Human Trafficking In Illinois

Have you ever walked into Wal-Mart and taken the time to look at the numerous pictures of missing youth that is plastered on the wall? When looking at how long they have been missing, it ranges anywhere from months to years. Looking at their age, both boys and girls, it is hard not to wonder if these kids are being trafficked. Child sex trafficking, also known as human trafficking, is a major issue that is not only plaguing the United States, but the world. Residing in a state where teen sex trafficking is very common, it is imperative that not only adults, but the youth understand what child sex/human trafficking is, what is a sex-trafficker, and the data that reveals the seriousness of child sex

The United States has always been known for sticking their nose in places where it does not belong. America has been part of wars that could have been avoided, scandals that had nothing to do with the United States. Millions of lives over the years could have been spared if America would have just simply stayed where they belong. What if though, America feels like they have to get involved in forging affairs if they think it can cause or is causing a problem on American soil or with the Americans themselves? Human trafficking is issues that most people do not necessarily knows about or even really think about. There are several different types of human trafficking and smuggling crimes that are in today's society. The number one kind of human trafficking is sex trafficking. The handlers usually kidnap someone, ninety percent of the time, a girl under the age of eighteen, and sell them to different people all over the world for sexual reasons. The girls they kidnap and sell can be from the area or just passing through and get in the wrong place at the wrong time. Forced labor is the second most common type of human trafficking in the world. This is where a person takes advantage of a worker and changes labor laws to make them work longer hours or harder, more tiring jobs with very little pay. Victims of forced labor most of the time do not even know what is happening to them. Most of the people that get sucked into the forced labor trade are very vulnerable;

Many organizations have formed to establish several resolutions for combating the issue of human trafficking , both locally and nationally. I chose to investigate two existing social awareness campaigns located in Ohio. The reasons I decided to explore these two organizations is because of the obvious, that my classmates and I are in the state of Ohio but overall, it is due to the fact that this state rank's number five in the nation for human trafficking. There are explanations behind the ranking of Ohio for this issue. The first explanation is due to the inner city centers and country counties, which included a big immigrant population. The second explanation is due to five main highways located throughout Ohio. These highways make it convenient for human traffickers (Ohio State Bar Association, 2014).

Imagine being trapped in a box and having things and people thrown at you. You cannot get out and you have no control of who or what comes in. That is the life of a young girl who is trapped in sex slavery. On average over 100 adolescent girls are being used in sex trafficking every night in Atlanta, and most of those girls are with at least three men. Sex trafficking mostly consist of people taking control of the lives of young girls. They take their bodies to make money: in fact, this industry makes over thirty billion dollars per year. They destroy their emotions by trapping them from their freedoms. Those that are taken into the system are often innocent girls who are walking in Atlanta which should be a save city. Girls are threatened or beaten if they try to escape and forced to do things no one wants to do. Many girls who do get out end up getting back into the system because they feel that they cannot do anything else to support themselves, or because they aren’t looked after and they get taken back in. Sex trafficking in Atlanta has become a huge issue and more action should be made to stop it and help those who are trapped in it.

Human trafficking has received increasing global attention over the past decade. Trafficking of women and girls for forced sex work and, to a lesser extent, domestic servitude, were the sole focus of advocacy and assistance. There is recognition in today’s society that women, children, and men are trafficked into many different forms of labour, and for sexual exploitation. In her article, “Understanding and Addressing Violence Against Women”, Cathy Zimmerman and Heidi Stockl focus on the commonality of human trafficking and how evident it is in everyday life. They bring in the health effects and possible solutions to human trafficking to help validate their opinion and argument. In the solutions they offer, Zimmerman and Stockl shine a light on policy-makers/decision-makers, health-care providers, and researchers/funders and what each of these groups of people can do to help combat the issue of human trafficking. In a quote from their article, Stockl and Zimmerman say: “Health care providers and organizations involved with trafficked persons should increase their capacity to identify and refer people in trafficking situations and provide sensitive and safe services to people post-trafficking”. This quote shows how Zimmerman and Stockl believe human trafficking should be combated by caring and talking to those affected by the issue but how they also believe awareness should be made about human trafficking so as to allow people surrounding the issue to identify and help victims of this issue. Zimmerman and Stockl’s view on the ways human trafficking should be combatted relate to those of Soroptimist due to the fact that the two groups of people are focused mainly on helping women and girls who have been trafficked and trying to get them to a better life after getting out of the trafficking situation. Both groups focus on helping men as well, providing options to help them such as raising money and awareness, and getting educated on being able to identify victims of human trafficking.

Human trafficking doesn’t happen in third world countries only. It doesn’t just happen to poor people and it certainly doesn’t solely happen to women. It is present here in the USA but it is hidden, and even worse, so are their victims. They are everywhere yet invisible. They are silently crying for our help through their eyes and smiles. According to Polaris, “…the prevalence of sex trafficking in the United States is still unknown, we do know that women, children, and men are being sold for sex against their will in cities and towns in all 50 states”. Human trafficking can happen to anyone even to Theresa Flores, the author of “The slave across the street”(“Sex trafficking” 2015). An average 15 year old American girl, coming from a privileged background and a respected family became a victim of sex trafficking and through her book, she convinces us that human trafficking doesn’t have a specific demographic.

So what exactly is the problem? Well according to the US department of health and human services, human trafficking is second largest criminal industry making $12 billion per year off of a staggering 1.2 million child victims, all from the ages 5 to 17. Unlike other criminal industries children can be sold over and over again. The profits from one girl alone can range to as much as 250,000 dollars. This is not just distant problem but LA which hits close to home for me is the second larges trafficking city in the United States. I am going to share with your the one statistic that lead me to write this speech. (CAS Research and Education) fewer than 1% of all children in California are in the foster care system (SCEC 2012 study) and yet they make of 60% to 80% of all commercially sexually exploited children in California. This is as much as 8 out of every 10 kids. That is a problem. Not only that but the average lifespan for a trafficked child decreases to just seven more years. Subjecting these children to a horrible death of disease, drugs, murder, or suicide.

A topic usually pushed into the dark, sex trafficking is a serious problem within our district that often goes unnoticed and ignored. Lurking underneath the mask of common businesses or seemingly normal neighbors, sex trafficking is prevalent not only throughout the world, but in our very own communities. Just months ago in May, Galveston County residents were shocked to hear that four Galveston men were charged with federal charges for their alleged involvement for conspiring to recruit, entice, and harbor minors for sex trafficking. (KHOU, 2015). These men had allegedly transported underage girls to various hotels throughout Galveston County, forcing them to have sex with men and then keeping all of the profits. This situation is unfortunately a recurring theme happening throughout the U.S., with our citizens oblivious to the horrors that are occurring just down the street in modern suburbia. Victims of sex trafficking are often subject to horrendous treatment from not only clients, but by their traffickers as well. The issue however is that sex trafficking is often right in front of our eyes, yet we continue to punish victims rather that punishing those who are the true problem to society. What many Texans, as well as Americans, fail to understand is that prostitutes in our community are ever rarely working independently, and are often victims of sex trafficking. It is time that our district takes a step to punish those who exploit these victims for their own selfish

Nevertheless, Wisconsin has been decreasing and saving countless lives for those who are suffering and putting their life at risk of being in human trafficking. “The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” - Socrates, The following quote represents how a community can impact many lives of those who have been victims of forced sexual activity, commercial sex and most importantly people who are severely wicked and are making a living off trading people for the purposes of exploiting them. This quote visualizes how the effect of human trafficking can impact a civilian, victim, community, and those who have illegally mistreated another human for personal gain. To those who have experienced

Human trafficking is a serious problem in modern society. In fact, the United Nations has referred to it as “one of the gravest human rights violations of our times” (“Secretary - General Calls Human Trafficking”). It is a fast growing industry that affects millions. No gender, age, or status is spared from the cruelty that is trafficking. To stress this point again, human trafficking is not just a problem of the “world” or “United States”, in general. As previously seen, it strikes very close to home, affecting hundreds of men, women, and children of our own community. In fact, “North Carolina ranked as a top-10 state for human trafficking with Charlotte being the top destination. It is estimated that more than 1,700 girls are trafficked

We fail to prevent it, discuss it, or even acknowledge it. However, inaction will only exacerbate a problem that should not be allowed to continue. Gardner-Webb University “Release the Captives” club is an on campus anti-human trafficking club that raises awareness and funding for anti human trafficking organizations. But we still need help. There are a number of ways you can help us in stopping human trafficking: become involved in human anti-trafficking awareness, support any anti-trafficking organization that you feel comfortable with, pray for all (victims, responders, persecutors, and profiteers) involved in human trafficking, and continue to pray that God’s justice will break out in the

According to the Bureau of Justice, human trafficking is becoming the nations second largest problem, following the war on drugs (“Anti Human Trafficking Initiative” 1.) Statistics on human trafficking in the United States are very scarce and there have not been many studies conducted on the issue. Of the studies done, many of the studies focus only on minors. 100,000-300,000 children are prostituted each year in the United States. In the Ohio, 1,078 people will be trafficked into the sex trade each year. Between January 2003 and June 2006, 15 human trafficking cases were identified in the Columbus and Toledo area. Human trafficking is not something that only takes place in foreign areas, which is why the Polaris project is working to fight human trafficking not only in foreign areas but also in the United States.

After watching Among The Darkest Shadows we came back to school and had a Q and A. Before the presentations yesterday I thought that Trafficking was only sexual, but I found out that it can also be for labor. One sad thing I learned is that only 1 to 2% of people get out of trafficking, and some choose to stay because they have been brainwashed into thinking that their trafficker really loves them. The Q and A made me realize that there are people who are so desperate to find someone to care about them that they ignore the obvious signs. This is happening to girls my age in Iowa and I want to help stop it.

Many Americans remain ignorant of human trafficking within the United States, believing that this inhumane act only occurs in third-world countries. No one likes to believe that it can be happening in our own country let alone in some of our own states and cities. Society rarely takes the time to understand these women and what lead them into trafficking and what factors contributed to them staying in trafficking. This study seeks to voice the ability to raise awareness, enhance penalties for the traffickers/violator’s, and offer rehabilitation for the victims.

A few years ago, I started an organization that was aimed at helping teenagers lead a productive lifestyle. The program was significantly geared toward young girls who had tough starts in life and/or were teen mothers. Over the years, I have been invited to speak at many intriguing engagements but one of the most profound topics I have encountered is the sex trafficking industry.