I've lived in Waterford, Michigan my entire life. It's homie, relaxing, and feels like one of the safest places on Earth. I was shocked to find out that in Western Michigan, there is an estimated 2,400 children for sale at any given time.
Human trafficking is known as a "hidden crisis". Until this year, I had heard very little about children sex slavery, especially in the United States. It sounded like something that happened far away, in countries I had never heard of and have no intention of traveling to. Little did I know, however, that it was happening in my own backyard. In fact, Michigan is number two on the list of states suffering from this crisis.
In Flint, Michigan, a teen girl left the local mall to find a flannel shirt wrapped around her windshield. Many girls are targeted this way. Traffickers will place items under teens' windshield wipers as an attempt to distract them. What seems like a minor inconvenience for young drivers could lead to their potential kidnapping.
During the Detroit Auto Show, 16 people were arrested in a sex trafficking sting set up by the Detroit Police Department. Through this sting, two teens were rescued. Events like the Auto Show that draw large crowds are particularly profitable for sex traffickers.
Across the world, underage boys and girls are being lured, kidnapped, and sold into sex slavery. While researching this article, I thought back to my middle school days and a class we took on "stranger danger". At the time, it seemed like such a silly thing to worry about. I was never approached by any scary old man asking me to look for their dog or offering me candy. But that's because these tactics are a thing of the past. These "strangers" now lurk on the internet.
The internet has only made tings easier for these crimes to take place. Children are being bought and sold online every moment of every day. Ashton Kutcher, celebrity and human rights activist, recently went on "The Today Show" to discuss his new organization "Thorn". Through his research that he had done prior to beginning his organization, he learned that the vast majority of children being targeted are targeted online. His organization helped to track the buyers and sellers of these children, as well as the children themselves. His next step is to eventually eliminate all child pornography from the internet.
His slogan for this campaign is "Real Men Don't Buy Girls".
So how can we put an end to human trafficking, not only in our backyards, but also globally? Organizations like Love 146 will help you find organizations in your area that help to combat this growing crisis. If you're from the Detroit area and want to help directly, Alternatives For Girls offers all kinds of opportunities to help young women who have been affected by a number of abusive situations, including sex trafficking.
