Sadly, as many of you are probably aware, sex trafficking in the U.S. is currently at an all the time. Perpetrators have created extremely elaborate schemes to lure young girls and women into feeding this multibillion dollar industry. It is extremely devastating, but every time I open a social media app I am presented with multiple cases of missing women and horrifying stories of people’s experiences with sex-trafficking. Hundreds of people are going missing on a daily basis. This is not something we can or should ignore. This issue should be at the forefront of everyone’s mind so we can aim to create a more aware and safe environment.
While we can hope that law enforcement does their best to catch the individuals involved in this, it is essential that we as proactive as possible this issue, and educate ourselves on the best practices to avoid being a victim of this epidemic.
Recently, there was been new developments of a tactic where people leave a “crying baby” on your doorstep. Clearly, this caters to the compassion of humans as majority of us would probably open the door to help the crying child. However, law enforcement has stressed to not open the door, but directly call 911. With this tactic, these people are using a pre-recorded voice placing it in a carriage or a baby seat of sorts, assuming you will open your door, at which point they grab you. As young adults many of us are beginning to live on our own, so it is essential that we know how to handle these uncertain situations.
Additionally, another popular tactic is using an old woman to bait people into conversing with her. Typically, these elderly women approach you asking if you would like to hear about God. They may even ask you if you would like to attend a “church meeting” or something of that nature. If someone like this approaches you ignore them, seek help, and/or go somewhere very public. Just standing there and speaking to their person for an extended period of time may expose you to people kidnapping.
Lastly, sex traffickers are hacking databases to access mass amounts phone numbers so they can contact them via text message. In most cases you will receive a text saying that someone is talking about you or complimenting you on this site. It will include a link that claims to have this so called conversation. Under no circumstance should you click this link, by open the website this enables them to track you. The best thing to do is block the number and contact law enforcement.
I know it is difficult to think you could ever be in a situation like this, but it is real, and I think it is in everyone’s best interest to be educated on these common tactics. Just a couple of months ago in University Park women were reported fake Ubers trying to pick them up. Whether we’d like to admit it or not, danger is around us, and it is always better to be safe than sorry.
Bianca,
Both heartbreaking and incredibly well written blog. It makes me want to scream at the world and all of its horrors. I had no idea sex trafficking in the US was such a large problem, and it breaks my heart knowing the kind of tactics used to trap women. I think it’s beyond frustrating that it is not talked about enough. I feel like we tend to attribute sex trafficking to other countries–maybe because of movies and rhetoric in media but either way it needs to be addressed in the Untied States ASAP. Just in Pennsylvania alone, there were 275 cases of human trafficking in 2018… and PA is ranked 5th in the nation for number of sex trafficking cases (I looked into it more after reading your blog. This article has a ton of interesting information if you’re interested:
https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/pennsylvania/articles/2019-08-31/justice-elusive-in-world-of-sex-trafficking). Again, I really appreciate you writing about this because I firmly believe it should be discussed more.
Josie
Hey Bianca,
Thanks for sharing all of this. I don’t use instagram or anything, so I had no idea of all of these ways people are luring women on college campuses. I am often am by myself on campus and tend to leave my phone at home, so will definitely be more vigilant walking around campus. I think what you are doing by educating us all through your post is super helpful and just what we need. One of my favorite books is “Half the Sky” by Nicholas Kristof, a NY Times journalist. He and his wife travel primarily through Asia and focus on sex trafficking there and how it is rooted in the lack of education, where women do not get the access to education they need and are coerced into years of sex work with no way out.
The book is really saddening, but also super informative and eye opening around this global issue. It also talks about things we can do to tackle the issue.
Thanks for sharing~~Mary
Bianca,
Thank you for this important information!! We are living in a time where being a girl is super scary. Sometimes, I catch myself looking over my shoulder when I am walking at night because of all the stories in the media about sex trafficking. At the beginning of the semester, I remember hearing about sex traffickers in State College. It is terrible and disgusting, but the amount of support that was present amongst girls was amazing. Everyone was willing to look out for each other. The sense of community that transformed was bittersweet. It was awful that we needed to take these measures, but it showed that women were willing to do anything to help one another in a time of need.
-Mae