After reading several articles and also attending a conference a few years ago on Human Trafficking I become very interested in learning more about it and what can be done to stop this horrible form of slavery. Many people think that Human Trafficking is only happening in other country’s and not right here in our community. When I first heard about Human Trafficking I too thought there is no way this is happening here in the United States. I soon found out that it is in fact happening all around us, and even right here in Shelby County. Human trafficking is what we all modern day slavery, it is when children and teenagers are forced into proposition or pornography. They things that these children and teens go through are absolutely horrible. No child or teen should ever have to be a part of these types of things and we need to step up and find a way to stop these people from bringing them into slavery.
A report from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation found that Shelby County has the highest rate of sex trafficking in the whole state of Tennessee. This was a shock to me, being from here you would not think that this is going on in such high numbers. The TBI has stated that there are many different factors as to why this is happening. Some of these factors include; drugs, poverty, and the home environment in which these people live in. Most of the victims fall under these categories and it causes them to be in situations where being trafficked is more convent. We must stop these men from trafficking children who.
Tennessee has set some Human Trafficking laws and this has helped here in Shelby County to catch these men who are trafficking children and teens right here in our community. There is still more to be done to continue to stop this modern day slavery from happening. There have been 12 anti- human trafficking laws that have been passed in the passed couple of years which is good but we need to find something that is going to move them out completely. The problem that some of the cops have seen is that they will catch a pimp and change him and find the girls that they were using as sex slaves but then later on they would see the same girls again being victimized. This is such a huge problem around the world as well as right here in our own community and there needs to be something done to stop them and help these children and teens get away from this horrible crime.