Let's Talk...Human Trafficking

Human trafficking, considered to be Modern Slavery, is defined as the illegal smuggling and trading of people for forced labor and sexual exploitation. The long official definition is the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons by means of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, or abuse of power. It is reported that there are more victims of slavery today than at any other time in history.

Human trafficking in the United States usually takes place along international travel hubs with a large immigrant population: California, Texas, Florida, and Georgia. But also takes place nationwide and includes United State citizens.

This photo to the right shows locations of human trafficking by color. The redder the color, the heavier the number of cases.

Sex trafficking includes young girls around 14 and usually up to 25. Especially vulnerable are the homeless and runaways. The National Runaway Switchboard reports that a third of runaway youths in America will e lured into prostitution within 48 hours of being on the streets. It is estimated that 3 in 4 adult prostitutes were introduced into the sex trade as a minor. Internet and mobile devices have facilitated the sex trafficking of children by providing a convenient worldwide marketing channel. Individuals can now use websites and social media to advertise, schedule, and purchase sexual encounters with minors. Ther Internet and mobile devices also allows pimps and traffickers to reach a larger clientele base than in the past, which may expose victims to greater risks and dangers.

After cultivating a relationship with a child and engendering a false sense of trust, a pimp will lure a child with food, clothes, attention, friendship, love and a seemingly safe place to stay. The pimp will begin engaging the child in prostitution. It is also common for pimps to isolate victims by moving them far away from friends and family, altering their physical appearances, or continuously moving victims to new locations. Drugs and alcohol are also used as a form of control. In many cases, victims become so hardened by the environment in which they must learn to survive that they are incapable of leaving the situation on their own.

From 2018 to 2019 Andy Yednik of the Human Trafficking Team of the Montana Department of Justice states there was a 65.2% increase in human trafficking cases. He anticipates that cases will continue to rise.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation Billings area office, commercial ads for sex trafficking from October 2016-2017 were created; Billings produced 19,226 commercial ads; Bozeman 1,533; Missoula 4,615; Great Falls 2,931; Butte 2,548; Helena 2,274; and Kalispell 2,223.

A 2013 report from Indian Country Today, "The Invisible Victims of Human Trafficking," stated that Native females are trafficked at disproportionate levels due to the risk factors of exploitation, especially homelessness, limited resources on reservations, and jurisdictional complexities creating a favorable environment for traffickers. Native American women make up 3.3% of Montanan's population, yet they make up 30 – 40% of Montana sex trafficking victims.

In a November 2019 report in the Missoula Current, Missoula Police Detective Guy Baker said he works on an average of 10 sexual human trafficking cases a year. He said that the everyday citizens may be unaware of the proliferation of online sex trafficking. Regularly driving the demand for prostitution is transient males of all business types passing through. Detective Baker says that pimps typically earn the trust of middle school kids who are at their most vulnerable. Poverty, lack of adult guidance or home structure makes it easier for children to be manipulated by an older person's attention. According to Detective Baker, typical sex trafficking indicators include businesses such as massage parlors, strip clubs, modeling agencies, bars and truck stops. He has worked on many cases which include young girls coerced into prostitution in plain sight at truck stops. Detective Bakers also serves on the FBI Montana Regional Violence Crime Task Force. Human trafficking worldwide generates more than $9.5 billion.

In 2018, President Trump signed the "Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act" into law. This law is aimed at closing down websites that enable human trafficking to occur and to prosecute the owners and the users.

I have seen a lot of reports about our federal officers busting human trafficking rings in the last three years. I praise these men and women for the work they do. Next week we will look at human trafficking and our borders.

If you see something to report, call 911 or the Trafficking hotline at 888-428-7581. IF you wish to investigate these crimes more, grab a cup of coffee, a sandwich and buckle down – then type "Human Trafficking" in your browser.