Does Sex Trafficking Happen Here?

We get this question a lot. And it’s usually connected to ideas people have about what trafficking looks like. If you’ve seen any number of Hollywood movies about trafficking, you probably have visions of girls tied up or chained, kidnapped, sent overseas or maybe even men with special sets of skills swooping in and doing the saving.

If these images are in your mind, it’s no surprise that you’re surprised trafficking happens in your community - and in lots of other communities. In fact, sex trafficking has been reported in all 50 states. But it doesn’t always look like the Hollywood version. Sure, those scenarios are possible, and sometimes plausible. However, it’s more often a crime that happens within a home, at a hotel, or at an illicit business like a massage parlor.

Sex trafficking is quieter and more nuanced than the movies would lead you to believe. It’s very often family members who are in desperate situations or people caught in addiction who need to be able to keep up. Again, it’s those vulnerabilities that lead people to make choices that they never thought they’d have to make.

To get more specific, it’s estimated that 14,000 people are trafficked in Virginia every year. Whether or not we see trafficking plainly, it’s happening all the time. And not just to women, but to men and children as well.

If you want to learn more about how to spot and report trafficking, our friends at Safe House Project have a great resource for you! Check out their OnWatch training. It’s free, takes about an hour, and you can start/stop it whenever you like!

It will take us being more educated and aware to help victims get the help they need. If you see something, you should always report it to the National Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888. If you’re in Virginia, you should also call the State Police at #77. You will never be at fault for reporting suspicious activity, no matter the outcome.