Reno’s Response to Rising Human Trafficking: Advocates and Organizations Take Action

Nicole Fernandez • February 2nd, 2022

Overview

Reno, Nevada has shifted their response to human trafficking rates as they increase, not only locally but nationally. Gwyndelyn Chen is a lead Sexual Assault Support Advocate at The Crisis Support Services of Nevada. Today, September 28th, we’re sitting quietly outside of her favorite local coffee place to discuss the current state of human trafficking in Reno. Gwyndelyn would like to spread awareness of identifying characteristics of human trafficking victims, as well as the extent to which the community is banding together to help fight against the rise of human trafficking in Reno.

Youths supply human traffickers with extensive demand. Awaken Reno is an organization built to educate people on the statistics recorded thus far, a resource Chen referred to during our interview. Every month, over 5,000 people are sold for sex on average in Nevada.

The amount of people prostituted per capita is over 50% larger than the next largest state, which is New York City. Nevada carries the largest commercial sex market in the entire United States, more than 10% of which are youths.

“There are a million reasons why this is happening in Reno. The biggest reason sex trafficking is huge in Reno is because of the laws we have associated with sex, itself.”

- Gwyndelyn Chen on human trafficking in Reno, Nevada.

Q: What are your thoughts regarding the human trafficking situation? How accurately are these numbers being recorded in Reno?

A: To start, I should caution that it is incredibly difficult to show statistics on the number of trafficked survivors, as these crimes are highly underreported… Most of these cases are endangered youths, runaways, sex workers, and homeless people - well, mainly, homeless children.

Numbers in Reno are always being reported, but I work with these communities one-on-one. Many of these survivors prefer not to be reported or documented, since they just barely escaped the situation alive.

With that, it’s impossible to know exactly how many victims of human trafficking are in Reno, but we are estimating that the numbers are the highest of any state in the entire U.S.

Q: Why do you believe that human trafficking is so prevalent in Reno? Is there any particular reason as to why sex trafficking is so regular in this region?

A: There are a million reasons why this is happening in Reno. The biggest reason sex trafficking is huge in Reno is because of the laws we have associated with sex, itself. Nevada law allows any county with a population under 700,000 people to approve the act of prostitution.

Even though prostitution is illegal in Washoe County, that doesn't mean that human trafficking won’t occur in the same exact county. That’s the thing about sex work – it’s highly unregulated, unless the people work in an establishment licensed by the state. And even then, how can we be sure that safety guidelines are enforced?

Q: Considering on your expertise regarding this issue, is the allowance of prostitution in Nevada tied to the rise in trafficking? If so, where is that link?

A: Prostitution has a huge effect on sex trafficking, but not in the way you'd expect. The thing about prostitution being legal in surrounding counties is that it builds some sort of tolerance regarding insensitivity towards sex. Sex in general is starting to become much easier to attain by way of purchase, either online or on the street.

Awaken posted on their website that around 1,500 women and children are sold online at any given time. Let that marinate for a minute - at any given time. Prostitution is somewhat liberal in Nevada, so it isn't surprising that there is a demand for those who are younger…

Sure, that's another discussion, but it's important to remember that while some people think sex work is inappropriate, some children are raised believing it’s “just another job.” Sex work is pretty normal in Nevada and that’s an ideal our state is struggling with, now that sex trafficking has gotten so out of hand. Since sex work is so normal, human trafficking is much easier to hide under this guise.

Q: Which brings us to our next point – How can people be sure that the person they’re communicating with isn’t involved with human trafficking?

How can anyone be sure that human trafficking isn’t present in establishments licensed by the State of Nevada, such as brothels?

A: Typically, establishments licensed by the State of Nevada are regulated to an extent. In this sense, I mean that these establishments, like Mustang Ranch, require sex workers to pass an STD test before being granted employment. So underage workers aren’t ordinarily in these sorts of places, unless it is highly secretive – something I have yet to hear about, but can’t go without consideration.

Since I’ve been working closely with organizations such as SASS (Sexual Assault Support Services) and HEAT (Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit), I’ve seen that the majority of the youths involved with human trafficking have some common characteristics.

The few I really want to exaggerate, since they are the most obvious signs, are these: a person having an unstable living situation, lives where they work, in foster care, facing extreme financial hardships, having a guardian who has a substance abuse problem, or a controlling or abusive guardian or partner.

Q: How has the community been banding together to fight against human trafficking, so far as you can tell?

A: The local community has a handful of organizations that are available to support survivors of trafficking: SASS, Awaken, Safe Embrace, and the Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. Recently, local law enforcement has created a dedicated team of detectives assigned to investigate cases of trafficking called HEAT (Human Exploitation and Trafficking unit).

Additionally, I have been interested in starting a community group of abolitionists through an organization called OUR (Operation Underground Railroad). This group would work to spread awareness and education on human trafficking. I have been working with a detective at the University Police Department, as well as the UNR Campus Victim Advocate Lauren Reid, to facilitate a club on campus called Students Against Slavery that would also be a branch from OUR with the same goal of providing education and awareness.