Street Ransom, a ministry of Straight Street in Roanoke, focuses on helping sex trafficking survivors and training the community on how to spot the signs before it’s too late.
Spokesperson Rebekah Marquez wanted to stress that human trafficking doesn’t always look like the examples we see in movies, but it’s definitely happening in our country and even in southwest Virginia.
Marquez told 10 News traffickers usually know the person they exploit and build a relationship with them before the abuse starts.
Marquez said that in our local rural areas, Street Ransom is seeing more familial trafficking, meaning a family member may be involved with the exploitation of the child. It’s a local trend that supports what’s going on at the national level; 40% of child sex trafficking cases start with some sort of family involvement.
The pandemic isn’t helping, it’s actually created more vulnerabilities.
“Whether that’s women and young moms looking for jobs, children who are at home feeling isolated and spending a lot more time online and so traffickers know these things and they’re taking advantage of it by grooming children online, posing as someone that they’re not over social media even as potential employers for those who are looking for jobs,” said Marquez. “So it shifted a little bit, but we’re definitely seeing that human trafficking has not stopped since the pandemic.”
According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there has been a 63% increase in CyberTipline reports between Jan. and Sept. 2020 compared to Jan. through Sept. 2019. You can find more on the trends they are seeing here.
Marquez said there are multiple ways you can help. Right now, Street Ransom is collecting blankets, towels, snacks, toiletries and more to make hope bags for a statewide initiative for recovering survivors. Here is a list of items you can donate.
Another way you can help is to know the red flags, and there are several.
“So if they’ve lost that control and independence over their lives, if someone is making threats, maybe they don’t have their passport or identification because the trafficker has taken that away from them, they might not be able to answer a question you ask them directly they might instead look to an older boyfriend or another figure first before answering. So if they aren’t really able to really make choices for themselves that’s a big indicator that there’s something else going on,” Marquez said.
Here are more signs and prevention tips for parents.
Call 911 if you suspect that person is in immediate danger. If you think you know someone who is being exploited or involved in human trafficking you can also reach out to the national hotline, 1-888-373-7888.