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| http://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-human-trafficking-awareness-day-january-11/ |
Today's Donations by the Dozen goes to the National Human Trafficking Hotline 1-888-373-8888, who offers resources, tip lines, referrals, and most importantly, advocacy.
What Is Human Trafficking? Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery. This crime occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will. (https://humantraffickinghotline.org)
Whether it is sex trafficking or labor trafficking, many humans victimized by traffickers go largely misunderstood in America. One of the reasons is the victims are so manipulated, guarded or threatened, they sometimes take years, if at all, to realize they are victims. Some of them know they are but cannot escape their trafficker to get help. The National Human Trafficking Hotline is an essential aid in helping get victims to safety and to help them heal:
Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocates provide assistance to victims in crisis through safety planning, emotional support and/or immediate connections to emergency services through our network of trained service provider and law enforcement partners. The National Hotline supports a victim's right to choose what next steps to take in a crisis, including whether or not to access services or report information about his/her experience to law enforcement. Anti-Trafficking Hotline Advocates will work with the caller to explore available options and the National Hotline will not take action without the consent of the caller, except in circumstances where we suspect child abuse or if we have reason to believe there is imminent harm to the caller or others. -(https://humantraffickinghotline.org/about-nhtrc/what-we-do)
In 2016, the NHTH received 20,424 hotline calls and reported 7,748 cases. Calls came from every single state in the United States as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. (https://humantraffickinghotline.org/states) Since it is National Anti-Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Day in America, perhaps you can just take a few minutes to read these tips for recognizing signs of human trafficking:https://humantraffickinghotline.org/what-human-trafficking/recognizing-signs. I also know many people aren't always aware of how things like someone getting trafficked begin, but they do - and far too often. A manipulation and power play can turn seemingly innocent situations into a trap where people fear for their lives or for those of their families. A girl I once met (details changed to protect privacy) had been so excited, because her boyfriend of six months wanted to take her to Seattle (from her home town, Portland) for a shopping spree. Upon arriving in Seattle, he just wanted to stop for a few minutes at an old friend's house. She only remembers walking in the front door, because the friend attacked her. She woke locked in a room, wearing only the shorts and shirt she'd worn leaving Portland - no shoes, no purse, no phone. The two men raped her and then brought in other people to beat and rape her. It took her over a year to escape. She concealed a knife and used it to run screaming from the house. Initially, the police arrested her on a weapons charge along with the "boyfriend" who was aiming a gun at her when they arrived. After a few hours at the station, they told her the history of the two men who had been forcing other women into prostitution too. They helped her get back to Portland where she sought hep and counseling. I only had a personal story related to Sex Trafficking victimization, but labor trafficked victims are prevalent and need just as much support, awareness, and advocacy. We tend to only see those high profile cases in the news, but truly they can occur anywhere. It may help wrap your mind around things to read these myths and misconceptions: http://humantraffickinghotline.org/what-human-trafficking/myths-misconceptions or to read personal stories (names and details changed to protect privacy): http://humantraffickinghotline.org/material-type/hotline-stories
Having worked on RAINN.org's hotline, I know how well-trained, effective, and inclusive the help can be when talking to or online chatting to a staffer: I applaud the NHTH wholeheartedly. Thank you for being there.
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