Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel's visit to Holland helps raise awareness for human trafficking

HOLLAND — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel sat down with Ottawa County Sheriff Steve Kempker, Holland Mayor Nathan Bocks and Michigan Abolition Project community group leader for Holland Ashleigh O'Donnell on Friday to discuss the issue of human trafficking.

"I came into town for the tulip festival," said Nessel, who walked in the Tulip Time Kinderparade Thursday, "and when you do have large events where you have lots of people coming in from out of town, large crowds, that's when you tend to see some exploitation occur, so I think it's a great idea to use this as an opportunity to address what some of these issues are and talk about what we can do preventatively and what we can do to help people if they are being trafficked."

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During the roundtable, Kempker noted most instances of human trafficking in Ottawa County have targeted the migrant worker population, vulnerable to abuse and exploitation because of their poverty and isolation from family in a new country.

Undocumented immigrants may be coerced to stay silent through threats of deportation or may be simply afraid to report exploitation for fear they will be deported.

"Sometimes when you talk about human trafficking to law enforcement, some, even in law enforcement, say it doesn't happen here. We know for a fact that it does," Kempker said, noting there have been several successful investigations and prosecutions of trafficking cases in Ottawa County.

Public education is key because it may help victims of human trafficking recognize they're victims, Nessel said.

"A lot of times human trafficking victims don't know that they're being trafficked," Nessel said, "or there is some sort of stigma attached, whether it be religious or cultural, or there are threats that make them afraid, either to themselves or their family, their children, continued isolation from others, a lack of housing or money, fear of being treated as a criminal instead of a victim, that's a very, very big part.

"Someone who has an alcohol or drug addiction, sometimes they have an addiction because the trafficker is the one who got them into that addiction. Those that are undocumented may fear threats of deportation or debt bondage that they owe."

Victims are often involved in some kind of criminal enterprise as a part of their trafficking. If they are being sex trafficked, they may fear prosecution under Michigan's laws prohibiting prostitution. They may be forced to participate in other illegal activities by their trafficker.

Law enforcement and anti-human trafficking advocates are working to spread the message that victims of sex trafficking, the most common form of human trafficking in Michigan, will not be criminalized under Michigan's prostitution laws if they come forward to seek help or report their traffickers.

Michigan has "safe harbor" provisions that protect victims of sex trafficking from criminal liability. Minors engaged in prostitution are automatically considered victims of sex trafficking, since they cannot legally consent to the sexual activity. Minors under the age of 16 are immune from prosecution. For adults, conviction is deferred with the option to have charges dismissed if a period of probation is successfully completed.

Nessel used the panel as an opportunity to highlight a package of reforms to human trafficking and prostitution laws that would, in part, create more avenues to help victims defend against and expunge offenses committed while a victim of human trafficking.

The legislation was developed and recommended by the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission and introduced by Rep. Mary Whiteford, R-Casco Township, a vocal advocate on the issue of human trafficking.

Recognizing victims of human trafficking are sometimes forced into other criminal enterprises other than commercial sex, the law would allow for types of crimes other than prostitution committed while under the force or coercion of a trafficker to be set aside.

It would also revise Michigan's laws regarding prostitution: increasing the penalties for buying sex and lowering the penalties for providing sex; enshrining the exemptions for sex trafficking victims; and updating language in the law from "prostitution" to "commercial sexual activity."

Kelly Carter, assistant attorney general and chair of the Michigan Human Trafficking Commission, said the proposed changes to the law recognize a "power imbalance" inherent in the transaction of buying and selling sex.

"While not all prostitution is sex trafficking, there is some research out there that indicates the vast majority of commercial sex or prostitution does involve influence in some way. Whether that's pandering or sex trafficking, somebody else is causing that commercial sex act to happen," Carter said.

"[...] What the Commission proposed in legislation was really a fresh look at the commercial sex industry throughout the state to recognize the power imbalance in the parties involved in the exchange: you've got the trafficker that's influencing it happening, you've got the buyer that's coming in from somewhere else, usually from a place of privilege, to obtain that commercial sex from somebody who is in a far less privileged situation, usually under some influence, control."

Carter likened human trafficking in Michigan to an iceberg: only the tip of the problem is visible, but experts are sure there is much more under the surface going unreported.

"Data in human trafficking is always a challenge," Carter said. "For years, we've had this issue and we knew this was a problem."

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The commission has devoted a committee to data collection, Carter said, and is developing a process to gather statistics on human trafficking victims from victim services organizations across the state that could be rolled out to law enforcement and other agencies in the future.

"We know that data drives policy," Carter said. "With the numbers, we can go to the Legislature and say, 'This is how big the problem is.'"

— Contact reporter Carolyn Muyskens at cmuyskens@hollandsentinel.com and follow her on Twitter at @cjmuyskens.

This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Attorney General Dana Nessel's visit to Holland helps raise awareness of human trafficking