What are you doing to raise awareness of Human Trafficking Awareness Month in January? We sometimes underestimate the millions of people who become victims of modern day slavery each year. It's easier to pretend that it doesn't happen here than it is to look beneath the surface and see what may going on around us.
Human trafficking can take the form of domestic servitude, labor or sex trafficking. It can involve forcible kidnapping or predatory luring. The Polaris Project gives us good information on the types of victims and what to possibly look for. The organization also gives us a myths and facts sheet.
You may be surprised by what you read. My eyes were opened while interviewing a guest on the Voices of Hope internet radio show. I was startled to find that a few cases we'd worked with possibly fit the criteria.
How I wish I would have known before working with these victims. The Human Trafficking Hotline number of 1.888.3737.888 was posted on our wall. I can only pray that it was enough.
Another shock was finding out that schoolchildren in the U.S. are being targeted. It's one more reason to be vigilant about child safety!
Speaking of the telephone number above... Did it look odd to you at first glance? Don't worry if it did. The right number of digits are there. The number was designed to be easy to remember. People who need it probably don't have the luxury of writing it down for later reference. It had to be repetitive enough to remember at first glance. Kudos to the person or team that came up with it!
It's little things like posting the number and educating ourselves that can make a difference. There is no reason why anyone can't look up a few links on the internet. Why not take a few minutes now to look over them?
