January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. This observance is presidentially designated with the goal of educating the public about Human Trafficking and how they can respond and help prevent.
First, it's important to note that there are between 20-40 million people affected today. It’s impossible to get an exact figure because the vast majority of cases go undetected; however, it is estimated to be more than 27.6 million people — adults and children — subjected to human trafficking around the world, including in the United States. In 2021, 10,359 situations of human trafficking were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline involving 16,554 individual victims. Shocking as those numbers are, this is only a fraction.
Human trafficking is the use of force, fraud or coercion to get another person to provide labor or commercial sex. When you think of human trafficking, you may think this always involves sex crime, although this is a large portion of cases, experts believe there are more situations of labor trafficking than of sex trafficking. There is a greater awareness however, of sex trafficking in the U.S. than of labor trafficking. Cases have been reported and prosecuted in industries including restaurants, cleaning services, construction, factories and more.
Many victims of course are held against their will, surprisingly though, many appear on the outside to have the circumstances to just up and leave freely, but people in trafficking situations stay for reasons that may be difficult to understand. Some lack the basic necessities to physically get out – such as transportation or a safe place to live. Some are afraid for their safety. Some have been so effectively manipulated that they do not realize they're under the control of another person. At the 911 Cellphone bank, we are doing our part to help in the area of providing one of the basic necessities you need to call for help: a phone.
If you are a supporter of the 911 Cellphone Bank, you know our emergency devices help victims of domestic violence, but they aren’t the only ones. The unclaimed phones you donate are securely recycled and repurposed for victims, including human trafficking victims, to contact help. Any and all efforts made to prevent and raise awareness of Human Trafficking are greatly appreciated, however, we know that many of us do not have the circumstances to devote as much time and energy as we’d like to supporting such causes. So we at the 911 Cellphone Bank Organization want to make it as easy as possible to get involved. It is 100% free, and tax deductible to utilize our program. Please, even if it’s only one device, it can mean someone’s life. Get involved today, call us at 866-290-7864 or send an email to requests@911cellphonebank.org
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