美國法上對抗性販運之法制演變與近期發展

The Fight Against Sex Traffificking in the United States

從奴隸制度開始，人口販運以各種形式存在於世界各地已數個世紀。國際勞工組織在2014年的一份報告中，估計人口販運相關產業的收益已高達1,500億美元。在全球所有人口販運受害者中，估計有將近七成為成年女性與未成年之女孩。由此可知，女性已成為人口販運最主要之被害人。其中，一部分的原因應該與人口販運中性販運之比例，在統計上通常皆較以強迫勞動為目的人口販運來得高有關。
性販運為人口販運的一種類型，通常指的是被販運之被害人被強迫從事違背其意願的性剝削行為。美國國務院曾估計，每年約有60萬到80萬名人口販運受害者，其中七成皆為性販運之受害人。作為人口販運之最大宗類型，性販運不僅可以替販運者帶來龐大的利潤，實務上性販運者的逮捕與起訴率則偏低，因此，使得性販運之問題，不論是在美國或其他地區，皆成為各國逐漸不可忽視的犯罪問題。有鑑於此，美國於1990年代後期，為了更有效的打擊人口販運與性販運，國會遂開始陸續通過數過相關法案。2013年，為解決各州在人口販運與性販運立法上差異所造成之法律漏洞與執法上困難，美國全國統一州法委員會草擬「防制人口販運與被害人救濟統一法」，希冀藉此能讓各州在人口販運與性販運之相關規範上能趨於一致。本文將以作為人口販運最大宗類型之性販運為討論核心，藉由探究美國聯邦政府、「防制人口販運與被害人救濟統一法」以及各州近幾年來有關性販運之立法與修法之狀況及法制適用上之缺失，擷取其中值得參考借鏡之處，以供我國未來就有關性販運問題之刑事管制作為參考。

Human trafficking has existed in various forms around the world for centuries, dating back to the era of slavery. According to a 2014 report by the International Labour Organization, the profits generated from industries related to human trafficking were estimated to have reached as high as 150 billion US dollars. Among all victims of human trafficking worldwide, it is estimated that nearly 70% are adult women and underage girls. This clearly shows that women have become the primary victims of human trafficking. One possible explanation for this is because, statistically, trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation is often more prevalent than trafficking for forced labor.
Sex trafficking is a type of human trafficking that typically involves victims being forced into sexual exploitation against their will. The U.S. Department of State has estimated that there are approximately 600,000 to 800,000 victims of human trafficking each year, with about 70% of them being victims of sex trafficking. As the most common form of human trafficking, sex trafficking not only generates enormous profits for traffickers, but in practice, the arrest and prosecution rates for sex traffickers remain relatively low. As a result, sex trafficking has increasingly become a serious criminal issue that cannot be ignored, both in the United States and around the world. In view of this, the Congress began passing a series of laws to more effectively combat human trafficking and sex trafficking. In 2013, to address the legal gaps and enforcement challenges caused by inconsistencies among state laws on human trafficking and sex trafficking, the Uniform Law Commission drafted the“Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Human Trafficking”. This act aimed to promote greater uniformity across states in their regulations related to human and sex trafficking.
This article will focus on sex trafficking as the most prevalent form of human trafficking. Through an examination of the U.S. federal government’s efforts, the“Uniform Act on Prevention of and Remedies for Huma n Trafficking”, and recent legislative developments and shortcomings in various states, the article seeks to draw insights that may serve as useful references for Taiwan’s future criminal regulatory framework in addressing sex trafficking issues.