CRJ322 – Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime Unit 3 Assignment Law Comparison, Post University, November 2024

                                                    Italy and the United States:  

Comparison of Human Trafficking 

 

Jackie Phillips 

Criminology, Post University  

CRJ322 – Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime  

Unit 3 Assignment Law Comparison 

Professor Robert Eddy 

Due: 11:59 pm, on Sunday of Unit 3 

  

Overview: This week we have looked at some of the laws, treaties, and acts from the United States and other countries associated with human trafficking. This assignment will compare some of those laws to the laws in the United States. This paper can be a 2 column chart comparing them or written in paragraph format.  

 

Select a foreign country and research their human trafficking laws and regulations. Compare them to the laws of the United States. 

I will be selecting Italy as the country I will be researching for human trafficking and comparing their efforts to the United States. Italy is a unique country due to its proximity and easy access to all of Europe, Africa and Asia.  

Based on your findings, identify which country you feel is better prepared to prevent and/or deter the problem of human trafficking.  

According to recent reports, Italy sees a significant number of human trafficking victims, with sexual exploitation being the most prevalent form, though labor exploitation is also growing, with high-risk sectors including agriculture, domestic service, and construction. Most victims are women, often trafficked from North Africa, and the country is considered a major destination point due to its geographical position as a gateway to Europe. While the government has made efforts to combat trafficking, concerns remain regarding the identification and support of victims, and the issue of underreporting persists. 

“GRETA notes that these figures do not reflect the real scale of the phenomenon of human trafficking in Italy, due to the persisting limitations of the existing procedures for identifying victims, as well as a low self-reporting rate by victims who fear being punished or deported. Trafficking for labour exploitation remains under-reported, says the report. High-risk sectors include agriculture, textile, domestic service, construction, hospitality and restaurants.” (No author given, 2024) 

“Organized crime is on the rise, including illegal fabric importation, human trafficking, prostitution, gambling and money laundering. Authorities raided over 154 Chinese-owned businesses in the first half of 2010, at the time there were over 3,000 registered Chinese-owned businesses. Police forces do not have the man-power in order to stay on top of the immigration problem. Several Italian Officers were arrested earlier that year for taking bribes in exchange for residence permits. The government of Italy did not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in 2022, but it made significant efforts to do so. In 2023 the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking Office placed the country at Tier 2. In 2023, the Organized Crime Index gave the country a score of 7 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting that most victims were moved to Italy from Nigeria and northern Africa.” (No author given, 2024) 

“As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit foreign and, to a lesser degree, domestic victims in Italy. Victims originate primarily from Bulgaria, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Cote d’Ivoire, the Gambia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Romania, including ethnic Roma.” (No author given, 2022) 

In comparison, the United States is a Tier 1 country and Italy is a Tier 2 country.  

A Tier 1 country is a country or territory whose government fully complies with the minimum standards set forth in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) to combat human trafficking. The US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) ranks countries based on their efforts to comply with these standards. 

Tier 2 is a ranking given to countries that are not fully compliant with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) minimum standards for combating human trafficking, but are making significant efforts to comply. Countries on the Tier 2 Watch List must meet specific standards in the following year to avoid being downgraded to Tier 3. The U.S. President can also restrict Tier 3 countries from certain types of funding and educational and cultural exchange programs. 

Tier 2 Watch List: Countries that are Tier 2, but have significant trafficking problems or have not shown increased efforts to combat trafficking  

Tier 3: Countries that are not fully compliant and are not making significant efforts to comply 

“According to the Department of State 2011 Trafficking in Person Report, the United States is a Tier 1 country for trafficking. Tier 1 means that the government is in compliance with the U.S. government's minimum standards of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 to eliminate trafficking.” (No author given, 2024) 

“The Trafficking in Persons Report, or the TIP Report, is an annual report issued since 2001 by the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. It ranks governments based on their perceived efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking.” (No author given, 2024) 

“The TIP Report sheds light on the current scale of modern slavery around the world. Think of it as a collection of report cards with grades based on factors like law enforcement effectiveness, criminal accountability, victim protection, government funding and more. Each country is graded on the strength and effectiveness of its efforts to end human trafficking within its borders.” (No author given, 2024) 

In conclusion, I think the differences in the countries start with Italy’s geographic location and proximity to so many other countries and continents, and that Italy is surrounded by water as a massive peninsula. This water access increases the chances of people in a variety of boats willing to make long and short journeys and sneak into the country. This sets the country up for traffickers to take advantage of desperate people who need work and a place to live. This increases organized crime, which then puts the government and law enforcement at a disadvantage and unable to handle all the crime and victims and their needs. Compared to the United States, their main issues are at the Mexican border.

 

References  

No author given, 2024, GRETA, GRETA publishes its third report on Italy, https://www.coe.int/en/web/anti-human-trafficking/-/greta-publishes-its-third-report-on-italy#:~:text=Today's%20report%20shows%20that%20between,over%20a%20number%20of%20issues 

 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Human Trafficking in Italy, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_Italy 

 

No author given, 2022, US Department of State, 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report: Italy, https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/italy/ 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Human Trafficking in the United States, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_trafficking_in_the_United_States 

 

No author given, 2024, International Justice Mission, What is the TIP Report? https://www.ijm.org/news/what-is-the-tip-report#:~:text=Tier%202%3A%20Like%20a%20C,it%20has%20work%20to%20do. 

 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Trafficking in Persons Report, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trafficking_in_Persons_Report 

CRJ322- Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime, Unit 3 Assignment Research Paper Introduction, Post University

                                                    Prison Labor and The World: 

A Hidden Problem Allowed to Exist 

 

Jackie Phillips 

Criminology, Post University 

CRJ322- Human Trafficking, A Hidden Crime 

Unit 3 Assignment Research Paper Introduction 

Professor Robert Eddy 

Due: 11:59 pm, Sunday of Unit 3 

 

 

Overview: For this week’s assignment, you will be submitting a full introduction to your Research Paper. This is the third of five assignments which will make up the Research Paper. For this assignment, you will define human trafficking and provide an introduction to your topic.  

Introduce and define your topic.  

My topic is about the worldwide practice of prison labor, also called penal labor, penal servitude, punitive labor and convict labor which forces prisoners to work in a wide variety of situations, and often or little to no pay or compensation or credit.  

“From the moment they enter the prison gates, incarcerated people lose the right to refuse to work. This is because the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which protects against slavery and involuntary servitude, explicitly excludes from its reach those held in confinement due to a criminal conviction.” (No author given, 2022) 

Explain why this area of human trafficking is significant.  

The primary reason that prison labor is a huge problem is because this type of labor can fall beneath and outside the legal regulations of protected worker safety.  

“Punitive labour encompasses two types: productive labour, such as industrial work; and intrinsically pointless tasks used as primitive occupational therapy, punishment, or physical torment.” (No author given, 2024) 

Limited protections 

Incarcerated workers are often denied the same protections as other workers, such as those provided by OSHA and state agencies.  

Dangerous conditions 

Incarcerated workers may work in dangerous conditions that would be regulated by health and safety laws if they were not incarcerated.  

  

Exploitation 

Incarcerated workers are often paid pennies per hour, and over half of their pay goes toward room and board, court costs, and other prison fees.  

Lack of rights 

Incarcerated workers are often not legally considered employees and are denied the right to unionize or protest. 

 

Identify the areas/populations this type of trafficking traditionally effects.  

“Reports indicate that state-imposed forced labour occurs in public and private prisons around the world, including Brazil, China, North Korea, Poland, Russia, Turkmenistan, the United States, Viet Nam, and Zimbabwe. It also occurs in migrant detention centres in Libya, re-education camps in China, administrative detention camps in North Korea, and in medical labour centres in Belarus and Viet Nam, in which citizens struggling with drug addiction are forced to work as part of their recovery.” (No author given, 2024) 

Include any additional information which you feel is required to help your audience to better understand your paper. 

Is penal labor, sometimes called captive labor, ethical? 

“Incarcerated men and women toil in workshops, kitchens, and fields, producing goods and services that reach far beyond their confinement. From manufacturing furniture and processing food to fighting fires and working in call centers, their labor fuels supply chains, corporate profits, and consumer markets. Yet these workers remain invisible, their contributions often overlooked or dismissed. The commodification of their labor perpetuates a cycle of vulnerability, where meager wages and limited rights prevail.” (Shewan, L., 2024)

 

References 

No author given, 2022, American Civil Liberties Union, Captive Labor: Exploitation of Incarcerated Worker, https://www.aclu.org/news/human-rights/captive-labor-exploitation-of-incarcerated-workers 

No author given, 2024, Wikipedia, Penal Labour, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penal_labour 

No author given, 2024, WalkFree, Guardians and Offenders: State Imposed Forced Labor, https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/spotlights/examining-state-imposed-forced-labour/#:~:text=State%2Dimposed%20forced%20labour%20can,all%20state%2Dimposed%20forced%20labour. 

Shewan, L., 2024, The Center for Law and Social Policy, The Unethical Use of Captive Labor in U.S. Prisons, https://www.clasp.org/publications/report/brief/unethical-use-captive-labor-prisons/