Human Trafficking | Shining a Light on the Shadow of Society

HUMAN TRAFFICKING STATISTICS TO KNOW AND TACTICS TO RECOGNIZE

You might think that the holiday season isn’t a great time to talk about human trafficking, but the reality is that there’s never a good time to address the ever-growing elephant in the room.

It’s one of those topics that people tend to brush under the rug or uncomfortably shift in their seat when you bring it up in conversation - Until it happens to them. Suddenly, the once “impolite dinner talk” becomes the center of their world and they’re left screaming into the void wondering why the hell nobody is doing anything about it.

It ain’t much, but we at DBC want to do our part by informing the community with this blog post to keep it on the top of mind especially with the holidays around the corner. 

Believe it or not, “Advocacy group leaders said the holidays are a time when traffickers are looking for victims at crowded places like malls or wherever young people hang out.” (WMBF)

This is just one of the staggering facts and statistics we’ll lay out on today’s post, along with tactics to watch out for, a crash course on how fentanyl is used in human trafficking, and what you can do to keep your woman, kids, and yourself safe.

Topics Covered in This Guide

• What is Human Trafficking
• Human Trafficking Statistics
• States & Cities with Most Human Trafficking
  
• Tactics to Watch Out For
• How Men Can Keep Their Women Safe
  
• How Women Can Keep Themselves Safe
  
• How Parents Can Keep Their Children Safe
  
• The Bottom Line
  

WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

You probably already have a general idea of what human trafficking is, but it’s important that we clearly define what it is before moving forward.

The National Human Trafficking Hotline puts it best when it says, “Human trafficking is the business of stealing freedom for profit."

While kidnapping and forcing people into the commercial sex trade is a big part of it, there’s also a substantial amount of victims who are forced to work under illegal and/or inhumane conditions through lies, physical assault, threats, and/or manipulation.

Other examples of this atrocity include forced marriage, organ harvesting, and forced pregnancies where the baby is then immediately sold into the system.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING STATISTICS

The unfortunate and most shocking truth about human trafficking statistics is that none of them are entirely accurate and all of them are estimates seeing as an estimated .04% of survivors of human trafficking are identified. (Source: Do Something)

In other words, over 99% of human trafficking cases go undetected, so it’s truly impossible to tell how much of it is occurring.

With that in mind, let’s dive into these still shocking numbers.

1. There are 40.3 million people that are victims of trafficking globally (Neal Davis Law)
2. 30.2 million, or 75% of human trafficking victims, are 18 years old or older (Neal Davis Law)
   
3. Women and girls account for 71% of all human trafficking victims (Neal Davis Law)
   
4. 99% of human trafficking victims forced into sexual exploitation are women and girls under 18 (National Human Trafficking Hotline)
   
5. 86% of forced labor victims do not leave their countries borders once captured (Human Rights First)
   
6. California has the highest number of human trafficking incidents in the United States consistently (National Human Trafficking Hotline)
   
7. Washington DC is the top city in the United States for human trafficking based on numbers attained from 2006-2007 (Neal Davis Law)
   
8. In 2019, 62% of trafficked humans in the United States were victims of sex trafficking (The Hight Court)
   
9. Job offers and advertisements, both on and offline, are the most common recruitment tactic for labor trafficking (The Hight Court)
   
10. Traffickers exploit 70% of the estimated five million Ethiopians transported to Saudi Arabia into forced labor and prostitution (The Hight Court)
    
11. The life expectancy of a child taken into sex trafficking is only seven years from the date of capture (ETactics)
    
12. The human trafficking industry earns a profit of roughly $150 billion annually. Of that $150b, nearly $99 billion, or ⅔, comes from commercial sexual exploitation  (ETactics)
    
13. The average annual profit generated by each woman in forced sexual servitude is $100,000 (Human Rights First)
    
14. Sex trafficking victims are more likely to be black (40%) or white (26%) (World Population Review)
    

STATES AND CITIES WITH THE MOST HUMAN TRAFFICKING

The following statistics were gathered from Neal Davis Law who gathered from other sources as outlined below.

TACTICS TO WATCH OUT FOR

As you can clearly see, human trafficking is a serious and common issue that’s shielded by those with power and emboldened by the ignorance and willing blindness of the public.

While there’s not much we can do to impact it globally aside from talking about it, sharing this type of information, and getting involved in a suspected trafficking situation, you can take the time to educate yourself about the warning signs that you or a loved one is in danger of being captured and thrust into this hell on Earth scenario.

Here’s a list of current tactics traffickers are using to abduct humans into perpetual slavery.

UBER ABDUCTIONS

While it’s not clearly known how it happens, there is a common tactic used by people disguised as Uber drivers. Somehow, the abductors match the car of their target, know the target’s name, and once the person is in their car, does not let them out.

This can be avoided by always matching the license plate and name of your driver to the Uber app.

ROAD BLOCKS

A very common tactic used by traffickers is to set up fake roadblocks. The traffickers are either dressed in military or police uniforms and ask the victim to exit the vehicle. Once the victim opens their door, they are then captured.

You can avoid this by turning around immediately if you see a suspicious roadblock.

FAKE JOB POSTINGS

This tactic is unfortunately growing in popularity where fake job postings are posted online to lure unsuspecting victims to an isolated building and capture them once they arrive.

You can avoid this by deeply researching the job and company before going to the interview and ignoring any job postings that directly reach out to you randomly via phone call or text.

GROUP PRESSURE

While less common, this tactic is used to lure women out of a bar and into the abduction zone. Frequently, a group of women will wait around a bar or lounge and will approach a woman or group of women while being overly friendly and filling them up with booze. At the end of the night when their targets are inebriated, the traffickers will utilize group pressure to convince their target(s) to go back to their place to keep the party going. Once they leave the bar, they can be abducted in the vehicle they’re using to get to the fake afterparty or be taken to a point of no return.

This can be easily avoided by not going with the group of strange women, always holding your drink, and never taking drinks from strangers.

FENTANYL

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50-100x stronger than morphine. It’s such a strong narcotic that even touching it can render a person unconscious or even kill them.

In recent years, human traffickers have been utilizing fentanyl in creative ways to knock their victims unconscious and whisk them away. Some reported use cases of fentanyl in trafficking include placing fentanyl on car door handles and bouquets of flowers.

This can be avoided by never taking anything from strangers, especially if they seem over excited to hand you something, and checking your car door handle for a white or brightly colored powder before entering your car.

RED RIBBONS

More recently, abductors are tying red or brightly colored ribbons to car door handles of their targets as a way to distract them before getting into their car. The abductor will hang back and wait to confirm that the woman is alone. If the woman is confirmed to be alone and there is nobody else around, the abductor will run up behind the woman while she’s untying the ribbon and abduct her.

Long story short - if you see a red ribbon on your door handle, don’t look at it for a damn second. Get into your car and get to a densely populated area as fast as you can, park somewhere very public, and call the police. They may be able to get prints off of the ribbon and there will be too much attention on you for them to try this tactic on you again.

HOW MEN CAN KEEP THEIR WOMEN SAFE

More often than not, women are abducted without the presence of a man. While it’s impractical to always be by your woman’s side, you can educate her by sending her this article and others like it.

It’s also a good idea to have an established routine where you both know when each other is coming back from work as well as knowing who your woman is with, where she is, and when she’ll be home.

There is a fine balance between being loving and cautious and overbearing, so be aware of that line and clearly communicate with her that you’re only trying to be there for her if she needs you.

HOW WOMEN CAN KEEP THEMSELVES SAFE

There are two things that should never be underestimated when it comes to a woman protecting herself: Her gut feeling, and self-defense.

Ladies, if something just doesn’t feel right when you’re out and about, trust your gut and get the hell out of there. Sixth sense is a real thing.

When it comes to self-defense, you have to be real - men are stronger and bigger than women. Don’t try to be a stunning and brave hero if you find yourself in a dangerous situation, but instead learn basic self-defense that will allow you to swiftly exit the situation. Kick ‘em in the balls, claw at their eyes, pepper spray the hell out of them, scream, but most importantly, run as fast as you can away from the abductors.

WOMEN'S SELF-DEFENSE CHECKLIST

It's never a bad idea to always be prepared for the worst. If you're a woman, or a man with a women, consider getting these items just in case.

• Pepper spray
• Latex gloves
• Whistle
• Taser
• Monkey ball
• Knife ring

HOW PARENTS CAN KEEP THEIR CHILDREN SAFE

A tragic mistake many parents make is to shield their children from the dangers of kidnapping. Now this doesn’t mean to make your child terrified of the world, but it does mean that you shouldn’t let them think that everybody is their friend. They need to know that there are bad people out there and what they should do if they come across them.

Kids are much smarter than we give them credit for, so if you educate them about the dangers of strangers and kidnappers, have trust that they will do the right thing if a stranger approaches them. If they don’t know any better, they’re a prime target.

Also always know where your child is, who they’re with, and when they’ll be home if they’re not with you. If there’s any slight deviation, don’t be afraid to get answers right away by texting, calling, or showing up to where they should or could be.

kids SELF-DEFENSE CHECKLIST

Consider getting your kids the following items in case you find yourself in an unimaginable scenario. Some of the items of course are recommended for older children who've developed self-discipline.

• Air Horn
• Apple Air Tags
• iPhone Tracking App
• Tactical Pen
• Keychain Alarm
• Keychain Kubotan

THE BOTTOM LINE

Stay in and shop online... with Drawlz Brand Co. Just kidding...

When it comes down to it, the safety and security of yourself and your loved ones comes down to you. The most powerful tools you have to protect you and yours from becoming victims of human trafficking are knowledge, communication, and self-defense.

Know the warning signs, communicate with your loved ones of what to do, and know how to quickly and efficiently take down and escape from multiple assailants. There are some very basic yet effective Krav Maga moves you can learn on YouTube that will help you in these situations.

If you found this post informative, please share it with friends and family so they can protect themselves from this growing scourge on society. The best thing we can do to defeat human trafficking is to not become victims ourselves. 

Thank you for reading,

Anthony | Founder, Drawlz