Global Centurion is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

that works to combat

modern slavery Contemporary slavery, also sometimes known as modern slavery or neo-slavery, refers to institutional slavery that continues to exist in the 21st century. Estimates of the number of enslaved people range from around 38 million to 49.6 million, d ...

by focusing on demand. To date, efforts to combat

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

have focused on rescue and restoration of victims, and prosecution of traffickers. Few efforts focus on the buyers – those that fuel the market for

– whether its sex, labor or

organ trafficking Organ trade (also known as the blood market or the red market) is the trading of human organs, tissues, or other body products, usually for transplantation.(Carney, Scott. 2011. "The Red Market." Wired 19, no. 2: 112–1. Internet and Personal C ...

. Global Centurion believes that in order to combat

, a comprehensive approach is required, one that recognizes the "slavery triangle:" the supply (victims), demand ("buyers"), and distribution (traffickers). Global Centurion addresses the demand side in three ways: 1) Research on demand reduction and related issues; 2) training and awareness programs targeting demand; and 3) partnerships and collaboration. A key project is the creation of an international modern slavery case law database, with over 6,000 cases from around the world.

History

From the 1970s until today, founder and president

Laura Lederer Laura J. Lederer (born 1951) is a pioneer in the work to stop human trafficking. She is a legal scholar and former Senior Advisor on Trafficking in Persons in the Office for Democracy and Global Affairs of the United States Department of State. ...

has dedicated her life to combatting human trafficking. She has served as a senior advisor to the

U.S. Secretary of State The United States secretary of state (SecState) is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The secretary of state serves as the principal advisor to the p ...

, subject matter expert to the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

, and adviser to Congressional Sub-Committees. Over the course of her work, she noticed that there were many organizations focused on services for victims and education of law enforcement and prosecutors, but there were no organizations focused on combatting demand. After leaving the

U.S. Department of State The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

in 2009, Lederer worked to build Global Centurion, the first organization to focus solely on eliminating demand.

Projects and research

International Modern Slavery Case Law Database

Global Centurion is currently conducting a global comparative legal research project to examine case law from 1995 to the present. The goal is to establish a baseline of information on the nature and scope of the demand in human trafficking. The study covers the full range of human trafficking-related issues, including labor trafficking,

sex trafficking Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Se ...

child sex tourism Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of ''child'' in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "eve ...

commercial sexual exploitation of children Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) defines the "umbrella" of Sexual crimes, crimes and activities that involve inflicting sexual abuse on to a child as a financial or personal opportunity. Commercial Sexual Exploitation consists of ...

, and other related issues. Data for the study is drawn from a combination of publicly accessible case law records, periodicals, and covers investigations, arrests, prosecutions and/or convictions of

cases brought by local, state (or provincial), federal, and international

law enforcement Law enforcement is the activity of some members of the government or other social institutions who act in an organized manner to enforce the law by investigating, deterring, rehabilitating, or punishing people who violate the rules and norms gove ...

authorities around the world.

Demand-Reduction Programs

Global Centurion runs a demand-reduction program that focuses on the Five S’s. The Five S’s stand for sanctioning soliciting, second chance schools, sting and reverse sting operations, social marketing campaigns, and standards. "The Five S’s program encourages law enforcement, politicians and johns to engage in the public discourse about the harmful effects of human trafficking."

Mapping Hubs of Demand

Global Centurion has created a set of maps identifying major hubs of demand for

and labor trafficking around the world. The purpose of these maps is to assist in understanding what drives the trade in human beings worldwide. Most current information on

focuses on the victims, including the number of victims, their age, their nationality, and the harms they have suffered. These maps focus for the first time on the end buyer/user/exploiter and provide viewers with a global look at the various types of demand.

Demand Reduction Training: Department of Defense Training Programs

Global Centurion and its President,

, are serving as Subject Matter Expert (SME) for the

Combating Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) Office. The organization has worked on four in-depth online training programs for Department of Defense personnel. The first was a General Awareness Training required for all servicemen and women. It provides basic information on trafficking in persons, and teaches Department of Defense personnel how to understand the root causes of

; identify vulnerable populations; initiate appropriate responses to trafficking in persons cases; and establish response protocols to trafficking in persons allegations. Additional projects include specialized trainings for Acquisition and Procuration Workforce to combat trafficking in

government contracting Government procurement or public procurement is the purchase of goods, works (construction) or services by the state, such as by a government agency or a state-owned enterprise. In 2019, public procurement accounted for approximately 12% of GDP i ...

; training for Military Law Enforcement to assist in investigations, chain of evidence, interview techniques for trafficking victims, and more; Leadership Training for Commanders and other leaders in Department of Defense, and a Refresher Course for personnel who have already taken the General Awareness Course.

Street Gangs and Human Trafficking

Global Centurion analyzed case law to prove a link between

criminal gangs A gang is a group or society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectiv ...

(

street gang A gang is a social group, group or secret society, society of associates, friends, or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over Wiktionary:territory#Noun, territory in a ...

prison gang A prison gang is an inmate organization that operates within a prison system. It has a corporate entity and exists into perpetuity. Its membership is restrictive, mutually exclusive, and often requires a lifetime commitment. Prison officials and ot ...

, and

motorcycle gang An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purpo ...

). Using variables collected from the case law, Global Centurion conducted a comparative analysis of recruitment methods, methods of coercion and control, marketing and sales techniques, of the traffickers as well as information about the victims, including age, geographic origin, gender, race, and other pertinent information. Using this data, the organization examined anti-gang and anti-trafficking law and policy and drew up a set of recommendations for government officials, policy-makers, community leaders and educators. "Typically gang members are charged with a

Class A felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

, such as

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit (e.g., money or goods) through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, although making unfounded ...

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

, and

weapons trafficking Arms trafficking or gunrunning is the illicit trade of contraband small arms, explosives, and ammunition, which constitutes part of a broad range of illegal activities often associated with transnational organized crime, transnational criminal o ...

, while trafficking in persons goes uncharged." The study recommends adding "pimping, pandering, and human trafficking to the list of gang crimes recognized in state law." The work influenced members of Congress, as well as state and legislators, resulting in new laws addressing the link between street gangs and sex trafficking.

Organized Crime and Human Trafficking

Global Centurion worked on a

U.S. Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of federal laws and the administration of justice. It is equi ...

funded contract, in collaboration with

Texas Christian University Texas Christian University (TCU) is a private university, private research university in Fort Worth, Texas, United States. It was established in 1873 by brothers Addison Clark, Addison and Randolph Clark as the AddRan Male & Female College. It i ...

, to help establish evidence of a link between

organized crime Organized crime is a category of transnational organized crime, transnational, national, or local group of centralized enterprises run to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally thought of as a f ...

and

trafficking in persons Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

. Global Centurion utilized case law from completed human trafficking prosecutions in the U.S. (1995 to 2015) to make the link between organized crime and human trafficking. Global Centurion used the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

categories of organized criminal networks, including African Criminal Enterprises, Asian Criminal Enterprises, Balkan Criminal Enterprises, Eurasian Criminal Enterprises, Italian Organized Crime/Mafia, and Middle Eastern Criminal Enterprises to classify the types of organized criminal activity involved in trafficking in persons. In addition, Global Centurion used new classifications suggested by experts to identify traffickers as highly sophisticated international criminal enterprises such as

cartels A cartel is a group of independent market participants who collaborate with each other as well as agreeing not to compete with each other in order to improve their profits and dominate the market. A cartel is an organization formed by producers ...

syndicates A syndicate is a self-organizing group of individuals, companies, corporations or entities formed to transact some specific business, to pursue or promote a shared interest. Etymology The word ''syndicate'' comes from the French language, Fren ...

; corporate/private businesses; crime families;

brothel A brothel, strumpet house, bordello, bawdy house, ranch, house of ill repute, house of ill fame, or whorehouse is a place where people engage in Human sexual activity, sexual activity with prostitutes. For legal or cultural reasons, establis ...

/business front such as

massage parlor A massage parlor (American English), or massage parlour (Canadian/British English), or massage salon is a place where massage services are provided. Some massage parlors are front organizations for prostitution and the term "massage parlor" has ...

; and "crime couple plus one." These categories aid in analyzing the data and creating crime, perpetrator, and victim profiles. The full report will be released in 2016.

Health and Human Trafficking

In an effort to understand the health effects of

, Global Centurion interviewed over 100 domestic survivors of sex trafficking from across the United States. The study provides the first solid evidence that women and children who are trafficked into

prostitution Prostitution is a type of sex work that involves engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, no ...

are physically, mentally, and emotionally devastated by the crime, and this devastation is lasting – with illnesses, injuries, and impairments continuing often for decades. The study was the basis of several briefings and a formal hearing in Congress and resulted in the creation of the Title VII of the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act of 2015 (JVTA) "Title VII rafficking Awareness Training for Health Care The law "was inspired by a groundbreaking study conducted by Laura Lederer and funded by several foundations, including the

Charlotte Lozier Institute Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America (formerly Susan B. Anthony List) is an American 501(c)(4) non-profit organization that seeks to reduce and ultimately end abortion in the US, by supporting anti-abortion politicians, primarily women, through its ...

," and "found that approximately 88 percent of domestic trafficking victims had contact with a

health care provider A health care provider is an individual health professional or a health facility organization licensed to provide health care diagnosis and treatment services including medication, surgery and medical devices. Health care providers often rece ...

while being trafficked, with the most common being a hospital or a hospital emergency room, almost 64 percent."

References

External links

Official website
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220213002028/https://www.globalcenturion.org/ , date=2022-02-13 Organizations that combat human trafficking