By Katelin Carroll
Staff Reporter 

Human trafficking awareness

Cases have been reported in all 95 of Tennessee's counties

 

September 10, 2020

In the United States alone, a child is bought or sold for sex every two minutes on average. For the next three weeks, there will be a series about human trafficking.

The hashtag #SaveOurChildren has spread like wildfire on social media in recent weeks and for good reason.

Human trafficking is one of the quickest growing criminal industries in the world.

The average age of those who were bought and sold nationwide is just 17 years old, according to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline 2019 Data Report.

Of the 22,326 cases reported to them last year, more than 5,000 cases were minors when they were first trafficked and in more than 15,000 cases their age was unknown.

Although the Trafficking Hotline hosts the largest known data on human trafficking in the United States, their website states that their data does not accurately represent the prevalence of human trafficking because the cases that have been reported "likely represent only a small subset of actual trafficking occurring in the United States."

Tennessee was ranked number one in the nation for forming laws that combat human trafficking in 2019, but that does not mean that our communities are exempt from the threat.

Human trafficking is second only to drug trafficking in Tennessee. According to the Trafficking Hotline, 180 cases of human trafficking were reported in Tennessee last year.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation said human trafficking cases have now been reported in all of Tennessee's 95 counties.

The average age of those being trafficked in Tennessee is just 13 years old.

Typically when we think of human trafficking, the image of someone being kidnapped comes to mind but more often than not, the victims are sold by people they know, including their own family. The top venue or industry for sex trafficking in Tennessee is residence-based, according to the Human Trafficking Hotline.

Victims of human trafficking can be any gender from any socio-economic background. "The one thing each trafficking case has in common is a relationship where trust is gained and then later exploited," wrote the Free for Life International Foundation.

According to a study done in 2013 by the TBI, Coffee, Knox, Shelby, Davidson and Franklin counties were the highest in the state for reported cases since 2011.

A previous study showed that the Interstate systems as well as air-ports were the main transportation for human trafficking on a large scale.

Free for Life International Foundation marked Nashville as one of the main human trafficking hot-spots due to its location and tourism.

The graph pictured above shows the hot-spots for human trafficking within the United States. The colored areas are the places reports have been frequently made, and the red spots within the colored areas house the most reports. Nasvhille and parts of East Tennessee are red.

There are only six cities in the United States where 3 major interstates converge; Nashville is one of them. "You can reach 75% of the U.S. market within a 2-hour flight time from Nashville, making it a strategic point for movement around the country," the article read. Nashville is also close to Atlanta which is known for large amounts of human trafficking.

"We have only scratched the surface in combating sex trafficking. There must be more education among Tennesseans as well as stricter laws and in-depth training for law enforcement and first-reporters," said TBI Director Mark Gwyn.

Whenever you have a moment of free time in your day or you find yourself staring at the clock waiting for the work day to come to an end, take note of how quickly two minutes goes by.

Next week's edition will deal with human trafficking on a local level.

There will be an educational presentation held at Rock House Coffee Company on Sunday, September 13 at 2:00, which will focus on child trafficking. Anyone who is interested in attending is encouraged to contact Jessica Mercer at [email protected] to reserve a space, as seating is limited.

Sources: tn.gov, humantraffickinghotline.org, freeforlifeintl.org and the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 

Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation
© Copyright 2024

Rendered 03/17/2024 22:38