Human Trafficking

In South Dakota, Native American women and young Native Americans are at higher risk of being involved in sex trafficking on the Reservations. Over 800,000 people are sex trafficked annually in America alone, making this crisis one of the most under reported.

Sex trafficking is defined as the transportation of people illegally to be used for sexual activity’s. Human trafficking is defined as the use of force, fraud, or coercion. Some other types of human trafficking are; forced labor, domestic servitude, and debt bondage. Out of all, human sex trafficking makes the top of most global concerns, but yet not many people talk about this issue, or want to talk about it. Human trafficking is a real thing across the globe, and in America, sex trafficking is in all 50 states. In 2003, Washington became the first state to criminalize human trafficking. South Dakota provides therapy, safe shelters, and advocacy through criminal justice.

In South Dakota, Interstates 90 and 29 and a few other major highways that run throughout South Dakota are used to deliver the trafficked victims to cities all throughout America. 80% of human traffic victims are women, and 50% are minors. Around 14,500 to 17,500 children are trafficked into the United States each year, making about 200,000 children at risk of getting trafficked.

Teens, both boys and girls between the ages 12-19 are highly targeted, but some victims have been as young as 9 years old. Predators often prey on children online, who seem depressed, vulnerable, emotionally isolated, have low-self esteem, or appear to have a lot of alone time, according to sex trafficking – Internet Safety 101.

Did you know that every 30 seconds someone becomes a victim of human trafficking around the world, over 40 million people are modern day slaves, and the average age of a human trafficking victim is 12 years old.

But this isn’t a problem only in the US, this is a global problem. 70% of human trafficking victims are located in Asia and the Pacific, 14% in Europe and Central Asia, and 4% in North and South America. In America, Las Vegas is a hot spot because of the city’s culture, and the homeless rates are very high. Child trafficking mostly happens in the Caribbean, Asia, Africa, and Latin America.

So, what can you do to help? There is an organization called Call To Freedom, you can donate food and clothes, you can spread the word, report a tip to authorities, volunteer locally at anti- trafficking organizations, and lastly, you should always stay informed.