- Human trafficking is a significant issue in the Philippines
- South African girls are trafficked within their country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude
- Human trafficking is second only to drugs in Mexico
- Chinese Human Trafficking Ring Bust, More than 70 suspects In Europe
But do not be deceived . . .
BE AWARE: Human trafficking does not always take place in some distant land that is far removed from your mind, from your environment.
Human trafficking is a $9.8 billion domestic industry, with at least 100,000 children being used as prostitutes in America each year.
It has raised its ugly head in . . .
- TRENTON, N.J. — Where six individuals were arrested on human trafficking charges for allegedly operating brothels in Lakewood.
- In Boston, Massachusetts -Wellesley a place that ranks as one of the best places to live in America, where cops busted an alleged prostitution ring that operated out of a massage parlor.
- In fact, Kansas City is an emerging hub of human trafficking activity.
Trafficking rings don't stay in one area. They coerce the victims by moving them.
Be alert, aware: know that human trafficking has crawled to a place near and dear to you,
St. Louis: It’s here now . . . St. Louis faces a growing problem, a form of modern day slavery called Human Sex Trafficking.
· "We see our rings going from Kansas City to St. Louis to Chicago back to St. Louis to Kansas City," said a federal prosecutor
· St. Louis is on the sex trafficking highway between Kansas City and Chicago
· 3 teen girls forced into prostitution in north St. Louis County, police say
· A St. Louis woman forced women to engage in prostitution by confiscating their food stamp benefit cards, assaulting them and supplying them with the drug Ecstasy
Be aware: human trafficking is just not a problem that belongs to someone else, somewhere else.
A study done at Berkeley University estimates that there are around 10,000 slaves in the United States at the moment.
"The bitter truth is that trafficking also goes on right here," President Obama said. "It's the migrant worker unable to pay off the debt to his trafficker... The teenage girl—beaten, forced to walk the streets. This should not be happening in the United States of America."
If you believe you have encountered a victim of human trafficking contact:
- Call 911 if the person is in immediate danger
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI): 1.888.428.7581
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE): 1.866.DHS.2.ICE
- National Human Trafficking Resource Center: 1-888-373-7888 or text BeFree (233733)
Websites:
International Resource: www.humantrafficking.org
National Resource: www.polarisproject.org
Local St. Louis Resource: www.iistl.org/trafficking.html