Stock photo
Hope for Justice’s US investigators are tackling the cycle of exploitation facing Chinese women trafficked into sex work in North Carolina’s illegal massage businesses.
In this blog, our investigator Chris Kenefick explains the vital importance of this work, the impact it is already having and our future plans in this area.
“When we first arrive, it’s obvious the survivors are very afraid. They often freeze or run away. But when we introduce them to a Mandarin speaker, they understand that we want to help”, says Chris.
“As soon as they are able to speak in their own language, they begin to relax. They open up and explain their situation,” he continues.
Chris regularly supports survivors of sex trafficking in North Carolina’s illegal massage parlors as they take this first step towards a new life. While there’s a lack of culturally appropriate support on offer locally, Chris makes it available by connecting survivors via video call with the specialist Mandarin-speaking NGOs he has built relationships with.
Chris and the rest of the local Hope for Justice team were at the forefront of a recent police investigation which saw four similar businesses closed down. And with many hundreds more of these parlors likely to exist in North Carolina alone, this work is a growing area of focus.
Beyond the raid: A new approach
Law enforcement involvement is clearly vital in tackling the problem. However, a shift in approach is needed, as Chris explains: “Often survivors are arrested for prostitution, rather than being identified as people who have been trafficked, which leaves them without the right support.
“They are then often pulled back into the same abusive cycle, due to lack of English, isolation, and fear of authorities. And while the business may be shut down, very often it will simply reopen later in another location. The problem does not get solved, it just gets moved on,” he says.
Chris and the Hope for Justice team are encouraging law enforcement to focus on the wider problem by investigating the management, ownership and wider network behind these businesses. We support this by gathering and sharing intelligence on potential organised criminal activity, and providing training to police to equip them with specialist knowledge and awareness of human trafficking.
Breaking the cycle: Working together
This vicious cycle can only be broken through a collaborative effort. That’s why Chris is also working closely with the North Carolina Board of Massage and Bodywork Therapy (NCBMBT). Visiting massage businesses alongside the board as a regulatory body gives Chris the chance to meet survivors outside of a ‘police raid’.
The less intimidating context can help in Chris’s efforts to gain the trust of those being exploited there. Once he has introduced a Mandarin speaker, the person can explain their situation fully, and Chris can explain how Hope for Justice and other organizations could work with them to change their life.
Michael Longmire, Investigator at the NCBMBT, works alongside Chris during these visits. He says: “Hope for Justice has made the right support available for people trapped in this form of exploitation. Law enforcement is beginning to see the bigger picture. Communities are expecting action when they recognize this exploitation. Prosecutors are beginning to hold the profiteers accountable. Most importantly, there is finally hope for survivors.”
Looking to the future, Chris is positive that this momentum can be built upon. He says: “It’s promising that law enforcement is starting to contact us about this problem more. We are also hopeful that other agencies and NGOs that we’ve approached will join us and become part of our collaborative and concerted effort to make these exploitative businesses a thing of the past.”
Stock image posed by model
