New York Takes Measures to Tackle Human Trafficking as it Climbs

​A December 2024 Washington Examiner article reported that human trafficking rose 25 percent in 2022 globally, according to a United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime publication. An increase in demand for children and adults to work as forced labor contributed to the rise. In New York, law enforcement has laid the groundwork for combating human trafficking. 

New York became one of the first states to enact legislation that protected children, specifically through the Safe Harbor for Exploited Children Act (2008). It recognized that sexually exploited children are victims of crimes and need supportive services to help them navigate the trauma. 

Additionally, New York Governor Kathy Hochul expanded the New York State Interagency Task Force on Human Trafficking Act in September 2023, which extended protections and support for those victimized by human trafficking. The Task force that is a part of this law is a coordinated effort among state agencies that guide protocols, collect data, and raise public awareness. Additionally, when Governor Hochul expanded the act that extended protections, she also signed legislation that required transportation hubs (airports, bus stops, subways) to hang signage advertising services for trafficking victims.

Outside of legislation, the state has also encouraged businesses in certain sectors to recognize signs of human trafficking. For instance, employees at lodging accommodations and establishments serving alcohol receive training in recognizing signs and knowing how to respond to a victim. The state has also mandated that human trafficking awareness is a part of alcohol awareness training programs. Finally, survivors of human trafficking can access assistance through the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance (OTDA) and a network of providers funded by OTDA, such as Sanctuary for Families.

These laws and services have become the foundation for law enforcement to make arrests and support survivors. New York human trafficking laws address the supply and demand aspect of trafficking by treating it as two crimes: trafficking and labor trafficking. Furthermore, the legislation also allows prosecutors to address sex tourism, and addresses demand by eliminating the difference between trafficking and prostitution, increasing the penalty from three months to as high as a year in jail. 

Law enforcement is using policy and law to tackle trafficking. A February 2024 CBS News article reported that human traffickers were targeting migrant shelters. Federal agents with New York’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified 30 people who had been human trafficking victims and arrested 38 people suspected of the crime. In addition to these arrests, organizations such as ECLI-VIBES have been on the support side of helping survivors with their trauma. The organization reported a rise in the trafficking of non-citizen girls and boys in sex trafficking and has assisted 45 non-citizen survivors with the trauma of trafficking. 

In addition to the migrant trafficking arrest, law enforcement sentenced a Long Island man, Javesh Persaud, to 12 years in prison for trafficking a woman who was homeless, according to a December 2024 article published in the Patch. The man sentenced to prison lured the woman, who was 18, to his home in Suffolk. The woman had been living in the subway, and he convinced her he would help her. Instead, he told her to bring her belongings to his car, parked next to another, and sexually assaulted her, forcing her to have sex with others to repay him.

Eventually, the woman contacted the National Human Trafficking Hotline, and the Human Trafficking Investigations Unit began an investigation, arresting the man shortly afterward. District Attorney Ray Tierney stated the sentence sends a message that Suffolk County does not tolerate human trafficking.

Traffickers are nimble quickly adapting their criminality to emerging vulnerable populations and new law enforcement methods. Stopping trafficking in its tracks requires a holistic approach. This means tackling root causes and demand and approaching both from a survivor centered perspective employing public private partnerships.

I was honored to lead the United Nation Secretariat’s development, negotiation and eventual passage of the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons as well as its Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children. The Plan, adopted by the General Assembly in 2010, calls upon all governments to target demand and “address the social, economic, cultural, political and other factors that make people vulnerable to trafficking in persons, such as poverty, unemployment, inequality, humanitarian emergencies, including armed conflicts and natural disasters, sexual violence, gender discrimination, social exclusion and marginalization, as well as a culture of tolerance towards violence against women, youth and children.” The Plan and its Trust Fund also highlight the importance of collaboration with non-governmental organizations in preventing and prosecuting the crime as well as protecting victims.

Having recently left the UN to join Sanctuary for Families, New York’s leading service provider and advocate for survivors of trafficking and other gender based violence, I witnessed first-hand the unique value a NGO brings to the fight against trafficking, particularly when it prioritizes a holistic, survivor-centered comprehensive service model, offering shelter, counseling, workforce development, case management, legal services and systems change advocacy. Last year we serviced over 8000 adult and child survivors of trafficking and other forms of gender-based violence in 12 locations throughout New York City. It is through city, state, federal, and private funding that we are able to achieve this. We are particularly grateful for the financial and moral support we receive from OTDA which generously funds Sanctuary’s Survivor Advisory Board and which recently contracted with us to support their initiation of a statewide survivor board, recognizing our expertise in this area.

Simone Monasebian

Shop