Last night (Monday, February 6th) I went to a meeting at a local coffee shop to discuss human trafficking. The meeting was put together by a local group, sponsored by End Slavery TN, which is part of a larger organization called International Teams. It was an informative meeting. I believe the problem of human trafficking and slavery is bigger in our country then most of us would like to admit. I think, as we shine light on this issue, we will be surprised at how wide spread of a problem this is.
Here are some statistics about human trafficking just in the state of Tennessee:
- 85 counties in Tennessee (out of 95 counties total) reported at least one case of human sex trafficking in the last 24 months (Tennessee Bureau of Investigation – TBI – 2011).
- The following four counties reported more than 100 cases: a) Shelby (Memphis), b) Davidson (Nashville), c) Coffee (Manchester), d) Knox (Knoxville) (TBI, 2011).
- Human sex trafficking in Tennessee is a bigger problem than gangs.
- In Tennessee, there are not adequate services to aid victims of human sex trafficking.
- Of annual reported minor female runaways, TBI estimates that 1,000 are trafficked into sex slavery.
End Slavery TN also has a website geared toward students – www.bethejam.org.
Finally, I was given a hotline for Tennessee. It’s called the Tennessee Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline. The number is 1-855-55-TNHTH (86484).
The National Human Trafficking Hotline is 1-888-3737-888.
At the meeting I picked up a flyer that said, “If you or someone you know is being forced to engage in any activity and cannot leave – whether it is commercial sex, housework, farm work, or any other activity – call the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline to access help and services.”
What do you know, and what have you learned, about human trafficking that you can share with me?
Floods of Justice 