Correction appended

Between 14,000 and 17,500 people are trafficked annually, and an estimated 200,000 American children are at high risk of being part of this modern-day form of slavery, Saejung Lee said while speaking in Eggers Hall Wednesday.

Lee, an immigration attorney at the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence (WCADV), gave a presentation called the ‘Intersection of Human Trafficking and Domestic Violence,’ subtitled, ‘Experiences of Hmong Victims in the Heartland.’

Approximately 15 graduate students and faculty gathered to hear Lee explain the intricacies and difficulties of dealing with human trafficking through law organizations like WCADV, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year.

‘We were looking for speakers who were involved more in activism than academics,’ said Susan Wadley, the director of the 2008 Gender and Globalization Speaker Series. ‘I knew her and about her work in the United States, particularly in New York, and now in Wisconsin.’

She focused on the issue of the Hmong people in America as an example of a situation in which the answers as to how victims of trafficking can be given aid legally are not as easily found as would be hoped.

The Hmong is the fifth largest minority group in China, who in the mid-18th century began to migrate toward South East Asia due to political and financial reasons.

One of the tallest hurtles law-enforcement must jump before acting on information is the location of victims, she said. The number of prosecuted cases for human trafficking is extremely low, at less than 100 cases per year.

The exploited are often offered marriage or a job if they come to America, and when they arrive, they are deprived of movement, their documents are taken and therefore, they are left without recourse.

The victims are often told, ‘You have to be my wife if you want to have legal status,’ she said.

Currently, there are 300,000 Hmong who have emigrated from South East Asia. Lee explained that ‘while a lot of Hmong businessmen return to Laos to start businesses even though they are refugees, many also return to Laos to fetch a second, third or fourth wife and bring them back here.’

There are a few explanations for this, Lee said. The first wife might not have had children, there might have been a prearranged agreement, the man may need a house-keeper or his parents may encourage a second wife if they do not like the first.

Technically, men often divorce their first wife before returning for another. Lee said she has a good friend who has not one, but five mothers.

The United States’ federal definition of trafficking and other laws, like the Protect Act of 2003 and the U.N. Definition of Trafficking, are helpful, but use language that is too broad to deal with these issues effectively, Lee said.

She also said it is important to look for ways to deal with this while respecting culture, as did a few members of the audience.

Ian Heyns, an international relations and economics graduate student, said he thought the presentation was well-balanced and informative and liked that it was looked at from a legal standpoint.

‘It was a realist approach, and that was refreshing,’ he said.

Parvathy Binoy, an international relations master’s student, added that having worked with victims of domestic violence in Minnesota, it was interesting to see the complexity regarding law and social services.

[email protected]

Published on March 24, 2008 at 12:00 pm