Autism and Human Trafficking
By Charlotte Maracina
Anyone can be a victim of human trafficking. In the United States alone, the Department of State estimates that 14,000-17,000 people are trafficked a year. Human trafficking is a form of forced labor where men, women and children become lured through coercion, manipulation and fraud.
While everyone is a potential target for traffickers, perpetrators of human trafficking search for those who are particularly vulnerable. This makes members of the autism community along with those who may have other developmental disabilities, specifically susceptible to human trafficking.
There are several factors that make those with autism and other developmental disabilities specifically targeted by human traffickers. According to the Office for Victims of Crime, because those with disabilities often need caregivers to assist them, they tend to become too trusting of their caregivers and get exploited in return. The learned reaction to be submissive to authority results in those with disabilities blindly following what others tell them to do. Additionally, certain biases against those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) occasionally leads law enforcement to not believing survivors of human trafficking who may be apart of the autism community or have other developmental disabilities.
The extreme coercion and manipulation involved with human trafficking, especially amongst the autsim and other differentially abled communities, can best be exemplified in the sharing of stories of survivors of trafficking. One case that demonstrates the manipulative ways of human traffickers is the United States v. Kozminski (1988) case. This case tells the story of two men with unspecified mental disabilities who unwillingly became survivors of labor trafficking. Due to their mental disabilities, according to the case study, the two survivors “though chronologically in their 60’s during the period in question, they viewed the world and responded to authority as would someone of 8 to 10 years.”
The two men, found on the respondent’s dairy farm in Michigan isolated and living in wretched conditions, spent seven days a week tirelessly working nearly 17 hours a day. They began working on the dairy farm in 1967 and remained working there until rescue in 1983. In the beginning the men made around $15 a week, however, eventually they began working for free. Throughout their years spent on the farm, the men became what the jury calls in the case summary, “psychological hostages” which kept them in the cycle of human trafficking. The farm owners threatened them not only physically and emotionally but also threatened them with institutionalization; making them believe that they had nowhere else to go but the farm.
Ultimately, the man responsible for the trafficking of the two survivors got charged with involuntary servitude.
Although it may seem like justice was served in this case, the survivors now have to live with the trauma endured on the farm for the rest of their lives. Being able to educate others on the dangers of human trafficking and how those most vulnerable, especially those in the autsim community, can quickly become trafficked is the first step to making change. Furthermore, when specifically dealing with survivors with developmental disabilities, it’s important to accommodate their needs by asking direct questions and allowing more time for a response. Eliminating all preconceived bias surrounding those with autism or other differently abled persons plays another big role in helping survivors of trafficking.
Learn more about autism and human trafficking by watching Free for Life International’s May 2021 conference on autism and human trafficking.
Charlotte Maracina 