HOUSTON – January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month and officers with the Houston Police Department provided tips on how to prevent and combat human trafficking.
Recommended Videos
During the news conference, officers explained what human trafficking is and how members of the community can help survivors and investigators.
What is human trafficking?
Human trafficking is a modern-day slavery practice that involves exploiting a person through force, fraud or coercion.
Sex trafficking is not the only type of human trafficking. Forced labor is another type of human trafficking and both involve the exploitation of people. Victims are found in legitimate and illegitimate labor industries, including sweatshops, massage parlors, agriculture, restaurants, hotels, and domestic service, HPD says.
Although human smuggling is very different from human trafficking, human smuggling can turn into trafficking if the smuggler uses force, fraud, or coercion to hold people against their will for labor or sexual exploitation. Under federal law, every minor induced to engage in commercial sex is a victim of human trafficking.
Houston’s vulnerabilities to trafficking
According to the City of Houston, the Department of Justice declared the city one of the most intense trafficking jurisdictions in the country. Factors that contribute to this include:
- Proximity to the U.S.-Mexico border
- Major international airport, seaport, and interstate roadways (I-10, US-59)
- Constantly expanding population
- Diverse labor sector
- Large sex industry (with limited regulations)
- Popular destination for runaways
‘LARGE’ Community Action
In an effort to combat human trafficking, HPD is asking the community to:
- Learn: Research what fuels human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
- Alert: Be alert to the red flags that indicate human trafficking. Be aware of potential victims.
- Report: Report it to the HPD Vice Division at 713-308-8600.
- Give: Whether volunteering your time, resources, or funds, give to the victim assistance programs and non-profit agencies engaged in this cause.
- Educate: Talk to your schools and churches about integrating human trafficking into their lessons. Influence businesses to provide human trafficking and sexual exploitation training. Engage the mass and social media. Distribute public awareness material. Talk to your family, friends, and colleagues.
Anti-Human Trafficking Agencies
HPD has provided a list of ant-human trafficking agencies:
- Polaris-National Human Trafficking Resource Center (Advocacy, Referrals & Research)- Tip: 888-373-7888 or text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733), https://polarisproject.org/
- United Against Human Trafficking (Advocacy/Education)- 713-874-0290, https://uaht.org/
- YMCA International-Houston (Victim Assistance)- 832-808-3909 (Hotline) (24/7), https://ymcahouston.org/locations/ymca-international-services
- BCFS-Common Thread (Victim Assistance & Advocacy)- 888-884-7323 (Hotline) (24/7), https://bcfstrafficking.org/programs_posts/common-thread/
- The Landing (Victim Assistance/Advocacy)- 713-766-1111 (Hotline) (24/7), https://thelanding.org/
- Rescue America/Houston (Victim Assistance)- 713-322-8000 (Hotline) (24/7), https://www.launchhouston.org/impact-partners/rescue-america
- Unbound Now-Houston (Victim Assistance/Advocacy)- 346-313-7664 (Office), 346-202-4299 (Hotline) (24/7), https://unboundnow.org/houston/
- Office of the Attorney General Crime Victim Services (Law Enforcement Victim Services)- 800-983-9933, https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/crime-victims
- Harris County District Attorney’s Office-Victim Services Division- 713-274-0250, https://www.harriscountyda.com/victim_services_division
- Houston Police Department- Victim Services (Law Enforcement Victim Services)- 713-308-0080, https://www.houstontx.gov/police/victim_services/index.htm