Donnie Roberts/The Dispatch
Aubrae Collins, Charlotte Division Program Director for Traid Ladder of Hope, talks about modern-day slavery, human trafficking, Wednesday at Davidson County Community College. Collins said that human trafficking is second only to illegal arms dealing among criminal activity.
Published: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 4:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 4:10 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 at 4:10 p.m.
Did you know that every minute two children are trafficked for sexual exploration? Or that North Carolina is one of the states with the largest number of slaves?
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For more information about Triad Ladder of Hope or human trafficking, go to Triadladderofhope.orgThose were some of the statistics presented Wednesday at Davidson County Community College where the topic of human trafficking was addressed.
The Alpha Omega Club sponsored the event and invited the Triad Ladder of Hope to bring awareness and share information.
“Human trafficking is prevalent in North Carolina,” said Katherine Barton, president of the Alpha Omega Club. “The more people that know about it, the more people we can help and find. I think it went really well. I don't think it's something people realize is happening. They don't see it happens here, and it could be our next-door neighbor.”
In a burgundy shirt with white words that read “Slavery Still Exists,” Aubrae Collins, program director with Triad Ladder of Hope, told the students there were so many issues that tied into human trafficking. She started with the basics of telling them that human trafficking is a modern form of slavery.
“It is kidnapping, transferring, sale or recipient of an individual by force, fraud or coercion for the purpose of sexual exploitation or exploitation for forced labor,” she read off of a PowerPoint presentation. “A study says there are more people in slavery today than in history. It's a process when someone is retained, kidnapped or harbored.”
Collins broke down the two types of human trafficking — labor, such as domestic situations, sweatshops, factories and restaurants, and sex trafficking, which include massage parlors, strip clubs and escort services.
Most of the victims are 12 to 14 years old. Eighty percent trafficked into the United States are women and children. More than 50 percent of child pornography websites originate from the United States, and over 200,000 youths are victims of commercial exploitation within the United States, Collins said.
To tie everything into North Carolina, Collins said the state is among the top five for human trafficking. The reason is because of all the interstates, military bases, large immigrant populations and ports on the coast.
“You hear about it happening in other countries,” she said. “This happens to our own children in our own country. We need to reach these girls before they are runaways and picked up by these men.”
She even noted that it's hard to say what the scope of the problem is because it is a hidden crime. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, human trafficking is tied with arms dealing as the second-largest criminal industry in the world and fastest growing, Collins said.
She said that the U.S. State Department estimated that 12.3 million adults and children are forced into prostitution worldwide. Collins also noted that according to statistics sex trafficking generates $8 billion annually, and domestic/industrial/agricultural slavery makes $32 million.
Most importantly, Collins told how victims are recruited, which could be through acquaintances, a family member, word of mouth, fake employment agencies, newspaper ads and abduction. The predators can be business owners, men, women, truck drivers, neighbors and government officials.
“Anyone can be a predator,” Collins said. “There are approximately 800,000 to 900,000 victims annually trafficked across international borders worldwide. Among them are thousands of teenage girls and others as young as 5 years old.”
The Triad Ladder of Hope is a faith-based nonprofit organization that was created to eradicate the exploitation, sale and enslavement of men, women and children.
“There is hope,” Collins said. “There's a lot you can do. Be informed and share what you learn. Know the red flags and what to look for. A lot of people don't know what's going on.”
The organization also provides awareness, rescue and restoration assistance and re-entry into society. Sandra Johnson, president and founder of the organization, said it's important for people to know that human trafficking is the fastest-growing crime in the U.S.
“You can come in contact with a victim every day and not know it,” she said. “We want to bring awareness. There's a lot of ways the community can be involved. We encourage everyone to learn about this issue because there are more people in slavery today.”
Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.
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