Hello, everyone.  Today I am introducing my daughter, Heather, who would like to share with you some information about a service organization she volunteers with that helps victims of human trafficking.  Take it away Heather!

Hello everyone!  My name is Heather, and I volunteer with a local anti-human trafficking organization in central Ohio called She Has A Name (SHAN).  I’m here today to give you an quick introduction about the major social justice issue of human trafficking.

A definition of human trafficking according to SHAN:

“This crime occurs when a trafficker uses force, fraud or coercion to control another person for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or soliciting labor or services against his/her will.  In general, human trafficking is a form of slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others.”

As mentioned above, this is a form of modern-day slavery, and is also one of the largest criminal enterprises in the world.  There are 2 main reasons people are trafficked: sex and labor.  People are forced to do these things against their will, all for someone to gain a profit.

And the truth is anyone from anyone demographic in any country can be affected.  There are tens of millions of people being exploited worldwide, usually having their vulnerabilities used against them.  No one is perfectly safe from being a victim, although some people at more at risk than others, but there can be ways to lower the risk as well.

This organization does its job to spread awareness and conducts quarterly anti-human trafficking trainings (for general information) and trauma responsive care trainings (for how to interact with survivors), but there are a plethora of organizations helping to spread awareness and take care of survivors at every stage of their journey.

Ways you can combat labor trafficking:

Consume consciously and shop ethically, sustainably, and organically.  Research companies and products before you support them.  One of my favorite things to do is go thrift shopping; you can find some amazing finds for a great deal by recycling clothes.  Also, you can help by advocating and raising awareness about this issue.

Ways you can combat sex trafficking:

Educate yourself.  Sex trafficking can commonly be seen in the form of pornography or prostitution.  If you see something, report it.  You could save a life or help end the suffering of another human being.

I strongly encouraging every single one of you to take a step towards eliminating human trafficking.  If everyone contributes, we can slowly but surely make a huge impact.  And don’t worry about doing this perfectly all at once; it takes small, committed steps to make lifestyle changes to help make the world a better place.  So go ahead, research organizations, companies, and products and see how you can make a change today.

If you suspect trafficking or see anything out of place, please call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or text BEFREE to 233733.

*factual information obtained from She Has A Name

For more information or resources, go to: https://shehasaname.org/