Tapestri
diversity. advocacy. empowerment.

A Family Violence Intervention Program for Immigrant and Refugee Men

In 1999, after years of work in the domestic violence field, we began to work with men when the women from our communities told us that in order for their lives to be free of fear, it is the men who need to change.  Hearing the voices of our women, we organized a training on transformative anti-violence work with men and invited men, whom we knew to be our allies, to participate.  Six of the refugee and immigrant men who participated in this training continued to work on anti-violence issues after the training and developed the Tapestri Men’s Program. This program is based on the philosophy and curricula developed by CECEVIM in California and Caminar Latino. Since its inception the Men’s Program has worked with immigrant and refugee men from over 18 countries.

The fundamental belief of our Men’s Program is that the violence of men is not individual pathology amenable to counseling but rather a social malaise where men learned through modeling, at home and in society, that the use of violence against women is an acceptable way of resolving their differences.  We believe that true transformative and re-education work takes place not by experts imparting information top-down, but through a process where men themselves critically explore, in an atmosphere of mutual respect and horizontal relationships, the antecedents, dynamics and effects of their violent behaviors, values, and expectations.

Governing principles of our program:

• Women’s safety is a priority.
• Tapestri’s women advocates provide leadership, mentoring and supervision for facilitators of the Men’s Program.
• Tapestri’s women advocates maintain regular contact with partners of men attending Tapestri Men’s Program, build trusting relationships with them, and provide them with information and support.
• Mutual Respect
• We do not work one-on-one with men.
• We do not provide anger management, because we believe that men’s violence against women is not about an angry man who is out of control, but a man who chooses to be violent to control his partner.

Who can join this group?

• The group is open to refugee, immigrant and American men.
• Both court mandated men and men that chose to voluntarily work on their violence may join the group.
• Only men who agree to participate in the entire 24-weeks program are admitted to the group.
• Group fees are based on a sliding scale schedule.
• The group meets every Saturday morning.

For more information, call (678) 698-3612.

Trafficking: A Contemporary Manifestation of Slavery

Human trafficking is a global phenomenon, happening everywhere around the world including in our own communities.  Worldwide, an estimated 1 to 2 million people are trafficked every year. According to State Department estimates, approximately 14,500 to 17,500 women, children and men are brought to the U.S. each year. Millions of individuals, the majority of which are women and children, are tricked, coerced, sold or forced into situations of slavery-like exploitation from which they are unable to escape.

What is Human Trafficking?

Human trafficking includes all acts involved in the recruitment, abduction, transport, harboring, transfer, sale or receipt of persons. This is a multi-billion dollar industry often operated by highly organized criminal groups. In addition to organized crime rings, the traffickers may also be loose organizations, families or individuals. After drug dealing, human trafficking is tied with arms dealing as the second largest criminal industry in the world. Unlike “alien smuggling,” trafficking involves a long-term profit through the continued exploitation of the persons trafficked. Human trafficking is a crime punishable under the U.S. federal law.

Trafficked persons are most commonly recruited for:

Sexual Exploitation which includes:

• Prostitution
• Pornography
• Sex tourism
• Servile marriage and Internet brides (this could be labor exploitation as well)

Labor Exploitation which includes:

• Sweatshop labor in factories or agricultural settings
• Involuntary servitude
• Domestic servitude
• Debt bondage

Why Does it Happen?

Traffickers capitalize on the unequal status of women and girls in source countries, including harmful stereotypes of women as property, commodities, servants and sexual objects. Traffickers have also taken advantage of cheap, unprotected labor and the promotion of sex tourism in some countries. This is a problem that affects virtually all countries. Even though trafficking routes are constantly changing, the one permanent factor is the economic disparity between countries of origin and countries of destination.

Often, these individuals are trying to escape from poverty and unemployment, from wars, conflict or ecological disasters in their home country, and to provide for themselves and their families. They do not know what lies ahead and what has happened to others like them. Traffickers use a variety of recruitment methods. Most victims think they are recruited for legitimate employment or marriage abroad, though a few may even know they are being recruited for the sex industry or labor. However, none of them are aware of the inhumane conditions that they will have to face or that they may be forced to work in order to “pay back” exorbitant recruitment or transportation fees. “Interest rates” (as high as 50%) imposed by the traffickers on these “debts” make them almost impossible to pay back, especially when the victims are paid a very small percentage of their actual earnings, if at all.

While physical restraint, violence and rape are often used to imprison people, traffickers also use subtle ways of controlling their victims, such as using psychological coercion. Traffickers control their legal identity by confiscating their passport or official papers, threaten them with deportation, or threaten to have them put in jail. Threats against their family and intimidation are other tactics frequently used to subjugate the victims. Traffickers use their lack of knowledge of the U.S., inability to speak English and ignorance of available resources to keep victims isolated. They use the victims’ fear and shame to keep them from reporting the abuse.

Criminal justice system response

Traffickers are rarely apprehended and even more rarely prosecuted. Most victims who are trafficked remain undetected by the public because the strategies used by the perpetrators isolate victims and prevent them from coming forward. Also, the public and victim service providers have only recently become aware of this issue and may not be familiar with how to recognize or respond to trafficking victims.

Even if the victims are able to go to the authorities, they may be afraid of reporting what is happening because in their home countries, authorities often can be corrupt. This reality combined with a fear of reprisals from the traffickers, for themselves and their families back home, means that victims have little incentive to cooperate with investigating and prosecuting authorities. The low incidence of reporting contributes to the poor law enforcement response. Law enforcement may not be knowledgeable about trafficking and may treat victims as criminals and detain or deport them.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), passed by the US Congress in 2000 and the Reauthorization Act passed in 2003, attempts to address the problem of trafficking both nationally and abroad. Victims of trafficking now have laws that protect them and provide access to certain basic services. Under the TVPA, victims of trafficking may be eligible for immigration relief.

How You Can Help?

This is an issue that affects all of our communities both in the U.S. and internationally. All of us can make a difference. By educating ourselves and our communities about this issue and ways to identify victims, we can end this new form of slavery that is human trafficking.

To report a trafficking case in Georgia, call Tapestri at 404-299-0895 or 1-866-317-FREE (3733)

To report trafficking cases in other parts of the country, call the Department of Justice’s Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Task Force Complaint Line at 1-888-428-7581.

What is Domestic Violence?

Domestic violence is violence that happens at home between people who know each other: husbands and wives, boyfriends and girlfriends whether or not they live together, same sex partners, relatives, and parents and their children. Domestic violence is a way of acting in an intimate or family relationship in which one partner is forced to change his or her behavior in response to threats or abuse from the other partner. A lot of times, the violence is physical, but it can also be threats, isolation, intimidation, harassment, emotional mistreatment, forced sex or making threats with regard to having you or your children deported.

If you are experiencing domestic violence in your home, you are not alone. Even though most domestic violence is usually hidden, it is very common and it probably affects people who you know.

Domestic violence will often get worse with time. It is important to remember that the violence is not your fault; your abuser chooses to use domestic violence to control you. Domestic violence is a crime in the United States. Every person can get help to stop domestic violence even if they do not have legal permission from the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS), formerly known as Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), to be in the United States.

This website will refer to the abuser as “he.” Research conducted by the Department of Justice shows that over 95% of abusers are men. Domestic violence also occurs in same sex relationships, and while not all legal remedies listed will apply to same-sex abuse, this website will provide some important information about resources and things you can do to make yourself safe.

Are you a victim of Domestic Violence?

Does your Spouse or Partner …

• Hit, punch, slap, or kick you, your children, or your pets?
• Threaten to hurt or kill you?
• Make you have sex when you do not want to?
• Threaten to report you to the Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) and have you deported?
• Threaten to take your children away?
• Control where you go and whom you can see, talk to, or write to?
• Control your access to money, take your money away from you, or make you say how you spend every penny?
• Stop you from getting a job or learning English?
• Refuse to file immigration papers for you or threaten to withdraw these papers?
• Withhold or destroy your passport and other personal documents?
• Make you feel like a prisoner in your own home?
• Make fun of you and insult you in private or in front of others?

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you may be a victim of domestic violence.

Remember: DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS NOT YOUR FAULT! You are not alone. There are places you can go and things that you can do to protect yourself and your children.  Whether you are ready to leave, planning to leave, or have already left, you can use a Personal Safety Plan as a guide to help keep safe and avoid other incidence of violence.

Call Tapestri at (404) 299-2185 if you are in an abusive relationship or if you suspect someone you know is in an abusive relationship.  All services are free, and all calls are confidential.

Sexual Exploitation

Commercial sexual exploitation:

Women and children are often forced or coerced into the sex industry, which includes prostitution, massage parlors, pornography, exotic dancing, and sex tourism. They may be forced to provide various sexual services with no control over their earnings, if they are given any, or their lives. They may be made to service many customers a day without regard for their health or well-being.

Servile marriages and Internet brides:

“Servile marriage” describes a condition where men residing in the U.S. marry women from other countries, generally economically poorer countries, and then use the threat of deportation to control and abuse them. These women are often treated like servants or slaves and forced to do things against their will. “Internet brides” or “mail order brides” are terms used to describe a similar condition, where the marriages are arranged through the internet. The men often promise to get them a green card and access to better opportunities but once they are in the U.S. they are abused. They are often brought into the country on a fiancée or tourist visa, and their immigration status is used to control them.

Services and benefits available to victims of human trafficking

Some government-funded programs, services, and assistance that are necessary for the protection of life and safety, are available to anyone, regardless of their immigration status. Under the Victims of Trafficking Victims Protection Act (VTVPA), victims of severe forms of trafficking may be eligible for a number of other benefits and services.

Services available

Under the VTVPA, victim services agencies like Tapestri, have been funded to provide victims services including:

• Crisis counseling
• Short-term shelter or housing assistance
• Health care
• Mental health assistance
• Assistance with legal and immigration issues
• ESL/ vocational skills training
• Life skills training
• Translation and interpretation services

Certification

The VTVPA allows victims who are not U.S. citizens to be eligible for benefits and services to the same extent as refugees. To be eligible to receive these benefits, victims of severe forms of trafficking who are eighteen years or older must be certified by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). (Victims of severe forms of trafficking who are under eighteen years of age do not need to be certified to receive these benefits).

Work authorization

Under the trafficking law, victims of severe forms of trafficking may also be eligible to obtain an employment authorization document that allows them to work legally in the United States. However, work authorization can only be granted in conjunction with certain immigration relief granted by CIS (formerly INS).

Psychological coercion

Psychological coercion is a subtle yet extremely powerful control tactic used by the traffickers to keep their victims subjugated. This coercion can take many forms and is all the more effective because it doesn’t leave any physical evidence. Unfortunately, this often makes coercion very hard to prove because the only evidence may be the victim’s word. Despite the lack of physical injury, psychological coercion is very damaging to the victim and may often leave them severely traumatized.

Coercive tactics used by the traffickers may include:

• Threatening violence against family members or friends.

• Creating in the victim an irrational and exaggerated fear of CIS (former INS) or the police.

• Threatening them with deportation.

• Taking compromising pictures of the victims and threatening to expose them to the family.

• Forcing them to work to pay off a fabricated or exaggerated debt.

• Threatening to traffic their siblings and other family members.

• Convincing them that no one will believe their story even if they do go for help.

• Convincing them that the U.S. justice system is corrupt and will not help them.

• Telling them that they are crazy, lazy or ungrateful.

• Creating a sense of dependency (similar to the Stockholm syndrome) on the trafficker.

The traffickers are often from the same community as their victims and are therefore able to exploit the knowledge of their shared culture to coerce victims. They create an alternate reality of misinformation, shame and fear and use the victim’s lack of knowledge of the English language and U.S. systems to their advantage. Some of these tactics are so effective that the victims actually believe that the trafficker is doing them a favor by giving them even the most basic things. Thus they may even feel guilty about testifying against their traffickers.

Identifying victims Identifying victims of human trafficking

The questions given below may be used as a guide to help assess whether you or someone you know may be a trafficking victim.

• Are you being paid for your work?
• Have your documents or identification been taken away?
• Are you free to leave your job if you want to?
• Do you have to ask permission to eat/ sleep or talk to whomever you wish?
• Do you feel like a prisoner?
• Are you forced to do things you don’t want to do?
• Are you punished for complaining about your living or working conditions?
• Are you afraid of the people you work for or live with?
• Have you, your family or your friends been threatened?
• Are you being forced to work to pay off a debt?
• Are you hit, beaten, raped, insulted, or threatened with deportation?

If you are being exploited in any way, there is help available to you.

Please call 404-299-0895 or 1-800-317– FREE (3733).

This Safety Plan is designed for immigrant victims of domestic violence. Please review with your clients and assist him/her to complete the Safety Plan as it best fit his/her individual and family needs. For Non-English speaking client, please provide interpreter to ensure that he/she has a full understanding and play and active role in creating his/her safety plan. Create Safety Plan outside of home without the knowledge of abusive partner and should include children if possible. Remember, you do not deserve to be hit or threatened. Benefits of establishing a Safety Plan: • You do have a choice about how to respond to him/her and how to best keep children safe, though you are not in control of partner’s abuse. • You have a chance establish a plan legal and non-legal ways to keep safe • You can establish preventative measures to keep safe when you’re not ready to leave, but interested in taking steps to keep safe to promote safety. • Whether you are ready to leave, planning to leave, or have already left, you can use this tool as a guide to help keep safe and avoid other incidence of violence.

Personal safety Plan:

1. Safe exit(s) from my home__________________________________ Practice safety exit (get children involved if possible)

2. During an argument, I will avoid rooms with an outside door (i.e., bedroom or bathroom) or those that have weapons (i.e., kitchen knives, guns, etc.)

3. I can let ___________________________ and ______________________know about what is going on or ask neighbor to call the police if they hear suspicious noise coming from my house. Ask if I can stay with them in an emergency or until I find permanent housing.

4. Know where I can get help_______________________________________

5. I will call 911/ Teach children to dial 911

6. Keep these items in a safe place…away from my house: • Pack a change of clothes for me and each children (i.e. baby food, formula, diapers) • A spare key to house/office/car • Prescriptions/insurance papers • Money/bank book/lease agreement/mortgage papers/house deed • Social security cards for you and children (abusers social security number)/immunization records/school records/special toys and or blanket • Phone number of programs that offer domestic violence services that you can call for help _________________________________, __________________________________, and _____________________________ • A copy of protective order (and other court related documents) • Birth certificate/green card/passports /identification • Pictures/jewelry/sentimental items

7. I have concerns about immigration… I will take with me and/or put in a safe place: Pictures of bruises, police reports, marriage license, immigration papers I have, (i.e., 1-94, copies of visa application, work permit application), photos of wedding, copies of my husbands green card or certificate of naturalization, marriage certificate, social security, and copy of utilities or lease agreement (showing that you lived together).

8. Once he/she leaves, I will change locks, replace wood door with steel or metal doors.

9. I will obtain a Protective order form ___________________________County. I will keep it with me at all times, and give a copy to my employer and child’s school.

10. If I feel upset, down, frustrated or confused and want to go back to my abuser I will call______________________________, ___________________________________, and/ or__________________________________________ for support.

11. I will review my safety plan every __________months and make changes if needed. 12. Things I do to make me feel stronger are:____________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Labor Exploitation

Domestic servitude

“Domestic servitude” describes a condition where individuals are promised decent pay and opportunities for education if they work as nannies or housekeepers for families in the U.S., but neither are given to them. They are forced to work long hours, given little or no pay and psychologically abused. Sometimes members of the family may also demand that they perform sexual services for them. Often their immigration documents are taken away from them.

Involuntary servitude

“Involuntary servitude” is a condition of servitude induced by means of any scheme or plan intended to cause the individual to believe that if he or she did not enter into or continue in such condition that they or someone they know would suffer serious harm.

Debt bondage

“Debt bondage” is used to describe the condition in which a person pledges his/her personal services (or of those of a person under his or her control) as a security for debt, but the value of those services, as reasonably assessed, is not applied towards paying off the debt, or the length and nature of those services are not limited or defined. Often these debts are exaggerated travel debts that are supposed to cover the cost of getting into the U.S.

Trafficking also covers people who are held against their will to pay off a debt; this is known as peonage. A victim’s initial agreement to travel or perform the labor does not allow an employer to later restrict that person’s freedom or to use force or threats to obtain repayment.

Immigration relief that may be available to human trafficking

The availability of immigration relief for undocumented victims is determined by the individual circumstances surrounding the victimization and the specific eligibility requirements of the type of relief sought. Information about certain forms of immigration relief that trafficking victims may be eligible for are given below. This information is provided merely as a guide.

If you need assistance with immigration relief, please consult a qualified immigration law practitioner.

Continued Presence

In order to assist with the prosecution of traffickers, eligible victims who lack legal status but who are potential witnesses of trafficking may receive temporary immigration relief under the continued presence provisions of Section 107(c) of the VTVPA. Only a federal law enforcement agency may petition the CIS (formerly INS) for Continued Presence. The CIS has the discretion to utilize one of several statutory and administrative mechanisms to authorize the continued presence of victims of severe forms of trafficking. Some of the mechanisms available to the CIS for this purpose include parole, suspension of removal, and deferred action.

T visa

T visas may be available to victims of severe forms of trafficking who have complied with any reasonable requests for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of trafficking.

To be eligible for the T visa the victim must

• Be a victim of a severe form of human trafficking,
• Be willing to assist in every reasonable way in the investigation and prosecution of severe forms of trafficking in persons,
• Be physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port of entry on account of such trafficking,
• Have either made a bona-fide application for a T visa with the CIS (formerly called INS) or must be a person whose continued presence in the United States the Attorney General is ensuring in order to effectuate prosecution of traffickers in persons, and
• Be likely to suffer extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm upon removal.

However, minors under the age of fifteen do not have to comply with such requests in order to be eligible for a T visa.

Crime Victims U Visa

The U visa may be available to undocumented victims who have suffered substantial physical or mental abuse as a result of being the victims of certain crimes designated by the VTVPA (including trafficking) that violate federal, state, or local laws or have occurred while in the United States (including in Indian country and military installations) or its territories or possessions. To be eligible for a U visa, the victim must possess information concerning the crime and the U visa petition must include a certification from a government official stating that the victim is helping, has helped, or is likely to be helpful in the investigation or prosecution of the crime.

CIS (formerly INS) has not issued regulations for applying for the U visa yet. Until the regulations are published, CIS is granting interim relief for those eligible for a U visa.  This means that while you cannot apply for a U visa, you may be able to apply for temporary status until those regulations are issued. U-visa interim relief and employment authorizations are valid for one year. You must apply for an extension every year before the expiration of the current period

After three years, U visa holders may be eligible to adjust their status to that of lawful permanent residence in accordance with federal law and CIS regulations.

Recipients of both the T and U visas are eligible for employment authorization, and may, after three years adjust their status to that of lawful permanent resident in accordance with federal law and CIS (formerly INS) regulations. In appropriate circumstances, these visas may be available to family members of the victim. By statute, 5,000 T visas and 10,000 U visas may be issued to victims annually. These limits do not apply to family members.

VAWA

A self-petition under Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is an alternative for women who have been victims of servile marriage or have suffered domestic violence as internet or “mail order” brides. Women whose husbands are U.S. citizens or permanent residents are eligible for this form of relief. Victims can apply for this type of visa without their husband’s help or knowledge.

Victims may also be sponsored or apply for other immigration benefits for which they may be eligible, such as an S visa or asylum. Victims should consult with a qualified immigration law practitioner for advice concerning the full range of benefits for which they may be eligible.