Good Friday afternoon to you all. I hope your week went well. Human and child trafficking statistics are staggering throughout the world. In Texas alone, there are 234,000 labor trafficking victims at anytime, and 79,000 youth sex trafficking at any given time…….texasAG.gov. First let me post a few numbers. 1-800-373-7888- this is the Human Trafficking hotline. As a first responder, ( in the past) I was trained on the indicators/risk factors to watch out for. A few are listed below.
- Signs of physical abuse
- Living in a small cramped space with multiple people
- The personal appears fearful, looks around nervously- avoids eye contact
- Malnourished
- Lack of personal property
- Poor Hygiene
- Not in control of their own finances
- Is not free to come and go
Children who are do not have a stable home life, runaways, and have money that they shouldn’t have…. at the age they are at. Children who appear tired all the time and have bruises, and using drugs could be susceptible. Coast to coast, this is a major problem and the fight rages on.
Some groups to join are:
Global Alliance Against Trafficking In Women
Urban Light
GoodWeave
The Urban Justice Center’s Sex Workers Project.
Be aware of your surroundings, always.
