Is There Room in Your Year … to educate yourself about human trafficking?

January 2023 · Forward in Hope

A lot can happen in a year. Births, graduations, weddings, and deaths. At any point during the 365 days of a year, we might start a new job, meet a new friend, or start a business. Each year offers opportunities to grow, to learn, and to contribute towards the well-being of others.

Yep, a lot can happen in a year.

Take 2023, for instance. We kicked it off by talking about human trafficking and ways to help those victimized by it. Since January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we’ve had an excellent opportunity to educate ourselves about this threat to the health, safety, and well-being of children and youth.

And since human traffickers also work year-round, neither can we limit our learning to January … we must make time to educate ourselves and raise awareness about the dangers throughout 2023.

Did you know …

• that 33% of victims reported that their family recruited them to trafficking, and that 28% of victims report that intimate partners recruited them?
• that 13% of trafficked victims reported dating sites as their top recruitment locations, while 10% reported the Internet (especially Facebook)?
• that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received 19,000 reports of possible sex trafficking in 2022?

(Sources: The Polaris Project, NCMEC)

See? We’ve already learned something today about human trafficking in those three sentences. Imagine what we could do with a full year.

Is There Room in Your Year … to learn about human trafficking prevention? Is There Room in Your Year … to share what you learn with others? The more people know about the signs and dangers of human trafficking, the more children will be protected from traffickers.

Get started by visiting Polaris Project or Department of Homeland Security.