What are some ways you can identify and help victims of modern-day slavery?

Katrina* was 10 years old when she moved to Florida after her mother divorced her father in California. As her mother worked long days to make ends meet, Katrina often was left alone in her apartment complex when a boy, not much older than her, befriended her. He helped her with her homework and brought her snacks. So when “her friend” asked her to accompany him to the store, she didn’t think twice about going with him. They never made it to the store. Instead, she was led to a car where her life would never be the same.

She trusted her friend, and when she got into the vehicle, she was forcibly injected with heroin, kidnapped and forced to work the I-4 Corridor for 7 years where Johns took advantage of her developing body, sometimes 10-12 times a day, and her innocence and life were stolen.

Victims of human trafficking are hidden in our neighborhoods. They are being recruited from our schools. They are growing our food, working in our nail salons, and they are there when we go on vacation and stay in hotels. They are hidden in plain sight.

The International Labor Organization estimates that there are 40.3 million victims of human trafficking around the world, including 24.9 million in forced labor and 15.4 million in forced marriage.

Gone are the visible shackles that we would have seen so many years ago, now replaced by the invisible chains of human trafficking. This affront on human dignity happens through force, fraud and coercion. Many victims come from other countries where they are promised the American dream of getting an education and finding work only to have their passports confiscated, and live in fear of their safety or the safety of their family. They are taught not to trust law enforcement and speaking another language further diminishes their ability to seek help. Their dreams are turned into nightmares when they are forced to enter the sex industry, labor on farms, in hotels among other industries for 12 -to 14-hour days with no hopes of escaping their new-found life.

However, immigrants are not the only ones who are forced into a life of servitude. It’s happening to our youth in our own communities. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 145 reported cases of human trafficking were foreign nationals, and 153 were U.S. Citizens. Of the 425 cases reported in Florida last year, 182 involved minors. The Department of Children and Families found that 28 percent of all Florida child human trafficking victims are in the 12-county region that comprises Central Florida.

But these number have faces, such as Katrina, or the 14-year-old daughter of a Lake County resident, we’ll call Eva.* Eva had just started middle school with her whole future ahead of her. Instead of one day heading off to high school or college like her older siblings, she disappeared. Her mother at the time, had not recognized the signs of human trafficking. Her daughter had befriended someone at the fast-food restaurant near her school. Her mother noticed that she had new things and a new phone, but her daughter had claimed they were from a friend. It wasn’t until Eva disappeared that she realized she was being groomed and most likely had become a victim of human trafficking.

The Diocese of Orlando Task Force has only begun its journey to end the evil of this modern-day slavery, through education and awareness but all Catholics can do their part to end human trafficking through prayer, knowledge and buying fair trade.

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Meade

To report signs of human trafficking, call 1888-373-7888 or to learn more about the fair-trade movement, visit www.crsfairtrade.org.

*Names have been changed to protect the identities of victims

Here are some of the signs you can look for to combat this modern-day slavery:

Risk Signs for a Child:

• Declining grades
• Depression
• Unusual temper
• Bullying – giving & receiving
• Family abuse/neglect, unclean, hungry
• Bad behavior, including illegal activity
• Running with the “Wrong Crowd”
• Too much access to unmonitored social media
• Secret friends, older boy & girl friends

Signs of a Possible Victim:

• Overly tired or falls asleep in class
• Brags about making or having lots of money
• Signs of physical abuse such as burn marks, bruises or cuts
• Frequent school absences
• Less appropriately dressed than before
• Sexualized behavior
• Withdrawn, depressed or distracted
• Displays expensive clothes, accessories, or shoes
• New tattoo (tattoos are often used by pimps to brand victims)
• Telling lies, secrets; Lying about age, fake ID
• Secret cellphone
• Responds as if coached
• Fearful, submissive, nervous, won’t talk
• Reluctant to discuss their injuries