Human Trafficking Prevention Tips
Over the last several years, human trafficking has become a massive issue and a huge danger to young men and women everywhere. It is becoming more and more prevalent, and therefore, important that everyone learns ways to prevent becoming a victim of human trafficking.
A study by United Way says, “Human trafficking means buying and selling human beings for the purposes of exploitation, often through commercial sex or labor. It is a violation of our human rights and is often referred to as “modern-day slavery.”
Even though sex trafficking has been around for many years, it has just recently started to gain the awareness needed in order to help end this frightening and dangerous form of slavery.
A very popular television series known as Greys Anatomy even touched on this topic as they killed off one of their main characters in order to shine a light on the problem that is, human trafficking.
Recent studies have shown that social media is actually one of the biggest ways that human traffickers lure their victims into trafficking. According to Guardian Group, “The amount of information we freely offer to the world about ourselves makes it easier for traffickers to find their next victim without ever leaving the couch.”
This shows the importance of being cautious with your social media pages. One should not give any personal information out to people that you do not know outside of the internet.
Something be to be aware of when considering the factors of trafficking is that a large percentage of human trafficking cases are done by someone to whom the victim is close. According to Amy Porter, “In reality, victims — especially young victims — are manipulated into the life by someone they know, or someone they might have met via the internet.”
Amy Porter also gives a list of things children should be taught to do in case they are ever being abducted. Porter says, “Scream, “stranger, don’t touch me!” or other “stranger” words. They should also make a great deal of noise and be sure others understand that this is not the child’s parent or relatives.”
The list of things people can do if being abducted is very helpful. However, it is very important for parents to teach their children the dangers of the world we live in and teach them proper precautions as well.
Traffickers can be very discreet and clever with their ways of finding victims.
For years, parents have unknowingly been advertising their children to human traffickers. For example, if a mom is driving around her car with a sticker on the back that says their child’s name, sport they play, and team name on it, human traffickers will automatically see that as a possible new victim.
Another way human traffickers have worked in the past is at shopping malls or parks, claiming to be modeling or acting agents. They will manipulate the person into meeting with them with the promise of becoming famous. The traffickers can easily abduct the person once they meet.
Adults are often lured in by fake job advertisements. This can easily be prevented by doing proper research. According to Jenn Bentley, “Always do some background research on any company that invites you for an interview — oftentimes a simple internet search can tell you if a company is legitimate or not.”
