Most can't fathom the thought that human trafficking is taking place right here in the United States. In fact, many familiar with this nightmare of forced prostitution and labor believe it only takes place overseas. The reality is that modern day slavery is happening in our own nation, in our own communities, in own back yard, hidden in plain sight.
Here's the truth: In 2016 alone, 7,572 cases of human trafficking were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, a 35.7% in increase from the previous year. The majority of these victims are women and children forced into heinous acts like prostitution, child labor, and pornography. Keep in mind, these numbers reflect only cases that were reported, as victims are often threatened by their traffickers so they don't alert loved ones or authorities. Traffickers often remain undetected as they hide behind Internet sites and use social media to identify and groom their potential target into trusting them, and ultimately, exploiting them for financial gain.
Enough Is Enough® (EIE) has been standing on the front lines of efforts to #EndTrafficking by asking those to govern our nation to commit to aggressive action spelled out in our Children's Internet Safety Pledge, as well as its accompanying proposal to the new administration. Specifically, the Pledge, signed by Donald Trump as a Presidential nominee, calls on the Administration to:
Uphold the rule of law by aggressively enforce existing federal laws to prevent the sexual exploitation of children online, including the federal obscenity laws, child pornography laws, sexual predation laws and the sex trafficking laws.
