January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and Iowa is working to address the problem by educating businesses about the potential signs and dangers.
Although officials say it is hard to pinpoint exact numbers, the frequency of reported trafficking cases is on the rise. Half of the calls to a human trafficking hotline are reports from minors asking for help.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate has enlisted businesses in an aggressive awareness campaign. He said because they come into contact with so many people every day, they can often be the first line of defense.
“They have eyes and ears everywhere,” said Pate. “The idea that they can reach out to their own employees – so they, too, can be watching for trafficking and they, too, can help prevent it, or intervene – or whether it be their customer base, how many people a typical business might interact with in a day.”
Pate said fast-food restaurants, gas stations and truck stops are especially important partners because they’re so busy.
Iowa started the new year with 600 businesses as part of the coalition to combat trafficking, and Pate said he hopes to grow that number.
Pate’s office also runs a confidential program for survivors of sex trafficking, domestic violence, assault and stalking.
Teresa Davidson, CEO of the Cedar Rapids-based anti-trafficking group Chains Interrupted, said when a person is recruited into a trafficking operation, it can be very hard for them to get out.
“First, they have to recognize that they are being exploited,” said Davidson, “because so many times, human trafficking is manipulation and coercion, and they don’t even realize that they’re a victim. They think that they’re in a relationship and that this is a partnership.”
The group is having a webinar for businesses January 17 at 10 a.m.
Davidson says nationally, 74% of trafficking victims report having been in the foster-care system. She said the problem touches all 50 states and continues to grow.
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Some Nebraska judges are failing to follow state laws related to cash bail, court fees and court fines, according to a two-year study in Douglas and Lancaster counties.
The report by the ACLU of Nebraska found defendants are not always being asked about their ability to pay bail and court costs, nor are they being informed of alternatives if lacking the funds.
Sam Petto, communications director for the ACLU of Nebraska, said they noticed issues in about 40% of the cases they observed. He pointed out cash bail disproportionately affects lower-income Nebraskans and is, ultimately, a type of “debtor’s prison.”
“So, if you imagine someone with the exact same circumstance, charge, etc., and they just have an extra thousand dollars in a bank account, that person might be back out in the community at their job, with the support structure they need – while the other person sits in jail.”
Petto also mentioned the “collateral consequences” when someone who can’t afford to pay bail or fees spends time behind bars from losing a job, to not being able to arrange child care or fulfill caregiving responsibilities. The report recommendations include “bench cards” for judges, with specifics related to bail and fees, and legislative action including eliminating cash bail.
Petto noted the 2017 Nebraska bail reform law was aimed at keeping people charged with nonviolent crimes from spending time in jail due to their inability to pay for bail and fines.
“And many Nebraskans do not know that they have the right to say, ‘Hey, I can’t afford that,’ or to request things like a payment plan, community service, or having the judge entirely waive that fee or fine,” Petto outlined.
The study also found the largest number of people in jail in Douglas and Lancaster counties were there on a pretrial basis, with persons of color significantly overrepresented. Petto explained in addition to the human cost, the current system plays a large role in the overstressed status of Nebraska jails.
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It’s 2023, and with it lawmakers will focus on some new, and plenty of old, problems. A retired Texas journalism professor believes while short-term solutions are important, they won’t provide the answers humanity needs to sustain itself.
Robert Jensen is an emeritus professor at the School of Journalism and Media of the University of Texas at Austin. He said he believes a new level of frugality and self-imposed limitation is needed to address cascading economic and ecological crises.
“We have a lot of problems,” said Jensen. “The oil companies are a problem. I would argue capitalism is a problem. But those are not the fundamental problem. The fundamental problem is the human capacity to go after all of the energy we can get our hands on.”
Jensen is the co-author of a new book, “An Inconvenient Apocalypse: Environmental Collapse, Climate Crisis, and the Fate of Humanity.”
He said anyone concerned about the future should embrace a new form of “radical politics” that isn’t afraid to articulate big goals and focus on long-term change.
Jensen contended that frustration is inevitable given our inability as a species to confront problems in a way that leads to meaningful progress.
He argued that humans are a “species out of context” – living in a world where systems and structures of power lack the humility and modesty to succeed.
“We live in a very ‘abnormal’ world,” said Jensen. “Human beings, for most of our evolutionary history, did not live in cities, did not live in nation states, did not live with this amount of energy. It’s not only the size of the human population and the consumption – it’s the scale of our societies, which are far beyond anything we evolved in.”
Jensen said he believes harmful effects of the modern technological and industrial society prove that it’s time to engage in rational planning and find solutions to transition out of it – which he says won’t be easy or painless.
“The question is: ‘What do we mean by solution?'” said Jensen. “If we’re looking for solutions to keep eight billion people on this planet living at something like the aggregate level today – well, that’s a problem that has no solution.”
According to Jensen, the ability for nearly everyone to see the growth of disparity between the “haves and the have nots” is driving a new level of anger and anxiety.
“I grew up in post-World War II era, and I was told that there would always be more,” said Jensen. “The only question really was how to distribute it fairly. Well, there isn’t, I think, an honest way to sell that future anymore.”
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A task force assembled by the state treasurer’s office said investing in government-issued Baby Bonds could help close the racial wealth gap in the Commonwealth. Many communities of color have historically been excluded from opportunities to build wealth, forcing many children from low-income families to forgo educational opportunities in adulthood.
Leimary Llopiz, advocacy assistant at the YWCA of Southeastern Massachusetts, said creating trust accounts for newborns sets both the child and family on a path to success.
“People that we work with,” she said. “They really don’t have the income to even save money never mind thinking ahead of time of how they’re going to be able to provide for their children when they get to a certain age.”
A state task force advised an initial program with funding from the American Rescue Plan of $6,500 per child in an endowment that is invested and allowed to grow over time. Those funds would be made available when the child turns 18 and could be used for college, starting a business or even to purchase a home.
Massachusetts is an expensive place to live. A recent survey reported the poverty rate in the Commonwealth is higher than in twenty-one other states. A 2015 Federal Reserve study found that in the greater Boston area alone, the median
net worth for white households is nearly $250,000 while for Black households it’s just $8. Llopiz said a state-wide Baby Bonds policy would help lift entire networks of low-income families out of poverty.
“In my culture, we are caregivers to our parents and grandparents so meaning once we start getting a job we’re not only providing for helping our house now we’re helping our family. We’re helping their homes,” she said.
Massachusetts would join Connecticut and the District of Columbia in establishing the baby bonds program, the cost of which depends on the number of children eligible for public assistance as well as children under 1-year-old in foster care.
Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey and Massachusetts Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley have also filed a bill to establish a national Baby Bonds program.
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