Training held to see signs and report human trafficking
Richard Mullen
Karen Davidson
While there are risk factors that make some a more likely target for human traffickers, “These victims can be anyone,” said retired FBI agent Karen Davidson.
She told a story of one girl who entered a life of prostitution. Both of her parents worked for the FBI.
“It’s the lack of self-esteem and self-confidence,” said Davidson, also a consultant with the child advocacy center A Child’s Place. “Traffickers are smart and understand who to lure into the business.”
Davidson and Richard Mullen, a retired police officer and part-time detective for the Washington County district attorney’s office, spoke during a recent training sponsored by Crime Victims’ Center of Fayette County, equating human trafficking to “modern slavery” for sex or labor.
“For the most part, these stories of individuals getting out of their car because there’s something on their windshield or tied to their car and then they’re kidnapped, or the stories of the kids being sold on Wayfair, they’re not true,” said Mullen. “Understand that a lot of stuff that’s on social media, but just because it’s on the internet, doesn’t mean it’s true.”
However, the internet is a prime tool for traffickers searching for victims.
Davidson said about 87% of traffickers use the internet to both lure victims, and to advertise for those willing to pay for sex.
She estimated about 93% of human-trafficking victims are women or girls, but also said experts believe the number of men or boys who are victims may be underreported.
Those most at risk to be a victim includes girls ages 12 to 16, transgender youth/LGBTQ, those lacking a protective and stable family structure, those forced to leave home or are runaways, youth suffering from adverse childhood experiences, those with a history of sexual assault or abuse and those in the child welfare or juvenile justice system.
Other factors that pull victims into human trafficking include the promise of a better paying job or help paying off debts, availability of drugs and alcohol or the promise of material possessions.
Mullen said traffickers groom victims, befriending them and gaining their trust. That behavior turns into control, with the victim prostituting himself or herself, ultimately feeling that there is no way to leave.
There are red flags to watch out for, both Davidson and Mullen said: a young person with a much older paramour who speaks for them; a young person with an unexplained income or unexplained injuries; or a group of young people with the same tattoo or branding.
“We need to identify these individuals and need to reach out to them,” Mullen said. “Call 911 or call the police, but don’t interject yourself in a dangerous situation.”