Anne Childers, Staff Writer
The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office, concerned citizens, and businesses leaders are coming together January 14, 2017 to Light Up the Night and focus a spotlight on modern day slavery.
Human trafficking—the exploitation of human beings for commercial sex, forced labor, or involuntary servitude—is the second largest criminal enterprise worldwide, ranking behind illegal drugs and netting billions of dollars annually.
There are over 20 million persons held in slavery in the world today, more than any other time in history. It is estimated between 500,000 and 2 million are trafficked annually worldwide with an estimated 15,000 to 18,000 being trafficked in the United States every year.
Sadly, the #1 consumer of human trafficking is the United States of America. The state of Florida is #3 in the nation as a destination for the innocent victims of these despicable crimes, and the Tampa Bay area ranks between 2nd and 3rd in the state.
Traffickers frequently target children, boys and girls, between the ages of 12-14, and most of these children are American citizens. The average age of survival in this brutal environment is seven years. If and when a child is rescued from the lifestyle, rehabilitation in a safe house is a long term investment financially and emotionally.
Plan to attend Light Up The Night and learn what you personally can do to recognize victims right here in our own communities. Force, fraud, and/or coercion are most often used to control a victim. Possible indications of human trafficking include, but are not limited to:
• Constantly accompanied by a controlling person or boss
• Bruises, depression, fear, overly submissive
• Lack of control over personal schedule, money, identification, or travel documents
• Transported to and from work, lives and works in the same place.
• Debt owed to employer/crew leader, unable to leave job
If you think you have come into contact with a victim of human trafficking, do not become involved personally, but do call one of the professional services trained to recognize and rescue victims. The National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, The U.S. Department of Justice Hotline at 1-888-428-7581, the Florida Abuse Hotline at 1-800-96-ABUSE (22873), the local Clearwater/Tampa Bay Area Task Force Hotline at (727) 562-4917, or 911.
Pasco FREE, (pascoFREE@gmail.com) is accepting members—email for details, and anyone wishing to share information with this publication may send an email to edit101@ddpnews.com. Watch this space next month for updates and positive ways you, your organization, or place of worship can make a difference in the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.