The Pioneer, Vol. 52, Issue 3

Features
JANUARY IS NOT THE ONLY TIME TO
FOCUS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Understanding the crime will help keep your community safe
By DAVID AGUILAR
Staff Writer
JANUARY IS NATIONAL HUMAN
TRAFFICKING and Slavery Prevention
Month. However, the crime happens
every day for victims in the United States.
Human trafficking is the second-fastest
growing crime in the nation, according to
the Pierce County website.
The county is no stranger to this harsh
reality. Local street gangs have moved
towards human trafficking as a more
lucrative income that they think is “safer”
than selling drugs.
Pierce County’s Gang Unit has
been working closely with the Human
Trafficking Unit to pursue the criminals
who exploit women, and in some cases
children, for their own financial gain. In
March, there were sting operations across
multiple truck stops in Pierce County.
10 women were rescued in the first few
hours of the operation, according to King
5 News.
10 / piercepioneernews.com
The director of the National Human
Trafficking Hotline, Caroline Diemar,
said that victims can be of any race,
gender, legal status, age and more.
“Human trafficking does not
discriminate … The thread that connects
most victims together is vulnerability.
There isn’t a typical victim with the
crime of human trafficking. It sounds
cliché, but it can really affect almost
anyone,” she said.
Some signs shown by victims of
human trafficking include poor mental
and physical health, lack of personal
possessions, an inability to identify
or locate where they are or feeling
disempowered to speak for themselves,
according to the Administration for
Children & Families.
Human trafficking is not just a
problem in the United States. It is a
problem that has plagued the world
for as long as imperial and colonial
expansion, whether it is in North
America, Europe, Africa and other
countries around the world.
Cindy Bassage, the program
coordinator for the Pierce College
Homeland Security Emergency
Management degree, said, “We
should educate our citizens so they
are aware of human trafficking.”
Kamala Kempadoo, an associate
professor of social science at York
University, said in one of her books
that during the colonial invasion of
the Caribbean, women in slavery were
hired by white and free, colored
families for various jobs.
However, “the general
expectation of individuals who
hired female labor under
whatever pretense was that
Nick Nelson/Staff Illustration
Psychological and
Behavioral Signs of a Possible
Human Trafficking Victim
• Develop general feelings of
helplessness, shame, guilt,
self-blame and humiliation
• Suffer from shock and denial,
or display symptoms of posttraumatic
stress disorder,
phobias, panic attacks, anxiety
and depression
• Suffer from sleep or eating
disorders, become addicted to
drugs and/ or
alcohol as a way to cope or
“escape” their situation, or as
a method of control used by
traffickers
• Experience “trauma bonding”
with the trafficker, positively
identifying with the trafficker and
believing that despite repeated
abuse, the trafficker is a loving
boyfriend, spouse or parent
Source: Administration for Children and
Families, a division of the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services.
sexual benefits were included,” the book
states.
Everyone can do their part to help
make this community safer and to help
those who feel as if there is no one else
there for them. If you have concerns that
there is a victim of human trafficking in
your community or you have noticed
suspicious activities, call the local
authorities or the National Human
Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888 or
text “HELP” at 233-733 (BEFREE).
Other ways to help end
human trafficking is to volunteer at local
organizations that work tirelessly to help
victims affected by the crime.
January 7, 2019 / Vol. 52, Issue 3