Every year, between 600,000 and 800,000 men, women, and children get trafficked across the globe. Women and young girls are mainly affected by this but as you can see by these numbers, men also are targeted. Human trafficking is when a person uses another person for pleasure or labor. If you get paid for any kind of sexual labor, it is considered human trafficking. Human trafficking is a serious problem, and there are ways to prevent it from happening. How does Human trafficking happen? Traffickers look for people who fit the description of whoever they are particularly looking for. Traffickers force themselves onto someone for the purpose of pleasure or for some type of labor. Traffickers usually look for people who are appealing to the eye, such as people that are skinny, young, and pretty. They try to scope out whether or not the person is familiar with their surroundings which makes them easy targets. Some conditions that can create vulnerability are poverty, unemployment, lack of knowledge or experience, and displacement. Even if someone does not fit the description of a particular trafficker, they are still vulnerable to getting trafficked. The results of getting trafficked can take a big tole on the person in the situation. The effects of human trafficking are emotional, physical, and psychological for anyone involved. Many traffickers have previous trauma which impacts what they do to others. For human trafficking, there is no specific way to stop it, but there’s a way to prevent it. There is a telephone line that people can call which is 1-888-373-7888 or text “BE FREE” to 233733. You can contact these numbers if you need help, need to talk to someone, or report an incident. You can also go visit a counselor or a therapist. People can volunteer at a local counter-trafficking- organization as well.
Human trafficking is one of the most brutal things a person can go through, the emotional impact, ostracism, and physical damage will stick with people for the rest of their lives. There isn’t a specific way to stop this from happening, but there are many ways people can get involved to prevent this problem. Is there any way that you can help?
Sources: https://www.nccourts.gov/commissions/human-trafficking-commission#:~:text=Call%201%2D888%2D373%2D,free%2C%20and%20it%20is%20confidential.
https://www.ncjrs.gov/ovc_archives/ncvrw/2005/pg5l.html#:~:text=Human%20Trafficking%3A%20Available%20Statistics&text=Each%20year%2C%20an%20estimated%20600%2C000,(U.S.%20Department%20of%20State
https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking
