Kat Pierce, Katie Gwyn, Jordan Johnson

Honors 230

Human Trafficking in the World of the Manicurist

1)
How and where has slavery been indicated or demonstrated (by whom) as
present in the cultivation/extraction/manufacturing and/or provision of this
product/service?

2)

Women who are forced to paint nails have been seen across the UK and US.
At first, the women are promised high earnings and a good job in [insert country
here]. They are brought to other countries via visa or smuggled in.
The store owner will keep the women working through debt bondage to repay the
cost for transportation (usually airfare). They will then be forced to paint nails by day
and sometimes other types of work such as prostitution by night. The store owner will
keep the women working through debt bondage.
There are two main types of slaves when talking about this issue: labor slaves and
sex slaves. There is evidence of both types happening in salons. With the first, salon
workers might be physically abused or forced to work long hours with little or no
pay. With the second, workers might be told they are being hired to work at a nail
salon, when in fact it turns out to be a massage parlor where women are forced into
prostitution. (Lee)
Some human trafficking victims are forced to do nails during salon hours and
prostitution after hours. There have been arrests in the US for human trafficking of
nail salon employees forced into prostitution at night. Fake cosmetology license rings
have also been busted in connection with human trafficking. (Fahrig)
What are the general demographics of the enslaved?

Illegal immigrants
Vietnamese women
It is estimated that there are 100,000 Vietnamese manicurists working in the UK, but
only 29,000 Vietnamese-born migrants recorded on the census as living in the
country. (Navarro)

3)
What are the underlying social, cultural, economic, and/or political factors that
contribute to slavery in this product/service?

Economic: Even through different economic patterns and downturns in the West,
women have been unwilling to give up self-pampering. Surprisingly, the nail salon
business has become one of the fastest growing industries in the UK. Many
Vietnamese gangs are using trafficked Vietnamese women to work in their nail salons
during the day and then carry out operations of their drug business through the nail
salons later.
o look to less expensive nail salons which drives competition between nail
businesses to cut down prices, which ultimately leads to the need for cheaper
labor a market for human trafficking is therefore created

the drug business is very profitable and a good source of income to support
gang members
Social: Having well groomed fingernails and toenails is seen as a status of wealth
o Many women (and sometimes even men) will get their toenails and
fingernails done regularly high demand greater need for more labor
greater labor expenses taking short cuts in order to reduce cost for business
owner
Cultural: In different towns and villages six-month courses in nail care at specialized
schools are taught. Due to the popularity of nail care in different asian cultures, it has
become a stigma in the West that asian women are the most skilled manicurists, and
they wont go to nail salons where the manicurists are white.
o Nail care is a respected skill to possess and something that many Vietnamese
women will turn to as a means of obtaining a respectable job
o Having the ability to skillfully give a manicure or pedicure is appreciated
o The belief that asian women are the most skillful manicurists creates a
demand specifically for asian women since many women do learn these
skills, they are more easily lured into a manicurist job across seas
Political: Its believed that British authorities are more lenient in their treatment of
illegal immigrants compared to other countries.
o The UK is a very popular place for trafficked women to be sent

4)
What efforts are being made by which types of actors to combat slavery in the
manufacturing/provision of this product/service?

Service Provider: Nail salon owners arent always aware that the women they
employ have actually been trafficked. Once they learn the truth they can work
towards helping their employees get away from their traffickers or give them support
in creating their new life in their new home.
o They become nail salon abolitionists try to raise awareness of the situation
Different Organizations: Polaris Project, A21 Campaign, and Not For Sale
o Types of organizations that work towards raising awareness of trafficking in
general and can be asked to help people become aware of the problem in
different sectors of the economy
Government: Local governments create different groups that can monitor businesses
and how theyre run to make sure theyre operating properly.
o The Massachusetts Division of Professional Licensure As they were
checking to make sure that different businesses in their area were operating
with the correct businesses licenses, they noticed that one man who owned
different businesses that were unlicensed. They became suspicious of him and
were able to shut down his businesses that werent being run properly and the
female employees were assumed to be taken advantage of (hard hours without
pay, taken to different locations and changed into skimpy outfits).
Consumer: Customers can become educated on what the signs trafficked employees
will exhibit. If they think theres something suspicious going on, they can report the
activity. Women can also give themselves their own manicures and pedicures at
home.
Overall: The people who actually own nail salons are looking into the ways in which
they obtain their workers, some local governments are setting up different groups to
make sure businesses are actually licensed and correctly doing their work, and

consumers can actually do manicures and pedicures themselves. Human trafficking

organizations are getting involved in raising the publics awareness that slavery is
happening in the nail business as well as other industries.
5)

Why is it difficult to eradicate this form of slavery?

Slavery in the form of manicurists is particularly difficult to eradicate for a number of
reasons.

6)

First, this form of trafficking places the enslaved people in plain sight making them
difficult to identify. There are many nail salons across the US run chiefly by
Vietnamese immigrants. Because of this abundance, picking out specific sites where
human trafficking exists has proved difficult. Immigration lawyer Julie Dahlstrom
points out, There is a reluctance to believe that this is happening in our communities
and Id say especially in affluent communities (Martin Nail Salons). Because of
this disinclination to think of your nail technician as anything but, many victims of
slavery could be overlooked.
Additionally, human trafficking victims have trouble advocating for themselves. In
many of these cases, the victims are immigrants and their only contacts in the country
are those that enslave them causing them to be very dependent.
The nail salon business, also, provides a good cover for the types of labor these
women are forced into. Paul Taylor, an inspector for the Division of Professional
Licensure has been investigating the connections between nail salons and human
trafficking. He points out that nail salons are for the most part a cash business,
allowing ease in laundering money and fraudulent business practice (Martin Nail
Salons). Many cases show not just forced labor as a manicurist but also in sex work.
The old cover for prostitution in many parts of the US was a massage parlor. Now
that this sham has been brought to light, prostitution covers have moved to nails
salons.
What do you think will have to happen for this form of slavery to be abolished?

In order to abolish this form of human trafficking, one important course of action
comes from the Division of Professional Licensure. The first red flag that a nail salon
maybe be involved in illicit activity comes from licenses that are often in violation
and often cited. In Dorchester, MA, the finding of bad licenses led to an investigation
that eventually charged five people with conspiracy to smuggle women into the
country for the purpose of sex work (Martin Sexual and Human Trafficking). By
keeping close track of licensed nail salons, law enforcement could have a better idea
of what establishments are supporting human trafficking.
An important step is also education. Educating the public, especially law
enforcement, that this type of trafficking even exists can help lead to its eradication.
People looking out for warning signs, such as a worker not being able to speak for
herself or signs of abuse, could be a valuable resources in tipping law enforcement to
possible trafficking.
Sources:

Abplanalp, Amelia. "Vanity At a Price: Time to Rethink That Manicure." Threadsuk. N.p.,
21
Mar. 2014. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Baxter, Holly. "Nail Bars: Modern-day Slavery in Plain Sight?"Thegaurdain.com. The
Gaurdian, 20
Aug. 2013. Web. 6 Oct. 2014.
Fahrig, Katherine. "Human Trafficking And The Corner Nail Salon." Nailsatpanaches Blog.
N.p.,
11 Sept. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Jarvis, Alice A. "Is Your Manicurist a Sex Slave? Nail Salons a Front for Human
Trafficking? USA-UK News Online." Usakonline. USA-UK News, 18 Aug. 2013. Web. 8 Oct.
2014.
Lee, Hannah. "On My Mind: Is Human Trafficking a Nail Industry Issue?" NAILS Magazine.
N.p.,
24 June 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Martin, Phillip. "Nail Salons and Human Trafficking." The Huffington Post.
TheHuffingtonPost.com, 03 Aug. 2010. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Martin, Phillip. "Sexual and Human Trafficking in the Boston Area and Beyond." Sexual
and Human Trafficking in the Boston Area and Beyond. WGBH, 09 July 2010.
Web. 07 Oct. 2014.
Navarro, Donna. "Donna Navarro: Nail Bar Luxury and Human Trafficking." Nottingham
Post.
N.p., 26 May 2014. Web. 7 Oct. 2014.
Pratt, Michelle. "Taking a Stand Against Human Trafficking." NAILS Magazine. NAILS

Magazine, 22 June 2011. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.

Seales, Rebecca. "The Slave Trade of British Nail Bars: How Victims of Human Trafficking
from Vietnam Are Exploited in Beauty Salons and Forced into Prostitution." Mail
Online. Associated Newspapers, 18 Aug. 2013. Web. 07 Oct. 2014.