Opinion: Sex trafficking, hidden in plain sight

By Amanda Thompson

Contributor

Sex trafficking, the practice of causing someone to perform sexual acts for money against their will, is a form of modern day slavery that disproportionately affects women and girls across the globe.

At first glance, a sex trafficking victim may appear to be a frail and nervous, often a drug-addicted individual who can’t keep their story or medical history straight. However, if someone were to dig a little deeper, they would find that these women are quietly screaming for help.

On November 15, WCC brought in Rhonda Hines, a nurse with firsthand experience in assisting victims in crisis situations, to educate current medical students about the tell-tale signs in identifying a victim.

According to The National Human Trafficking Resource Center, indicators of such abuse include fear, strange markings, and the inability to speak consistently for or about themselves.

While working at The Henry Ford Hospital, Hines encountered a patient whose background immediately raised some red flags. The young woman, who Hines referred to as “Eva”, was an alcoholic with eight children diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome, a tattoo with the name “Charles” on her neck, and an STD.

When ask if she was ever forced to engage in sexual activity against her will, Eva referred to it as an “everyday” occurrence for her, according to Hines.

“If I can just put a pillow over my head, I can act like it’s not happening,” Eva reportedly told Hines.

According to Hines, Eva had previously reported that the trafficker, or pimp, exploiting her would come to the hospital and pose as a patient while Eva was in the emergency room, in order to retrieve her, but the police didn’t believe her.

Theresa Flores, a survivor of sex trafficking from Detroit, experienced similar tactics from her assailant, a young man who started off as a fellow classmate.

Flores’ book, “The Slave Across the Street,” describes how when she was 15, the man drugged, raped and then blackmailed her with photos while they were attending high school together. For two years, fear kept Flores in silence, while she was forced to perform sexual servitude.

Having lived through this kind of sexual exploitation, Flores was motivated to assist other victims. Six years ago, she founded the outreach organization Save Our Adolescents from Prostitution, or SOAP. Later, she met Hines, who now serves as president of the organization.

The organization was based off an idea Flores had to better reach victims: distribute bars of soap containing the number of the National Human Trafficking Hotline on them to hotels across the country.

“The only time these women are alone is when they’re washing up,” Flores said, which is why bars of soap may be the only thing at the fingertips of an individual suffering from human trafficking, and therefore an ideal place to provide resources.

With the help of volunteers, the non-profit organization has distributed more than one million bars of soap to 10,000 hotels, drastically increasing the numbers of calls the hotline receives.

Sex trafficking, one of the most prevalent crime industries worldwide, has a local presence. Many WCC students either have children, siblings or other family members between the ages of nine and fourteen, which is considered to be the primary target age group for abduction. Anyone can be targeted by sex traffickers, making it an issue relevant to all of us.

In February of this year, a pimp was found operating out of the Victory Inn here in Ann Arbor. This is a crime we are seeing in our own community and it is essential we are vigilant in raising awareness.

Although the WCC campus itself hasn’t seen sex trafficking threats or targeting, the “See Something, Say Something” campaign launched by public safety officials is intended to help victims of any kind of violence, including sex trafficking.

Compassion is defined as the ability to recognize the suffering of others and take action to help. Yet, when certain forms of suffering often go unnoticed, sometimes we have to look beyond the surface in order recognize someone’s pain. That’s why it’s so important to learn about the indicators of this abuse, and educate others about the issue.

Sex trafficking is a crime fueled by silence. We must be willing to speak up against it, so a real change can be made in stopping this atrocity.

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