Looking Ahead: Human Trafficking Awareness Month

By Julie Nauman, VCGCB Executive Officer

Greetings, and a very Happy New Year to you.

As we enter a new year together, it is a good time to reflect on our accomplishments from the past 12 months, but to also take inventory, and to take action on the work that lies ahead.

Such is the case with the subject of Human Trafficking. The month of January is set aside to increase awareness of this important topic, and to increase access to the services we provide to trafficking survivors. Today we acknowledge and honor Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is a part of a month-long commemoration set aside to increase awareness of this important topic and to increase access to the services we provide to trafficking survivors.

More than 20 million men, women and children around the world and in our own communities are currently victims of human trafficking — a $32 billion dollar industry that transcends age, gender, race and status. 

We have come a long way in how we now handle these cases. For years, state law did not allow these victims to receive benefits if they had participated in a crime or were involved in the events leading to their victimization. 

They were treated as prostitutes and disqualified, whether or not they had been forced into sexual slavery, and subjected to rape and physical and mental abuse. Many of them did what they had to do, simply to survive. We saw the need for change, and added a regulation in 2014 to allow them to get assistance from our California Victims Compensation Program (CalVCP).  

Since that time, we have received many applications from human trafficking victims — a population we had not served before. But we want to help all of these victims, so we need to collaborate with our partners to reach out to these individuals who desperately need our help.

In light of this, we are hosting a human trafficking trauma-informed training to educate our staff and our partners who work with these human trafficking victims. This training will be presented by Chris Stambaugh from The Grace Network, a grassroots organization that has mobilized thousands of people to combat human trafficking. Chris will discuss how they use technology to reach and serve victims, and will give a presentation on their free user-friendly resource app, “GraceCity” that allows first responders to access services for those affected by human trafficking. This training will be live-streamed on January 14, 2016 at 10 a.m. This focused training will be extremely informative and helpful as we continue to explore better ways to meet the unique needs of these survivors.

The training builds upon our earlier human trafficking workshop presented by Opening Doors, which is available to view anytime. This workshop gives insight into how you can identify a victim of sex trafficking, forced labor and debt bondage and the psychological mechanisms behind the abuse.  

Additionally, we have developed a short public service announcement (PSA) featuring our Board member, and San Bernardino County District Attorney, Michael Ramos. District Attorney Ramos has been a leader in California in recognizing that women, men, and children who are trafficked are victims of crime and their trafficking must be aggressively prosecuted. We ask that you share this PSA with your own networks.

As we go forward, CalVCP will continue to engage in the discussion of human trafficking and how this critical subject is handled through law enforcement and the victim services arena.

I am honored to work in a state dedicated to education and action, striving to make a tangible difference in the lives of victims. We invite you to participate in our workshops during Human Trafficking Awareness Month and we encourage you to join us in this effort to ensure that all victims of human trafficking receive the respectful and compassionate help they deserve.

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Julie Nauman is the Executive Officer for the Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board (VCGCB). VCGCB provides compensation for victims of violent crime and helps to resolve claims against the State.

Changing Cultural Attitudes on Domestic Violence

By a Hmong Domestic Violence Survivor and Advocate

As a domestic violence survivor, I can honestly say that until abuse is understood by both Hmong women and Hmong men, many Hmong women will continue to say that their husbands never abuse them and many Hmong men will continue to say they have never abused their wives. Death due to physical abuse is what most of the Hmong community understands domestic violence to be, but it’s more than that. Hmong women and men need to know that death is the last stage in abuse.

Being a Hmong woman comes with lots of obligations. During a traditional Hmong marriage ceremony, the bride is given advice from clan leader, elders, and at times, the parents of the bride, on how to be a “good wife”:

• A good wife is to be exactly as her husband, because being the opposite of him will lead to conflicts in the marriage. If your husband wakes up early, so should you. If he wakes up late, so should you. Whatever he does, you are to follow. Do not talk about your marriage problems because doing so means you are degrading your own marriage. A good wife listens to her husband and is obedient.
• When a husband takes a wife, she becomes his responsibility. If she walks uphill, you are to follow. If she walks downhill, you are to follow. If you don’t control her and she errors, you cannot blame her. A good husband is patient with his wife.
• A husband and wife are to be supportive of and good to each other, and love each other so both sides of the families’ relationship remain civil.

Maintaining the name of a good wife in an abusive marriage leads to depression and shattered dreams. If a woman has children with her abuser, it is another reason to endure the abuse. No one wants a broken home for her children. There are some Hmong women that have found the strength to leave, and most of these women are labeled as terrible wives, adulterers, and bad mothers. I have not encountered one woman who walked away from her abusive husband that has not been judged or labeled. Just about every Hmong woman is at fault if she decides to leave.

When educating Hmong community about domestic violence, it is very important to convey all types of abuse. Hmong women and men need to understand that abuse comes in different shapes and forms — not just physical, but also verbal and emotional. Most Hmong women would say, my husband never abused me. He’s just mean to me in the following ways:

• He degrades me in front of other people and compares me to other women.
• He forces sex on me. He says he is my husband and that gives him the right any time.
• He tells me I am not smart enough so my opinion does not matter.
• I am only allowed to visit my parents 1–2 times per year and talk to my sisters only when he can listen.
• He checks my cell phone and my monthly billing statements.
• I am not allowed to drive. He says he will take me wherever I want to go when he has time.
• He says if I love him, I will let him do whatever makes him happy.

I know this because I lived with an abuser for over ten years and thought that the way a man loves a woman was how I was treated. It’s not until I met my current husband that I learned what love really feels like. Everyone, men and women, deserves to have this feeling; the feeling of being appreciated, respected, and most of all, valued.

Abuse should not be tolerated and people should be educated. Let’s work together to understand the different types of abuse so that we can once and for all, eliminate this issue, because abuse is not just happening in the Hmong community; it’s in every community, everywhere.