Last year in Broome County, Binghamton area man Antonio Ballard was convicted on eight counts related to sex trafficking involving three minors. He’s set to serve 17 years in a federal prison, followed by a 20-year supervised release.
The Ballard case and local sex trafficking were the main focus at the American Medical Women’s Association’s Sex Trafficking Awareness Meeting held on Monday, Nov. 20 in the Science Library.
The inspiration for the event came after the local chapter attended the national American Medical Women’s Association’s 102nd Anniversary Meeting in March, which highlighted sex-trafficking issues. Michelle Toker, president of the Binghamton University chapter of the American Medical Women’s Association and a junior majoring in integrative neuroscience, said she was also inspired to hold the event after two Broome County police officers spoke about local sex-trafficking issues in her class, HWS 331: Contemporary Health Issues. According to Toker, there has been a lack of recognition in regard to sex trafficking in schools throughout the country, including BU.
“We’re asking for it to be talked about in middle schools but it’s not even being talked about in college,” Toker said.
Abisha Nalladurai, a member of the American Medical Women’s Association and a junior majoring in biology, said she was surprised to learn about the nearness of sex-trafficking cases.
“You think it’s not going to be local, that it’s such a foreign thing, but in fact it is very local.” Nalladurai said.
According to CNN, between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States every year. Internationally, it’s the third largest crime industry, behind illegal substances and arms trafficking, and generates approximately $32 billion annually. There are between 20 to 30 million slaves in the world today, according to CNN.
“It’s a web of economic, social and political issues in a lot of countries,” Nalladurai said.
During the discussion, members were shown a TEDx Talk given by Meghan Sobel, an associate professor of communications at Regis University, that depicted the issue’s complexity and emphasized that trafficking can happen to anyone.
“It’s also worth noting that boys can be trafficked too, in much the same way that girls can,” Sobel said in the video.
Sobel told the story of Oi, a boy from Thailand, who felt responsible, as the oldest child in his family, to provide financial support. Oi was stateless, meaning he lacked citizenship in any country and also had difficulty finding a job. At 12 years old, Oi was trafficked to foreign men in order to earn money for his family. According to Sobel’s talk, the system for breaking up sex-trafficking organizations often punishes the victims rather than the customers, who are typically foreign businessmen.
After the video, Nalladurai highlighted the economic impact sex trafficking has on its victims.
“In Oi’s case, he was initially forced into it, but the reason he stayed in it because it was the only way he was making money,” Nalladuri said.
The American Medical Women’s Association emphasized that sex trafficking can still largely be regarded as foreign. Anu Verma, a junior majoring in anthropology, said she felt there was a distinct lack of education about trafficking in the United States.
“I never learned about sex trafficking in middle school or high school,” Verma said.
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