In large cities, small towns and mid-size suburbs across the United States, women, children and men live in modern day slavery. Human trafficking affects hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. Through fraud, coercion or force, individuals may be made to work in the commercial sex trade or to provide labor or services. While the exact number of human trafficking victims in the United States is not known, in 2018 alone, the National Human Trafficking Hotline identified

Every few months, another social media post about a narrow miss from a potential human trafficking situation goes viral. It may be a mom in Target who writes about how a stranger followed her around the store, looking to snatch her and/or her kids, or a woman who got into the wrong Uber and was convinced that the driver was going to kidnap her for sex trafficking. These posts are shared widely, because people want to be helpful — and if we can stop the horrors of human traff

Slavery may seem like something that happened in the past, but for millions of people around the world — including here in the United States — it is a present-day reality. Human trafficking is a $150 billion industry that enslaves an average of 21 million people each year. Of these millions of victims, 81% are trapped in forced labor, in industries such as: Commercial sex Hotels Restaurants Domestic work Nail salons Agriculture Construction Although anyone can be a victim of

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, a time for all of us to take steps to end these problems in our communities. We can do this through raising awareness, as well as learning the signs of trafficking so that we can take action should we encounter a potential victim in our lives. For those of us in Westmoreland County, human trafficking may seem like something that happens elsewhere: in big cities, in other countries, anywhere but here. Yet on

In recent weeks, the case of Cyntoia Brown made national news once again after the Tennessee Supreme Court denied a challenge to her life sentence. Cyntoia was sentenced to life in prison in 2006 after being convicted for the 2004 murder of Johnny Mitchell Allen. At the time, she was just 16 years old — and Allen was her 43 year old rapist. Cyntoia Brown is a victim of sex trafficking. Forced into the sex trade by a boyfriend, Cyntoia was picked up by Mr. Allen on August 6

Across the world, 45.8 million children, women and men live as slaves. The United States is one of the top three destination points for victims of human trafficking, with victims being forced into industries such as commercial sex, hotels, restaurants, domestic work, nail salons, agriculture, construction and more. California, New York and Nevada are the top destination states in the United States for victims of human trafficking — but modern day slaves can be found in eve

Ten Black and Latinx teenage girls went missing in the Washington D.C. area within less than two weeks, and beyond the police department’s Twitter account and a few online news sites, few media outlets are covering the story. While two of the missing teens have since been found safely, eight of the girls are still missing. These disappearances are even more concerning considering that there has been a rapid increase in the amount of sex trafficking in the area. The lack of m

Next weekend, football fans from around the country will converge in Santa Clara, California for the largest sporting event in the country — the Super Bowl. According to researchers, another group will be arriving for the big game as well — sex workers, many of whom have been trafficked. In 2010, an estimated 10,000 prostitutes were brought by their pimps to Miami for the Super Bowl, and in 2011, Dallas police made 133 arrests for underage prostitution during the week of the

As Americans, we likely view slavery as a relic of the past, or something that only happens in distant lands. But the reality is that right here in the United States — even in Pennsylvania — slavery is all too real. Human trafficking occurs throughout our country, and has devastating consequences for its victims. Traffickers use force, fraud and coercion to control their victims, primarily for sexual exploitation and forced labor. It’s devastatingly common; the Polaris Pro