Republican National Convention will escalate human trafficking

Two men and a woman were arrested for human trafficking in the Cleveland area this week, and charged with multiple felonies surrounding the sex trade of girls as young as 14. One of the indicted faces up to 20 felony charges including rape, kidnapping, having weapons, and forcing prostitution.

“These pimps targeted vulnerable young women, coerced them into prostitution and advertised them like pieces of meat,” said Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Rick Bell, chief of the Special Investigations Division in the Prosecutor’s Office.
“We take Human Trafficking very seriously in our office. We will be working with our law enforcement partners during the upcoming Republican National Convention to crack down on the exploiters, and with our social service partners to offer their victims a chance at a better life.”

A surge in human trafficking almost always takes place during massive events such as the Republican National Convention/RNC, as well as big sporting events like the Super Bowl and World Series. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to swarm the city of Cleveland durning the RNC.

It’s true, that the Republican presumptive presidential nominee Donald Trump is known for bringing out the ugly side of America and Americans. Though his ilk may contribute to the problem, they will be far from the only reason.

During the week many young girls, (and also boys) will be used and offered as gifts, bonuses, party favors, and/or just made very available to visitors who will be coming in town to party. Many of the johns who by these children (most johns are men) want to believe these are young prostitutes who chose to have sex for money. Other men will clearly know and/or suspect the victims are brought in against their will, and the johns will purchase them anyway. Of course, in most cases, the victims will do all they can to please their johns and appear wanting. Otherwise they risk being beaten, starved, tortured — even murdered by their pimps. The latter would be the last resort and not out of compassion. Victims are commodities and traffickers make no money if their products are dead.

This is the reality of human trafficking — which takes on different forms and exists in most every neighborhood in the country. The good news is more stings and arrests are taking place and awareness is growing. There are ways to recognize and report human trafficking which has become a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide, second only to drug trafficking. TED talk speaker Tony Talbott makes an incredibly disturbing summation about sex trafficking

"It's all about the money. Human trafficking is insanely profitable. If you really think about it; You can sell a kilo of Heroin once; You can sell a 13-year-old girl 20 times a night, 365 days a year.”

In order to reduce/prevent/stop human trafficking, we first need to get it into our national discourse. The talking begins with awareness. By sharing any stories/information about this issue on your personal social networks (Facebook, Twitter, email) you are helping to get the word out. There are telltale signs all around us. For additional information, visit The National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), online which operates 24 hours, 7 days a week. You can also call call 1-888-373-788 or text BeFree (233733). If you suspect any kind of human trafficking, you can submit a tip to DHS or visit: ICE.gov.