wider scale. Greater governmental involvement
would certainly assert awareness and implementing units in school that cover more than just not
taking candy from strangers would contribute to the sense of urgency and realness that is
contemporary slavery.

Incorporating the phenomenological tradition, or “communication as the experience of

self and others through dialogue” (Griffin, p. 45) into these public addresses would be most
impactful to audiences and students nationwide. Listening to a survivor speak about their past or
watching documentaries detailing the specifics of victims’ unique experiences would provoke
compassion and open listeners’ eyes to the different signs related to exploitation. Information
regarding what to do in a situation where slavery is suspected would help everyday citizens feel
empowered to make the call that could save someone’s life.

Empathy

Riley agrees that creating empathy is the number one weapon against social crimes such
as this one. Without empathy, there is no compassion, and without compassion there is no real
call for change.
 Riley meets with at-risk students to help them understand one another’s “pushes” and
“pulls,” or situational factors we cannot control that contribute to vulnerability and the choice to
victimize. He says that the same pushes and pulls that could make one person vulnerable to
victimization could trigger someone else to victimize. By facilitating openness and encouraging
young people to walk in one another’s shoes, Riley is helping students practice perspective to
prevent faulty choices down the road.

“Apathy is indifference towards someone's suffering,” Riley wrote. “It results in social
gridlock making the problems we face as communities nearly impossible to solve. Sympathy is
feeling badly for the suffering of others. Sympathy seems like a good response, but feeling badly
for someone doesn't solve the problem because it isn't active.

“Empathy, however, is an active response to the suffering of others. We cannot solve

exploitation by looking away. We can only solve exploitation by engaging it” (Riley).

In It to End It

In conclusion, slavery is not outdated, and it is not a miniscule issue. Millions are living
in bondage worldwide, and it is up to all of us to commit to protecting the innately precious
nature of human identity and the freedom that should accompany life.

Through nationwide education regarding contemporary slavery and more programs that
help young people practice empathy, fewer people will be vulnerable to becoming a victim or
victimizing others. As awareness rises, so does funding for rescue and rehabilitation programs
for survivors, and in turn, that 1% rescue rate.

2017 Global Index. www.alliance87.org/2017ge/modernslavery#!section=0. Accessed 1 May 2018.

Condit, C. M. (2006). Communication as... Perspectives on Theory (G. J. Shepherd, J. St. John, & T. Striphas, Eds.).
Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Friedman, B. D., & Allen, K. N. (n.d.). Frameworks for Clinical Practice. Sage Publications.

Griffin, E., Ledbetter, A., & Sparks, G. (1994). A first look at communication theory (9th ed.). New York: McGraw-
Hill.

Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2018, from http://www.a21.org/content/human-trafficking/gnjb89

Riley, B. (2016, July 13). The '5 disguises' used by human traffickers. Retrieved May 2, 2018, from
https://www.cnn.com/2016/07/13/opinions/5-disguises-human-trafficker/index.html