NCJ Number
207151
Date Published
September 2004
Length
72 pages
Annotation
This study examined the nature and scope of forced labor in the United States from 1998 to 2003 and assessed efforts by organizations to address the problem and recommend measures to improve the United States’ response to forced labor.
Abstract
The Free the Slaves and the Human Rights Center at the University of California, Berkeley conducted both a quantitative and qualitative study of the nature and scope of forced labor in the United States from January 1998 to December 2003 and assessed efforts of government and nongovernmental organizations to address the problem and recommend measures to improve the United States response to forced labor. Data were obtained from a telephone survey of 49 service providers that have worked with or are expert in forced labor cases, a press survey of 131 incidents of forced labor, and 8 case studies of forced labor in different regions of the United States. Highlighted findings included: (1) victims of forced labor come from numerous ethnic and racial groups; (2) forced labor is prevalent in five sectors of the United States economy: prostitution and sex services, domestic service, agriculture, sweatshop/factory, and restaurant and hotel work; (3) and forced labor survivors are at significant risk of developing health related problems. Findings were presented in the areas of lessons learned and included: (1) domestic laws create strong legal platforms; (2) training is critical; (3) witness and survivor protection; (4) social services provision to survivors; and (5) research. Recommended measures to be undertaken by the U.S. government to combat forced labor include: (1) start a broad-based awareness-raising campaign; (2) improve institutional capacity to respond to forced labor and trafficking; (3) ensure better protection for workers in sectors vulnerable to forced labor and trafficking; (4) correct aspects of immigration policy that encourage the practice of forced labor; and (5) strengthen protection and rehabilitation programs for survivors. Glossary