Tattoo artists are ready to do their part to help put an end to the act of human trafficking. An article discussing the training of various tattoo artists to recognize and report tattoos used for trafficking humans by the National Tattoo Association.
Victory! National Tattoo Association Will Train Artists to Fight Sex Trafficking
by Amanda Kloer · April 28, 2011
There will soon be a new population trained and ready to fight human trafficking: tattoo artists. Tattoo artists are in a unique position to stop a disturbing trend -- pimps using the art of tattooing to abuse and control women and girls. But now, after being urged by more than 2,000 Change.org members, the National Tattoo Association has invited anti-trafficking organization Polaris Project to give a human trafficking training at their next conference. This training will mark the first ever national program to encourage tattoo artists to join the fight against trafficking.
Tattoos as a tool of branding and control of sex trafficking victims are becoming frequent in media reports of trafficking cases. For example, in one recent case in Brooklyn, a local pimp wanted to gain control over a 15-year-old girl he had just started to "break-in" as a child sex trafficking victim. So he took her to a tattoo studio, presented himself as her legal guardian, and forced her to get his nickname tattooed on her body. The tattoo was a permanent sign of ownership, making the pimp feel more powerful and the victim feel more helpless. And it's a scar that won't fade; even once victims are free from trafficking, a tattoo is often a permanent reminder of the trauma and abuse they suffered.
However, if tattoo artists know the signs of human trafficking, they can help prevent pimps from using tattoos to brand sex trafficking victims as property and report suspected cases of abuse to the police. Understanding the power tattoo artists have to fight trafficking, the National Tattoo Association has welcomed Polaris Project to conduct a training for artists at their next convention, hoping to help prevent the misuse of their art by human rights violators.
"The National Tattoo Association will always remain dedicated to promoting and protecting the art of tattooing through education and exposure." said Curt Keck, of the National Tattoo Association.
The Polaris Project is also looking forward to reaching out to and educating a new audience on the ins and outs of identifying human trafficking victims, with the hope of helping young women and girls before they are marked for life, physically or emotionally.
“We’re always excited to engage new constituencies in the fight against human trafficking," said Andrea Austin, of Polaris Project. "We know that pimps often try to ‘brand’ the women and girls under their control with tattoos. Training tattoo artists is an important point of intervention that can lead to increased victim identification.”
Congratulations to The National Tattoo Association, Polaris Project, and the thousands of Change.org members who helped make this partnership possible. With increased education and resources, we can help ensure no one uses an art form so symbolic of freedom as a tool for slavery.
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