Human Trakkicking Hotline Numbers. Lillian Lake
January is human trafficking awareness month. To someone as passionate as I am about ending this crime, it feels like not much has been done except lip service to preventing labor, organ harvesting, or sex trafficking.
Still, I realize it depends on the measuring stick. When I first took on raising awareness of this issue in 2010, most people I came across had never heard of human trafficking. Disbelief and denial were the usual reactions.
Fast forward to 2024. I still find that most people deny human trafficking exists or cannot comprehend its magnitude. It’s something that happens to “someone else” because they didn’t know better, they’re an illegal immigrant, or it exists in a particular social scene like Hollywood.
Few admit it is happening in their community, institution, politics, or other arenas where they work or play because they’d know about it if it did. Or if they do know, they are uncomfortable to report it. However, while there’s room for improvement, more people are aware and understand that they need to participate in helping to end this crime.
What is human trafficking? “Human trafficking is a crime in which force, fraud or coercion is used to compel a person to perform labor, services or commercial sex. It affects all populations: adults, children, men, women, foreign nationals and U.S. citizens, and all economic classes.” https://dod.defense.gov/News/Special-Reports/0118_National-Slavery-Human-Trafficking-Prevention-Month/
It’s a crime against humanity whereby a human being is exploited using psychological coercion or other violent injury for the benefit of someone who has power over another human being.
The definition is simple. Nothing about it is complicated when we reduce the solution to empowering those who feel they have no power and creating policies that allow equal opportunities. Educate, engage, empower.
The White House administration’s theme for Human Trafficking Prevention Month 2024 is Activate Connections to Prevent Human Trafficking. They have a toolkit to assist in this effort.
The idea is to bring efforts together from all sectors, yet I haven’t seen anything in most media forms supporting this effort. Still, as I have said before, cooperation between efforts is essential, particularly between law enforcement agencies, migration support services, and sexual assault organizations.
Regarding Jeffery Epstein’s human trafficking involvement, the media has focused on celebrities, not the victims, using clickbait and “trauma porn” – media making profits off trauma. There are accounts on TikTok making bets on which celebrities are involved and prosecution efforts, as though this is a football game and nothing matters but the score.
No one is helpless to help.
• Be Curious
• Be interested
• Be uncomfortable
• Believe victims
• Become comfortable with being uncomfortable
Encourage media outlets to interview trafficking survivors because stories help to heal. What are they feeling? How have they been dealing since the Epstein news? What support do they need? Ask state legislators and Congress to make conscious efforts to stop human trafficking.
To your contacts list, add the United States Human Trafficking Hotline number: 1-888-373-7888. Text “BeFree” (233733). Check with individual countries for their number. Be bold. Report what you have seen or experienced.
Comments are not available on this story.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
