A few months ago I wrote a blog about trafficking, and I didn't mean cars. The issue of the trafficking of women, girls, and even children, was brought to my attention by Kristin Hauch Melton, Gallopade's marketing manager.  Of course, I'd been aware of the situation, but she expressed concerned about how prevalent it was in our nearby city of Atlanta.

I attended a Methodist Women's meeting Sunday...and the subject was this very same thing. A lovely young woman passionate about the subject came to speak to us.  The very next day, I saw (as I'm sure you did) the news that a nationwide operation had rescued 105 children and netted 150 arrests.

The big news seems to be that there is just a more determination by law enforcement, and others, to  put an end to such illegal and awful activities.  The other big deal is that such victims are now treated as that—victims, and not criminals; makes sense to me.  

I won't recount all the details, but the operation freed children ranging from 13! to 17 years old.  The youngest victim was being offered up, so to speak, by her own father.  Many of the children had been "recruited" from foster care or group homes.  They were being "sold" over the Internet, at truck stops, casinos, motels/hotels, and on street corners.  Victims came from all across America, including cities such as Jackson, Mississippi and Springfield, Illinois.  The most arrests were in larger cities; Denver, Milwaukee, and Knoxville, Tennessee having some of the larger numbers of arrests.

Our speaker emphasized how the "perpetrators" know how to find these vulnerable children...in malls, in neighborhoods, in schools...as well as in the places noted above:  in other words, out our own backdoors!  I also won't go into how these children are coerced, and why they are certain that they can never speak up, nor escape.  

Our speaker also gave us some tips:

• This may be happening to people you see all the time—friends of your children, domestic workers, people you see around your town, no matter how small.
• Signals may be a child who is alone, avoids people, will not answer questions you may ask (because they fear to), or who say, "I can't go home" or other such "absolutely can't" sounding statements—they may be trying to tell you something.  Once a woman kept insisting to me that she could NOT leave her "job."  I think she was trying to tell me something, but I did not really know her and I did not suspect anything.
• Speak up!  Ask questions.  If you feel or sense something about a child, investigate.
• There are many resources you can report to and this is how law enforcement is putting together information to make such arrests, and more importantly, the "freeing" of such children.

I'm no expert, but I am now more aware.  You be so, too.  Thanks.