This piece was written by Jessica Postigo, President, Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women and Nancy Perlman, Vice President, LACSW. For more like this, see our violence prevention newsfeed.

Human trafficking is a $150 billion per year business and the fastest growing criminal enterprise of the 21st century, second only to drugs. Yet, the vast majority of the general population doesn’t even know what it means to be a victim of human trafficking.

Is widespread awareness the missing component in the fight against human trafficking? Does a lack of empathy exacerbate this lack of awareness?

Although trafficking overwhelmingly affects underserved populations, traffickers do not discriminate based on gender, class, age or race. They enslave their victims not only through physical restraint, but also through deceit, fear and intimidation.

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The lack of true understanding of the problem sometimes even has the victims themselves not knowing they’re being trafficked.

To level-set: human trafficking is modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labour or commercial sex act.

There are more slaves in the world today than ever before in human history

There are more slaves in the world today than ever before in human history, affecting over 45 million people worldwide. There are two main  different types of trafficking, labour and sex trafficking.

Human smuggling is often confused with trafficking (transportation-based versus exploitation-based), the difference being freedom of choice.

Many believe trafficking only happens in developing world countries. But in the United States, 80% of its victims are US-born citizens. Some as young as 8-years-old.

As we see time and time again, public outrage is critical in driving change. Yet there has been no public outcry over human trafficking, at least not in any substantive, persistent form.

In turn, there are scant resources to combat it, a judicial system that focuses on penalising drug traffickers over human traffickers, practically non-existent data collection and service providers who struggle year to year to secure resources.

Faced with these daunting facts, the Los Angeles Commission on the Status of Women (LACSW) opted to take on the awareness challenge by featuring a survivor in a campaign that taps into public empathy.

The only way to curtail traffickers is with the help of communities most affected

In partnership with the Mayor’s Office, City Council members and the Los Angeles Police Department, “Look Again” focuses on sex trafficking of minors. It presents a window into how victims are recruited — from the safety of their bedrooms, to a train or bus station. We are convinced the only way to curtail traffickers is with the help of the communities most affected by it.

Recognising key indicators of human trafficking is the first step in identifying victims so we can help them escape the shadows of exploitation.

When questions arise such as, “Why didn’t you leave your trafficker?” “Why didn’t you escape?” “What took you so long?,” we are led back to the lack of awareness and empathy. If people truly understood the issue, these questions would never be asked. In fact, they perpetuate the abuse, pushing victims back into the arms of their trafficker and making it easier for them to believe the story they’re told to keep them enslaved: “I’m the only one who really cares about you.”

We must remain vigilant to ensure anyone subjected to trafficking is found and given the support they need to break the cycle. We believe “Look Again” is an important step forward. We’d like to encourage other communities around the world to actively take part in this campaign.

Use it freely, slap your logo onto it if you wish. This awareness campaign is a call to action for all to LOOK AGAIN… Doing so could help save a life. To learn more, go to LookAgainLA.com

To report tips regarding potential human trafficking cases in the U.S., please contact the toll-free, 24-7 National Human Trafficking Hotline at (1-888-373-7888). It offers services in both English and Spanish. Or text HELP to 233733. — Jessica Postigo & Nancy Perlman

(Picture credit: Flickr/infradept)

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