By LINDA CHION KENNEY
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and local and state officials have been doing their part to help raise awareness of crimes using force, fraud or coercion to compel people to work under inhumane conditions or to engage in commercial sex.
Florida State Attorney [General] Ashley Moody on Jan. 18 released the Online Safety Toolkit to help parents warn their children about the dangers of online predatory practices, which is a critical consideration, given that more than half of the children in the United States have smartphones by the age of 11.
According to the 2020 Federal Human Trafficking Report, 83 percent of active sex trafficking cases involved online solicitation. Moreover, the report finds that prosecutors filed more sex trafficking prosecutions in 2020 than all forced labor prosecutions filed in the two decades since the enactment of the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.
“Raising awareness is one of the strongest weapons we have to fight the battle against human trafficking in our community and across the world,” said Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister, whose undercover detectives in 2021 conducted a 20-day “Operation Round-Up” that resulted in 125 arrests and the rescue of four women and one teenager believed to be victims of human trafficking. The success of the operation and others like it prompted the sheriff to create a human trafficking squad.
In recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which this year was Jan. 11, deputies placed blue-ribbon decals on the hoods and sides of two patrol vehicles from each of the sheriff’s five district offices.
Blue is the color for human trafficking awareness.
“By helping make the public aware of this practice and showcasing resources available to help victims, together we can bring an end to this horrific trade,” Chronister said.
The Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners at its Jan. 12 meeting approved a proclamation declaring January 2022 as Human Trafficking Awareness Month in Hillsborough County
“Hillsborough County is committed to winning the war against human trafficking, and each year we get stronger and make bigger inroads,” said Kimberly Overman, chair of the board and a member of the Hillsborough County Commission on Human Trafficking, which was established in December 2019 to expand public awareness and provide resources and training.
Human trafficking affects more than 40 million people across the globe and hundreds of thousands of people in the United States, with women, children and adult men, respectively, accounting for 48, 30 and 20 percent of the cases, according to the proclamation, which references the 2018 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons by the United Nation’s Office on Drugs and Crime.
Closer to home, the 13th Judicial Circuit Court of Hillsborough County “in particular is a tremendous advocate and resource,” the proclamation states, noting Judge Robert Bauman’s Offering Potentially Trafficked Individuals Options Now (OPTION) Court and the court’s designated human trafficking and special victim liaison.
The court “and other valuable community partners have worked tirelessly to help the brave survivors of this terrible crime recover, move forward and become victors in their lives,” the proclamation reads. Also noted in the proclamation is that the National Home Trafficking Resource Center in 2019 found Florida “ranked third in the nation in the number of human trafficking cases with 896, and the Tampa Bay area served as a hub of this abuse.”
The declaration ends with the recognition that it will take “all of us to be vigilant in identifying and reporting human trafficking to send a strong message that Florida and Hillsborough County will not tolerate any form of slavery.”
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody issued a similar sentiment.
“Human trafficking is an atrocious crime, and if we are going to end this illicit practice in Florida, it will take all of us working together,” Moody said. She called upon Floridians “to learn the signs of human trafficking and how to alert law enforcement to suspicious behavior.”
According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, “human trafficking is the business of stealing freedom for profit,” with some cases involving traffickers who “trick, defraud or physically force victims into providing commercial sex.” In other cases, “victims are lied to, assaulted, threatened or manipulated into working under inhuman, illegal or otherwise unacceptable conditions.”
Moody’s office notes that human trafficking victims come from all “ages, sexes, ethnicities and demographics.” Signs that a person might be a victim include that they seem to be under the control of another individual, responding as if coached or letting someone else speak for them. Additional signs are that they act fearful, anxious or paranoid; display branding scars, burns or tattoos; have serious dental issues; are malnourished, disoriented and confused; or show other signs of physical abuse.
For immediate assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. Email: help@humantraffickinghotline.org/. Text the hotline at 233733. Chat the hotline at www.humantraffickinghotline.org/chat/. Submit tips on-line at www.humantraffickinghotline.org/.
For meeting dates and information on the Hillsborough County Commission on Human Trafficking, visit www.HCFLGov.net and search accordingly. Visit the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office at www.TeamHCSO.com/. Report suspected human trafficking to Florida law enforcement at 1-800-342-0820. For the attorney general’s on-line safety toolkit and additional human trafficking resources, visit www.MyFloridaLegal.com/.