The just concluded month of January was Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Tara Wright of the Survivors Resource Center and Brooke Ferber from the Child Advocacy Center of Vermilion County joined Linda Bolton on 1490 WDAN’s News Makers program and reminded us that YES, this does indeed occur in Vermilion County and Downstate Illinois.
The definition of human trafficking is the coercing and/or transportation of people in order to benefit from their work or service, which is often forced labor or sexual exploitation. And it doesn’t always mean, transporting someone a long way. It can happen here and all around us as well. As Tara Wright stated, it’s a matter of earning the trust of someone who desires something, from money, to a job, to a young person wanting more freedom.
AUDIO: Well the basis of any grooming is to get the person to trust you. Whether it’s in a romantic type of relationship, a parent or care provider type of relationship…… And as we mentioned before, the incentives, things that are given to them that they don’t already have and feel that they need. These offenders know how to pick up on that, know how to make huge promises.
Brooke Ferber stated that families need to be aware of this, and parents and their kids need to talk about this. Because something that seems funny or entertaining on social media might be a sign of something very bad going on beneath it.
AUDIO: You know they no idea who that person is. They meet them for the first time, and they’re promised all of these things, and they’re immediately intrigued. “Oh, you can help me with all of this? Well, sure, I’m grown enough to go take care of myself and go with you, and run away.” Well, that person could put them on a bus, and send them on a train to go to Chicago. Or have them meet them somewhere right on 74, and they’re gone.
And of course, trafficking does not only happen to young people. It can be anyone who decided to trust somebody offering something they needed. If you suspect anything, there are a variety of places to go. The Survivors Resource Center can be reached at 217-446-1337. The National Human Trafficking Hotline can be reached at 1-888-373-7888. You can also learn more by going to the Central Illinois Human Trafficing Task Force Website.
