Markeshia Ricks Photo
Former DCF Commissioner Joette Katz delivers keynote address.
Mayor Toni Harp and the New Haven chapter of The Links Inc. teamed up for an International Women’s Day observance to honor women who serve in city government and to highlight the horrors of human sex trafficking.
They did that at City Hall Friday evening.
The crowd at City Hall Friday night.
Mayor Harp, the city’s first female mayor and also a member of the Links chapter, said the event was a showcase to the city’s broad commitment to gender equality and an opportunity “to acknowledge the talents and abilities of women, to celebrate women’s achievements and to raise awareness about gender parity and highlight recent gains to that end.”
Honorees for the evening included Board of Alders President Tyisha Walker-Myers; New Haven Public Schools Supervisor of World Languages Jessica Haxhi; Deputy Economic Development Administrator Cathy Graves; Department of Elderly Services Data Control Specialist Eneida Arroyo; Corporation Counsel Executive Assistant Paula Pernal; Department of Public Works Open Space Coordinator Honda Smith; Finance Department Chief Accountant Carleen Laffitte; and New Haven Link Patricia Downing.
Graves.
The Links Inc. is one of the nation’s oldest and largest volunteer organizations. Its members contribute more than 950,000 documented hours of community service, according to Cathy Graves, a deputy director for the city’s economic development department and president of the New Haven Links.
Joette Katz, a former commissioner for the Department of Children and Family Services and a former associate justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court, delivered the keynote address. She sought to dispel the myths and misconception associated with human trafficking including those that are often espoused by the current president of the United States as he pushes for a wall along the U.S‑Mexican border.
Katz said President Trump has claimed that human traffickers are “invading the United States … and brought a flood of victims” across the border. He has further claimed that the victims are often kidnapped and brought into the United States and that a border wall would help stop that. But Katz said statistics refute such claims.
“The majority of human trafficking victims, roughly two-thirds, are U.S. citizens and foreign-born victims have entered the country legally on visas … after securing a job through a recruiting agency,” she said.
She said human sex trafficking victims are just like the crowd of people gathered in City Hall Friday, people of “any age, race, gender, nationality and any socioeconomic group.”
Katz said government and nongovernment agencies need to collaborate to combat human sex trafficking. And each person in the room can help, she said. She gave those assembled a laundry list of human sex trafficking indicators that people can look for that could be “the first step in identifying victims that can help save a life.”
Here are the common indicators to help recognize human trafficking:
• When you see your children, see your children’s friends, in church community activities, does the child appear disconnected from family, friends, community organization?
• Has the child stopped attending school?
• Has the child had a sudden, dramatic change in behavior?
• Is the child engaged in commercial sex acts?
• Is the child disoriented or confused, or exhibiting signs of mental or physical abuse?
• Does the child have bruises in various stages of healing?
• Does the child appear fearful, timid, or submissive?
• Does the child show signs of having been denied food, sleep, or medical care?
• Does the child often appear in the company of someone to whom he or she defers, or someone who seems to be controlling of the situation like where they go or who they may speak to?
• Does the child seem coached on what to say?
• Is the child living in unsuitable conditions?
• Does the child lack personal possessions, or not have a stable living situation?
• Does the child have freedom of movement, or freely leave where he or she lives?
• Hotel business cards, escort service cards, hotel key cards, a large number of condoms, excessive amounts of cash, multiple cell phones — are any of these present?
• Does the child present with new clothes, electronics or other items of value without a reasonable explanation of how they were obtained?
• Is the child inappropriately or inadequately dressed for the situation?
• Is the child reluctant to explain tattoos or marks that could otherwise be considered branding?
“We rescued a child who had a dollar sign tattooed on her face,” Katz said. “Not all indicators will be present in every human trafficking situation ‚and the presence or absence of any of the indicators is not necessarily proof of human trafficking. But I can tell you firsthand that when I left DCF there had already been over one thousand referrals of youth identified as human sex trafficking victims. One thousand.
“You’d be surprised to learn that the majority were not runaways. They were not in foster care,” Katz added. “And although that population is extremely vulnerable, more than half of the youth were still living at home. While a few had been victimized by their own families, most of had been trafficked by strangers. It is a sobering reality.”