Trigger Warning: The following post contains potentially upsetting content about rape, pornography and kidnapping.
What is human trafficking?
It’s important to remember that human trafficking is almost invisible. The crime is designed to attract absolutely no attention. You likely won’t see the effects of human trafficking as you go through your day-to-day life, especially in the United States. But the truth is, it is all around you in nail salons, retail stores and especially in private residences.
Human trafficking is the business of trading captured or blackmailed human beings. In other words, modern-day slavery. Many think that slavery is a thing of the past or only something to worry about in foreign countries. However, human trafficking is prevalent worldwide. This includes the United States, where at least 20,000 children are trapped in forced labor and the sex trade.
Who are the victims?
People in hundreds of demographics are trafficked every year. Because of the porn industry, there is high demand in the sex trade, so women and girls are the most common victims. But men are also forced into slavery.
Most groups are affected, but traffickers also tend to target victims who don’t have many connections or who can’t easily defend themselves, like homeless individuals, undocumented immigrants and people with physical or mental disabilities.
“Hidden in plain sight” is a strategy used by many traffickers. You might not expect slaves to be allowed to go out in public or, in the horrible case of child slaves, attend school. Many slaves are confined to carefully guarded houses and apartments, but some traffickers feel confident enough in their control over their victims that they travel and shop together.
This is what that might look like: A couple with a dynamic where one person does all the talking, while the other person is totally silent. The quiet one might have an unusual attachment to the talking one. If they try to speak or walk away, their partner will not let them. The victim carries no identification and no money.
Children trapped in slavery could appear malnourished and physically abused. Like the example with the couple, the child might have an unusual attachment to a particular adult, who is controlling of them. A common clue is inconsistent school attendance or long disappearances.
Who are the traffickers?
Like the victims of human trafficking, the criminals themselves come from all walks of life. Wealthy individuals, especially ones in a position of social power, are easily capable of being traffickers because of their money and status: they can keep their mouths shut and open doors to business opportunities. Traffickers can also be from low-income demographics, especially in communities with gangs. They can come from any race, and even women are known to traffic other women.
Traffickers are crafty. It is possible to be trafficked by random kidnapping, or by subtler means, like false job offers (beware of suspicious recruiters). But more often than not, the trafficker tries to develop a relationship with their victim beforehand. They use dating apps and social media to start romantic relationships with the women they want to traffic. They befriend and groom children and teenagers, either in person or online. A tragic reality is that many children are sold by their own trusted family.
What can I do about it?
As a parent, teach your children to be safe. You don’t need to go into the scary details, but be candid that there are people in the world that might hurt them, and be careful which adults to trust, even if they are kind and offer gifts.
With more and more children having access to the internet as early as infancy, you must teach them internet safety. Predators stalk social media, and there is a staggering amount of sexual content on YouTube Kids, including videos that involve children in inappropriate situations and pornography designed to look like age-appropriate cartoons. Traffickers make contact with hundreds of thousands of children on YouTube Kids and other platforms hourly, so it is important to monitor what your kids are consuming and teach them internet safety.
It’s also smart to be aware of who is touching your food and drink. It’s not unheard of that bars—even popular ones—are fronts for human trafficking. If planning to go out alone or with a person you don’t know very well, try to go to a place you’re familiar with, and let several people know where you are, with who and when you’ll be back.
In short, be mindful. Be aware of who is watching you and your children in public spaces.
Another way to be mindful is observing if any pairs of people seem “off,” like a couple where one person is controlling the other, or what looks like a parent with a malnourished child.
If you see something suspicious, it’s not recommended that you directly intervene. That is dangerous for both you and the victim. Instead, contact the Federal law enforcement at 1-866-347-2423.
If you need help, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
If you still don’t know how to help, you can consider supporting the many organizations dedicated to ending human trafficking worldwide. Two great ones are the Polaris Project and Selah Freedom, which save thousands of victims from forced labor and sex trafficking each year.
Bethany Brewer is an Orlando-based creative writer and an editorial intern at Connecting Mothers Initiative. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Central Florida and uses it to write blogs, short stories and video game scripts.
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