Imagine this, you're a 12, 13-year-old son or daughter out on the streets at night being
sold to people from all over the world.
Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world.
Human trafficking is modern-day slavery.
It is the exploitation of people for money.
People are deprived of their most basic rights and of their freedom.
Florida is one of the top three states in the nation in terms of human trafficking and
Broward County is really the epicenter for sex trafficking in South Florida.
There are three words that exist with human trafficking, force, fraud and coercion.
And those elements only exist for people over the age of 18.
But if you're under the age of 18 and you're being sexually exploited, you are a victim
of human trafficking.
The majority of people that are trafficked in America are women and 50% of those women
are children.
The average age of entry into the sex industry is 12 years old for girls and 11 years old
for boys.
The life expectancy of a child who enters the sex industry is 7 years, with homicide
and AIDS being the lead causes of death.
Most of the cases that we see the children are being recruited by someone older who
comes and seduces them, who lures them, who manipulates them into that industry, someone
who shows them attention, affection, someone who shows them love and pray on the vulnerabilities
that that particular child may have.
Human trafficking can take many forms.
It can be the exploitation of children or adults for sex, but it can also be domestic
servitude or labor servitude.
Examples might include restaurants, nail salons, massage parlors, agriculture, landscaping
industry, and a lot of the businesses that we use every day.
When you see people walking the streets that you may think that they are prostitutes or
whatever the case may be, the one thing that you don't get to see is what's happening
in their head.
You don't get to see the forced fraud or coercion.
All you see is a person walking around in the street and you're assuming they want to
be there.
The consequences of human trafficking are devastating, and this is why this is such a horrific crime.
It's heartbreaking to see what many of these children are experiencing and what many of
these victims are experiencing.
Even though we have come a long way in the fight against human trafficking, we still
have so much that we need to do, and one of the most important things that we need to
continue to focus on is educating our community and helping them understand this issue.
One person can make a difference.
One person does make a difference.
If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hock Line 1-888-373-7888.
The National Human Trafficking Hock Line 1-888-3888.
