Brooklyn DA Works With Local Community to Fight Trafficking

by Angela Longerbeam · 2010-11-30 14:00:00 +0000
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Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes knows too well that the U.S. is not immune to the problem of sex trafficking – it occurs in his own borough every day. And high at risk, Hynes says, are young immigrant girls. That's why he's working with the community and New York celebrity activists like Sarah Jessica Parker and Gabourey Sidibe to create a community safety net for trafficking victims.

According to Hynes, girls between the ages of 13 and 15 are frequently trafficked in Brooklyn, many of them from Latin American countries, as well as Europe and China. Lacking proper documentation and a good handle on language, these girls are easy prey for sex traffickers, many of whom, Hynes says, belong to gangs. The Crips, Bloods and Latin Kings, among other groups, specifically target young, undocumented immigrants, knowing their trademark tactics of threats, coercion and brutality will work like a charm in pushing the girls into prostitution.

In response, the DA’s office has formed the Brooklyn Sex Trafficking Unit, or BKSTU, the same organization behind the anti-human trafficking PSA campaign voiced by Sarah Jessica Parker and Gabourey Sibide. Partnering with local agencies and community organizations, BKSTU combats sex trafficking through community education and comprehensive victim care. Community members with crime tips or in need of services can call its dedicated hotline at (718) 250-2770. And Hynes is careful to emphasize that undocumented immigrants who fear recrimination should not stay silent. “Their immigration status is not something we are concerned about with the victims,” he says. “We are concerned about them as individuals.”

We should all be concerned with sex-trafficking victims as individuals. The young age and undocumented status of girls forced into prostitution in Brooklyn and throughout the United States are precisely what makes them susceptible. Thankfully, Hynes and BKSTU are strongly in tune with how sex trafficking goes down in their neighborhood, supporting a full range of remedies to stem the tide of this truly “barbaric” crime. But as far as U.S. cities go, Brooklyn is relatively ahead of the curve.

Nationwide, there is much work left to do, and each of you can help out by encouraging your representatives to back the Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Deterrence and Victims Support Act. By signing and sharing this important petition, you can be the voice for those who, for many reasons, are unable to use their own.

Photo credit: momentcaptured1

Angela Longerbeam is a freelance writer and pop culture addict fighting to end modern-day slavery with an MFA degree and irrepressible snark.
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