Stop human trafficking in Pennsylvania

Today's guest blogger is John Ducoff, executive director of Covenant House Pennsylvania. This is the first in a series on human trafficking.

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, a fitting time to learn about what Covenant House Pennsylvania is doing to help end this affront to humanity. You might have seen the post last year uncovering sex trafficking in America, but you may not know that it's happening in our backyard every day.

So often when the term "human trafficking" is discussed, people think it's an international issue, not domestic. In fact, there were 75 human trafficking cases reported in Pennsylvania in 2015 through September. In 2014, there were 113. And that's just the number of reported cases. Next to drug dealing, it's the second largest criminal industry in the world. So what exactly does it mean to be a victim of human trafficking?

Human trafficking is the recruitment, transport, sale or receipt of persons through force, fraud or coercion to place them in modern-day slavery. Traffickers use violence, threats, blackmail, deception, manipulation and more to put individuals in horrific situations. Some of these victims are now residents at Covenant House Pennsylvania. Young adults who have been physically or sexually abused, or are runaways and homeless, are vulnerable. Pimps often lure them with lavish gifts or a place to stay. Homeless youth are so disconnected from the protection of family and the safety of the home that they tend to gravitate towards these perpetrators to feel loved and wanted.

In 2014, of the more than 10,000 endangered runaways reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, one in six were likely the victims of child sex trafficking. In a 2013 study conducted by Covenant House New York and Fordham University, of the youth who had been involved in commercial sexual activity, almost half (48 percent) said that they found themselves in that position because they did not have a place to stay. The same study found that one out of every four homeless youth had been either victims of trafficking or had engaged in survival sex – trading sexual acts for basic needs like food or shelter. These numbers are unacceptable.

When a young person walks through our doors, we receive them with simple acts of kindness – a sandwich and a bed, love and support. It's our mission to help combat trafficking by providing runaway and homeless youth with a safe and secure place to stay. We also educate, advocate, and heal. We educate the judiciary, federal, state, and local law enforcement, other public agencies, and social service providers about how to identify trafficking victims. We advocate for the passage of laws that better protect victims and punish traffickers. We heal trafficking victims by providing trauma-informed, resiliency-based residential care and supportive services.

To learn more about human trafficking in Pennsylvania, sign up for one of our webinars taking place each Friday during Human Trafficking Awareness Month. This is also the first in a series of posts we'll be doing throughout January, so follow along to learn more about this issue. Human trafficking is an affront to humanity, truly modern-day slavery. Working together, we must fight to protect our kids. They deserve nothing less.

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