Experts: Sex trafficking most common form of modern slavery on Guam

Sex trafficking is the most common form of modern slavery on Guam and the region, according to experts during a webinar on human trafficking held Wednesday.

“Fundamentally human trafficking is a conduit or mechanism by which people are taken into slavery,” said Kevin Bales, representing The Rights Lab at University of Nottingham.

He said modern slavery takes many forms, including forced prostitution, forced labor and child soldiers.

 

“East Asia and the Pacific are predominantly characterized by sex trafficking and child sex trafficking,” said Capt. Sarah Melville, a U.S. Army Officer who provides counter-human trafficking training for the special forces.

She said according to Guam's Human Trafficking Task Force, led by the Office of the Attorney General, underground forced sex for sale is a major concern for the island.

Melville said on Guam a consistent risk area for sex trafficking is massage parlors that illegally take away travel documents or force people to become sex slaves to pay off a debt.

Indicators of illicit commercial sex at massage parlors could be blinking red lights, signs advertising 24-hour-a-day services or prices far below market value, said Melville.

To report possible human trafficking on Guam, call the Department of Homeland Security 24-hour hotline at 671-475-0400 or the National Human Trafficking hotline at 888-373-7888.

Modern slavery also threatens Guam's strategic security, because any illegal activity that can destabilize the island's economy or undermine the rule of law is a security concern, said Melville.

Joseph Green, director of Applied Science at the Pacific Disaster Center, said something that can be overlooked in the region and globally is the effect natural disasters can have on human trafficking.

He said an example is climate change. As this affects Pacific Islands' economies and environments where people live, more people are forced to migrate, making them vulnerable to sex or labor trafficking.

The webinar is part of a Human Rights Conference Series hosted by the Guam Human Rights Initiative under the Regional Center for Public Policy at the University of Guam.

An in-person and online conference will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Thursday at the Hilton Guam Resort & Spa.

Members of the public can register for the free conference at url.uog.edu/hrcs.