Lack of training leaves the doors of our communities wide open for traffickers. Train yourself how to recognize the signs and strategies of traffickers. Train your children how to protect themselves and their peers. Train in order to win this war against human trafficking.

Trafficking is evil. Trafficking victims cannot escape their bodies which means they cannot escape the "scene of the crime."

Strategies used to traffick girls

• Boyfriending - Guy builds trust of a girl and enters relationship. The guy then makes demands of the girl. "Boyfriend" begins pimping out the girl
• Fraud/Deception - Job postings appear for a job that appears "too good to be true." When the person arrives for the job, their identification is confiscated and they are forced into sexual trafficking. These jobs promise great pay for low hours and offer traveling as an incentive.
• Abduction - vulnerable people such as runaway teenagers are often kidnapped and foced into trafficking
• Threats/blackmail - The traffickers acquire incriminating pictures or information about the individual and force them to perform sexual acts to prevent the sharing of the info.

Warning signs of trafficking

• Appearing malnourished
• Showing signs of physical injuries and abuse
• Avoiding eye contact, social interactions, and authority figures/law enforcement
• Seeming to adhere to scriped or rehearesed responses in social interaction
• Lacking official identification documents
• Appearing destitute/lacking personal possessions

Slavery is not a things of the past. More people are enslaved today than ever before in history. Traffickers know how to play off of fears and desires to manipulate and deceive Without knowledge and support, our youth are vulnerable.

There must be training and unity between local institutions, citizens and experts to eradicate trafficking. The goal is to make our youth "unfit to be enslaved." Training needs to occur at many different levels. Teachers must be trained, students must be trained, and communities must be trained.