Everyone Has a Role to Play to Combat Human Trafficking
 

January is recognized as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. As the month comes to an end, it's crucial to keep prevention and detection of this unlawful act of modern slavery at the forefront of efforts throughout the year, whether through community awareness events, support for survivors, or enhanced advocacy that promotes strong and effective anti-trafficking responses from state and federal governments.

There is a role everyone can play preventing and recognizing human trafficking. That includes having a basic understanding of what it is, how it can be prevented, detected, the impact of social media, and how to report suspected trafficking. The United States recognizes two primary forms of trafficking in persons: forced labor and sex trafficking. For this purpose, the focus will be on sex trafficking.

What is Sex Trafficking? 

The U.S. Department of Justice states that “human trafficking, also known as trafficking in persons, is a crime that involves compelling or coercing a person to provide labor or services, or to engage in commercial sex acts. The coercion can be subtle or overt, physical or psychological.” 

It should be noteworthy that the exploitation of a minor for commercial sex is human trafficking, regardless of whether any form of force, fraud, or coercion was used.

Scope of the problem in the U.S. 

• 6,593 trafficking reports to National Human Trafficking Hotline (2023): 5,572 sex trafficking, 1,021 sex/labor combined
• 50% of victims are under age 18; average entry age is 12
• Second most profitable illegal industry after drugs
• Present in all 50 states, DC, and Puerto Rico, in every type of city, town and tribal land
• 55% of victims recruited online since 2000 (through social media platforms, messaging apps, online chat rooms, dating apps, classified advertisements, or job boards)

How does technology facilitate trafficking? 

Where kids play, predators prey. In a majority of cases, predators use the internet and social media platforms to identify, groom, and deceive potential victims as they can easily hide behind fake accounts or profiles. They flatter, compliment, and seek to gain trust of a child or teen by using false promises of education, employment, housing, expensive gifts or romantic relationships. 

As trust is established, the trafficker manipulates and traps the individual in an exploitative situation through force, fraud, or coercion using threats or physical abuse or harm to an individual, their reputation, future employment, financial prospects, or their loved ones.

Popular platforms like Snapchat, Facebook, and Instagram are among the top three platforms used to recruit sex trafficking victims as traffickers. 

As 95% of teens are active on social media—which is widely reported to impact their self-esteem and creates vulnerabilities—and traffickers having direct access to potential victims through digital tools, this problem will continue to grow unless social media platforms are held accountable and preventative measures are strengthened.

Protecting Children from Human Trafficking:

No child is immune from human trafficking. Victims of human trafficking can be anyone—regardless of race, color, national origin, socioeconomic status, disability, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, education level, or citizenship status.

Parents and others can learn to recognize the signs of human trafficking and prevent it from taking place by educating themselves on this issue. It's important to monitor their child’s online activities on all digital technologies (smartphones, laptops, notebooks), scrutinize their child’s “friends” lists, and maintain an open dialogue, digging deeper when something seems off with a child.

It’s key that physical and behavioral indicators of human trafficking not be ignored.

In part, they may include:

• Signs of physical/sexual abuse
• Being around a controlling adult
• Possession of expensive/unexplained material goods
• Unexplained access to large amounts of cash, pre-paid credit cards, or hotel keys
• Significant changes in behavior, including their online activity
• Stops engaging in activities they previous enjoyed (such as athletics or clubs)

By staying vigilant and recognizing these indicators, we can protect vulnerable youth from traffickers who prey on their trust and innocence. Everyone can do their part and make a difference!

Reporting Suspected Human Trafficking If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911 or law enforcement immediately. To report suspected human trafficking, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline which is available to answer calls, texts, and live chats from anywhere in the United States, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 1-888-373-7888 -or- Text BeFree (233733)