Despite human trafficking being an often-discussed crime, it still remains a global epidemic, generating an estimated $150 billion worldwide per year, according to a 2021 U.S. State Department report. The Commonwealth has its share of cases, with one of the latest arrests happening in Bowling Green on Aug. 11, after authorities said a man and a woman forced another woman into engaging in sexual activities with several men.
Local experts state that understanding not only the warning signs of human trafficking but also the root causes of trafficking in Kentucky is the foundation needed to properly fight this prevalent crime.
Kentucky Traffic
One of the barriers to a cultural change with trafficking is uncertainty of the situation. Thus, to properly respond to trafficking, we must be able to understand exactly what the crime looks like. While movies like 2008’s “Taken” might come to mind, Louisville attorney Soha Saiyed says trafficking usually looks much different. “One misconception about trafficking victims is that they are chained up in a basement somewhere,” says Saiyed, the founder of Stop Traffic Kentucky, which provides education and raises money for victims of trafficking in Kentucky. “Sometimes victims are returning to their homes every night but are still being sold for sex or labor in their community,” she continues.Saiyed also notes the connection between trafficking and the opioid crisis.
“Data collected by the Cabinet of Health and Family Services shows that in larger cities like Lexington and Louisville, trafficking tends to be coordinated by a pimp or organized gangs,” she says. “In the rural parts of the state, however, trafficking is often a form of currency in the opioid crisis. If mom or dad has a drug problem, they can’t pay off their debt, and they have a child they can trade for a couple of hours, that becomes a way for them to fuel for their habit.”
Understanding the misconceptions about trafficking in Kentucky is equally important in maintaining focus. Amy Nace-DeGonda is a 12-year anti-trafficking professional and serves as the assistant program director for Catholic Charities of Louisville’s Bakhita Empowerment Initiative, which provides direct services to survivors of trafficking. She says: “People put a lot of emphasis on major events that attract tourists and out of town guests, but there is nowhere in the data that actually specifies that trafficking increases at those events. A University of Louisville study revealed that the promotion of commercial sex in places like Backpage increases during big events, but there is nowhere in the data to show that it’s trafficking.”
Traffic Signs
Identifying the warning signs common with victims is key to overcoming the barrier of uncertainty. While a person’s lack of personal effects, inability or fear of social interaction, and mood not matching their surroundings are all indicators, Saiyed points out other potential red flags. “Carrying hotel key cards to multiple hotel rooms at a time is an indicator someone may pick up on if they are engaged with a potential victim,” says Saiyed. “The regular use of words and phrases associated with the commercial sex industry, like ‘living the life, or, being in the business,’ could also be an alarm,” she says.Nace-DeGonda also points to warning signs that serve as the overall foundation of the trafficking problem. “When we are talking about root causes, we’re talking about homelessness, racial inequity, poverty; things that make people vulnerable that traffickers are using to exploit,” she says. “The community at large wants to eradicate trafficking, but you are not going to end anything until you are addressing what is the root cause of it happening.”
Roads to Resources
The National Human Trafficking Hotline has the distinction of being a key intervention resource in suspected trafficking situations. “The hotline already has connections throughout Kentucky to professionals trained in anti-trafficking and also keeps data that can uncover localized patterns,” Saiyed says.Nace-DeGonda also recommends utilizing the hotline rather than engaging in direct intervention: “Don’t ever approach someone you suspect of being trafficked because A) they may not be being trafficked, B) you may be putting yourself in danger, or C) you may be putting them in greater danger if they are in fact a victim,” she says.
Instead, she stresses the utilization of the hotline, which can dispatch the appropriate professionals to a suspected situation.
Beyond reporting, bystander intervention to trafficking must also include working to disrupt poverty, homelessness and racial inequity from an advocacy standpoint. As Nace-DeGonda says, “If you really want to help, you must focus on the root of the problem. Because if we don’t attack trafficking at its root, then it will never go away.” •
If you or someone you know is a victim of human trafficking, you can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.
James Wilkerson is a writer and speaker on the topics of sexual misconduct, masculinity, and DEI issues.
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