For the past few months, I ran into too many people who are not familiar with what human trafficking is. And even if they are, they think that it only happens somewhere in Thailand or Eastern Europe. Sadly, human trafficking happens in the U.S. just as often as it does in Thailand. If not, it could be worse in the U.S. than Thailand because of its market size and influx of trafficking victims into the U.S. In fact, today’s news report on Oklahoma’s human trafficking victim is a classic example evidencing that human trafficking is happening right around the corner regardless of what state you live in the U.S.
The human trafficking victim speaks up
Though the sex slavery happened 10 years ago, she still was afraid of revealing her identity. She also said that the underground market for human trafficking is big, and it is run by organized crime. Children, teens, and even infants become trafficking victims, and they are involved in organ trafficking, sex trafficking, illegal adoption, and identity theft. She too was smuggled into Las Vegas, New York, California, Florida, and many other states for prostitution. She made multiple attempts to run away from the mob. But, when she got caught, she was brutally punished by the criminals:
People with a number of helplines, agencies and other organizations providing advice and support. Since the whereabouts of the missing persons is not known, it is possible that they can be located in any part of the city or country. Hence, the most effective way is to create public awareness through putting up posters of the missing people.