Since 2010, January has been set aside as a month of recognition of the dangers and realities of human trafficking in the United States of America. We raise awareness, we share stories, we celebrate victories in the continued fight for justice. It’s a moment for us to collectively look at ourselves as Americans in the mirror and come to terms with how far we have to go toward ending slavery in this day and age. Bring Freedom has a goal of ending human trafficking within our lifetimes. That will take teamwork, connections, education, and above all — PREVENTION. Just a couple days ago, I was smacked in the face with a statistic shared on the Operation Underground Railroad Instagram feed, “Last year, over 50% of trafficking survivors in the U.S. were minors.” (From the Human Trafficking Institute)
I was overwhelmed, once again, by the magnitude of the task before us. Let’s take a closer look at that statistic. They are mentioning trafficking SURVIVORS, which mean that they are including all of the individuals who have been rescued last year. We already know that less than 10% of trafficking victims are rescued. The necessity of preventing this injustice is of utmost importance. We need to protect our children. We need to keep our neighborhoods, schools, and churches safe. It’s going to take each one of us to make the commitment to join hands and be present in our own towns to end human trafficking. Prevention is the quickest and most effective way to do this. As we wrap up National Human Trafficking Prevention Month this week, let’s make that commitment once again. We can do this, we will do this.