Human trafficking remains an issue across the country and here in the parish

Slavery did not end when General Robert E. Lee surrendered on a Spring day in 1865. Slavery is still rampant world-wide, in the form of human trafficking. “It’s the business of stealing freedom for profit,” according to Polaris, an organization which helps victims and law enforcement in an effort to combat human trafficking. Some people are trafficked and wind up as workers in factories, farms, mines, and even cleaning services for private homes. According to Polaris, “Victims are lied to, assaulted, threatened or manipulated into working under inhumane, illegal or otherwise unacceptable conditions. It is a multi-billion dollar criminal industry that denies freedom to 24.9 million people around the world.”
The other kind of human trafficking involves sex. Polaris cites, “The International Labor Organization and Walk Free Foundation, in partnership with IOM, estimate that there are 4.8 million people trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally.” Hollywood depicts sex trafficking as young, pretty girls snatched away by strangers, transported to foreign countries and sold to the highest bidders. Yes, the above scenario can happen, but the majority of sex trafficking is far more disturbing. Many victims of sex trafficking are sold by their own families, usually in exchange for money and drugs. These children range in age from teens to toddlers.
It is not just children who succumb to trafficking. In some cases, adult women, men, and even seniors, are physically forced, defrauded, or tricked into providing commercial sex. Laura Balthazar, an investigator with the St. Landry-Evangeline Sexual Assault Center, spoke at an elder abuse awareness event earlier this year. She said sex trafficking is a big issue in the country, and Louisiana has its share of cases. She said sex trafficking victims are usually younger women, but seniors can be trafficked, too.
“The Louisiana Coalition Against Human Trafficking (LACAHT) is a faith-based, non profit organization, created to alleviate human trafficking in Louisiana through community education, government agency training, and victim rescue and rehabilitation at the Free Indeed Home,” according to the organizations mission statement. The Free Indeed Home helps girls ages 12 to 17 years old who have been victimized by child sex trafficking. So far, they have helped rescue over 100 girls.
According to LACAHT, “In 2017 in Louisiana, there were 681 reported victims of human trafficking, more than half of them were minors.”
Most people think of girls when it comes to child victims of sex trafficking, but it happens to boys, too. Meghan Sobel, Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication at Regis University, presented a TED Talk lecture in Denver, Colorado in December, 2016. Sobel teaches classes on international communication, public relations, and human rights. She focuses her research on the role of mass media in combating human rights abuses and humanitarian crises. “Most victims of sex trafficking are physically free, but not psychologically free,” said Sobel, after telling the story of a boy who grew up in a rural village in Thailand, near the Myanmar border. After his mother died of a heroin overdose, he needed to take care of his younger siblings. Even though he was born in Thailand, his parents were from Myanmar. This left him and his siblings “stateless,” meaning they lack citizenship in any country. “Without citizenship in Thailand, you can’t go to public school, you can’t access health care, and you can’t move freely outside of your province,” said Sobel. The boy found himself in the seedy underworld of prostitution when he was only twelve years old. “He felt as if he had no choice.”
The sex trafficking of children seems to be more prevalent in other countries, but the sad truth is it happens in the United States more than people realize. Children being pimped out by their families has become a plague in Tennessee as well. According to reports, “Trafficking is especially prevalent in rural communities. The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found 85 percent of Tennessee counties reported at least one case of sex trafficking. Familial trafficking is the primary reason for sex trafficking in rural communities.” Those statistics were a wake-up call for the state which banded with the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking (CCAHT) to combat the issue. The report continued, “In 2018, Tennessee was ranked first in the country for its counter human trafficking legislation, according to Shared Hope International. CCAHT credited its partnership with the TBI, the Tennessee Anti-Slavery Alliance and countless other groups, for achieving the ranking.”
When it comes to adults, Polaris says, “The situations that sex trafficking victims face vary dramatically. Many victims become romantically involved with someone who then forces or manipulates them into prostitution.” Others can be lured in with promises of a job, such as dancing, acting, or modeling. Also, victims can be anywhere, such as truck stops, massage parlors, escort services, and, sadly, even their own homes.
If you suspect human trafficking, you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888. Visit polarisproject.org/human-trafficking for more information. For more information on The Free Indeed Home in Louisiana, visit www.lacaht.org