Many people are uneducated about the horrible events that are happening in the world. One major thing people are uneducated about is human trafficking. Human trafficking happens a lot, and not everybody is aware of this. The most common type of human trafficking is sex trafficking. The estimated number of victims of human trafficking around the world is 24.9 million. It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked in the United States every year. 

Some people may be oblivious to the fact that sex trafficking can happen to them. Just a couple of months ago in Indiana, nine children were found and three sex offenders were caught. About a month ago there were also sex trafficking tactics being seen in Kokomo, Indiana. Tj Maxx employees were having their cars marked. A women’s car was also marked while she was at a Kroger in Kokomo. 

It is important to know how to keep yourself safe from sex trafficking. Although you can be sex trafficked by people you know, it can also happen with people you don’t know. The first way to keep yourself safe is to pay attention to your surroundings. To do this you should pay attention to people around you while walking to your car or walking around a public place. You should also stay off your phone to be alert to the situations around you. Another way is to look around and under your car quickly before getting in. The second way to keep yourself safe is to know the sex trafficking tactics. Some of the most common tactics are putting a zip tie on car door handles, putting a shopping cart behind your car, placing a laced tissue on the door handles, and using women or young children to ask you for help. The zip tie and shopping cart tactic are used as a distraction when someone comes up and takes you. The laced tissue tactic is used to drug you to alter your consciousness. The tactic of using women and young children to ask you for help is used as a distraction while someone helps them take you. Sometimes the women and children will lead you to an area you may be in danger. The third way to keep yourself safe is to carry items to protect yourself. Some of the items that can help you protect yourself are pepper spray, personal alarms, tasers, and tactical pens. If you know how to protect yourself you will have a better chance of not getting trafficked. 

Being educated on the different human trafficking situations happening around your community is important, but being educated on how to protect yourself from human trafficking is even more important. Human trafficking can happen to all ages, sizes, and genders. Both male and female persons of any age can be victims of trafficking. It also does not matter what size you are. I hope this article better helped educate you on human trafficking. 

https://www.wthr.com/article/news/crime/9-children-found-3-sex-offenders-caught-in-indiana-during-nationwide-sex-trafficking-sting-indianapolis-fbi-impd/531-89ff2348-7bea-40dd-8c47-5ce7bc1e475a

https://sf-hrc.org/what-human-trafficking#:~:text=The%203%20most%20common%20types,forced%20labor%2C%20and%20debt%20bondage.

https://www.state.gov/humantrafficking-about-human-trafficking/#:~:text=With%20an%20estimated%2024.9%20million,them%20for%20their%20own%20profit