There is a malicious trend growing in our cities. We rarely hear of it or speak of it. It’s ignored, and also something that most people are unaware of. It does not discriminate any race, gender, or age. It comes through with a vengeance and steals our loved ones from us. It’s more than a statistic in another country. It’s a very real problem, that’s happening right under our noses. We call this unspeakable thing “Human Trafficking”.

Human trafficking is defined as the buying and selling, or trading of human beings. It is mainly divided into labor trafficking and/or sex trafficking. It is people of all races, genders, and ages being forced into sex and labor. It is cruelty and violence.

A lot of the information I’ll be using for this article comes from Lighthouse For Life’s website. Lighthouse For Life is a nonprofit organization designed to help put an end to human trafficking. Their goals are to spread awareness of this heartbreaking issue and to help restore victims, with love and grace.

I’m going to start you off with some statistics about trafficking that blew my mind a little bit. This year there were 13,454 calls made to the trafficking hotline. There have been 3,646 cases of human trafficking in 2016. 2,299 of these cases were adults, and guys… 1,181 of these cases were minors. We are talking under 18 years old, ranging all the way from the tender ages of 12 and 13. Nothing provokes rage, heartache, and total disbelief inside of me as the thought of children being put through something so scarring.

Sex trafficking (80% of all trafficking), is divided into 4 categories of how the victims are enlisted. Lighthouse For Life’s website describes them as this: commercial, force, fraud, coercion. Commercial is described as prostitution, pornography, or any other sexual act that is done in exchange for any item of value. Force includes beating, sexual assault, rape, burning, torture, and things of that nature. Fraud is basically being tricked into false claims. A pimp can use empty promises or blackmail to lure someone into working for them. Lastly, coercion is when the victim’s mind is played with. The pimp intimidates or threatens them to the point where they are scared into the role of a victim. Through time, this turns into a lifestyle that they becomes familiar with, and even if they can be rescued from the situation, they will often run back to the pimp.

The scariest part about all of this is that it is happening right in my state (South Carolina), and I was completely unaware until recently. I had always imagined that this happened overseas and never gave it much thought, other than acknowledging that it was bad. It’s been in front of me this whole time, and that completely terrifies me. Part of the reason I’m writing this article is because I have a feeling I’m not the only one who has been absolutely oblivious to this evil that’s invisible to our society. Educating you about this is important to me because the more awareness I can spread, the more people we can save. The two best ways to end this are to spread awareness and to keep a look out for the signs of a victim to trafficking.

Some of the signs associated with being a victim are being dressed inappropriately for the climate or wearing really skimpy clothing, being unable to go places without an escort, having little money (all the money they make is taken from them), have clothing or material items that are beyond their means to have, excessive makeup, and hanging around with men who are significantly older, or being secretive about their relationships.

Signs of a trafficker are really important to look for as well. Those signs can range from being really possessive and controlling, encouraging involvement of illegal activities to reach goals, being really vague about their job or how they earn their money, and promises of things in the future that seem too good to be true.

I have another important point I’d like to make in closing. There is a stigma for girls who dress more provocatively or wear heavier makeup that causes really negative judgments. In today’s modern slang, it is referred to as “slut-shaming”. This is basically calling girls really nasty, mean names because of who they have slept with, the clothes they wear, the amount of makeup they have on, or how many boys they have dated. I’ve been around this since I was in middle school, and was even the victim of it in high school at one point. After learning about human trafficking and taking notes on the sign of a victim, I really encourage you to stop the shaming, and be on the lookout for someone who may need your help. You could be bullying a girl and calling her nasty names and have no idea who she has to report back to every night. You would have no idea how she is beaten or tortured, or how hopeless she feels. Let’s stop calling girls sluts and whores and ask them how they are doing instead.

I want all of this to be something that is put to rest, because this world needs less cruelty and more open minds and hearts. We need to be aware of the dangers surrounding us and our families, and we also need to keep an eye out for those who may be sucked into this vicious cycle. People are not objects to be used for anyone’s pleasure. They are humans with hearts and souls, who deserve to have basic human rights and lives filled with love and purpose.