Our society continues to have new evolving problems that for many of us are unbelievable. Who would have believed that a form of slavery, human trafficking would be a rapidly growing problem in the new Millennium right here in the US, including Indiana? I attended an overview of the issue this week, thanks to The Church at The Crossing hosting an awareness event by Ascent 121. Ascent 121 is an organization that is local here in Indiana that is not only raising the awareness, but is championing some solutions. This blog is meant to share key points of that information, so others can be aware, and act.

What is it? Human trafficking is the illegal movement of people, typically for the purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. In addition to prostitution, some also are supporting the illegal drug trade.

How bad is it? It is the 2^nd fastest growing crime in the world, with ½ of the victims being children. Those children started at an average age of 12-14 years old. It is estimated there are 100,000 children in the U.S. being trafficked. Indiana is one of the areas that has seen a lot of recent growth in the problem. Headlines like this are becoming more and more common: “Attorney General: Human trafficking likely during says Brickyard 400 weekend“. The map below shows hot spots of human trafficking in the US for 2014, and you can see Indiana has a lot of activity.

How could this happen? Supply and demand, with technology as enabler, and ease of pornography access have created a perfect storm. Supply of those being trafficked: All had some prior sexual abuse, a high % come from homes with domestic abuse and/or alcoholism, and most were runaways. 1 in 3 runaways will be approached by a trafficker within 48 hours. They see the trafficker initially as someone that cares and will provide for them, but a dark life soon follows. Demand for them: Our culture has promoted sex as happiness, with easy access to internet based pornography in the last 20 years, and an ample supply of those being trafficked primarily through internet sites like Backpage or through what appear as legal massage businesses. If we had to drive past people on the street soliciting, we would quickly see the extent of the problem, but the internet is “unseen”. This dirty secret is happening as discreet meetings and cash transactions everywhere.

Why don’t we just arrest the traffickers and fix it that way? Law enforcement is engaged, including here in Indiana. The problem is two-fold: the volume that this is happening is overwhelming law enforcement from a resource perspective, and since much of the activity is “underground” so it is difficult to track down. There is an additional issue that when someone who is being trafficked is “caught”, when they are released they are going to likely return to prostitution and maybe even their trafficker because they have nowhere else to turn to.

The initial solution: Address those most at risk first. For an organization like Ascent 121 this means talk to everyone and raise awareness of the issue, but then focus solutions first on those affected ages 11 to 17 years old. One of their immediate goals is to build a long term care home here in Indiana so those young girls have somewhere to go for a pathway to a healthy life longer term. If you think about it, most come from very broken, unsafe homes they can’t return to, and we don’t want them to return to the human trafficking world.

What can I do? Get involved, with whatever you have to help. If you have a group that needs to hear about the problem and Ascent 121, they would be glad to come to you and present. Obviously financial support is needed, but the one message they conveyed is “use whatever your gift is” to help. For some that could be volunteer work, and for others something different. Below is information for the organization. Get involved. I am using my blog this week to inform and spread that word.

Ascent 121 (Based out of Carmel, IN) – Ascent121.Org on the web or facebook.com/Ascent121