Paul Szmal: Good morning, it's 816, it's FLX Morning. Monday is our monthly visit with Family Counseling Service of the Finger Lakes. FCSFL.org is the website, and Audrey Button's here. Good morning. Good morning, Todd, how are you? I'm doing well. This is a sad topic to talk about, and as I was thinking about it this morning, we're going to talk about human trafficking today. And I think I'm in with a lot of people in that I know the term, and I really don't know that much about it. So without getting too detailed or too graphic, how does this work? Who are the victims? Who are the perpetrators?
Audrey Button: Good question, Todd, and I think that you hit the point exactly. It's definitely a hard topic to talk about, but it's so important just because of, I think, people don't fully understand it, which is also why it's so important that we talk about it. And so when we talk about human trafficking, of course, there's a lot of misinformation that goes around about what it is. People think they're being snatched off the streets to white vans, things like that. Well, those things do happen, and that's how the media usually portrays it. It's not usually how that happens. So it's important that we're mindful of the information that we're seeing online on social media about these things or how movies are being portrayed about human trafficking or TV shows because they're not always truly representative of what really happens. And so it's important that when we are getting our information, we're getting it from reputable places, anti-trafficking organizations, law enforcement, things like that.
But to kind of give you an idea of what trafficking is, there's two different types of trafficking. There's labor trafficking and sex trafficking. And I know a lot of people typically think of sex trafficking more so than labor trafficking. With any sort of trafficking, whether it's sex or labor trafficking, there needs to be some sort of force, fraud or coercion, which forces any sort of threats or physical means of any sort to make people do what they want. Fraud is being inaccurate at what they're offering, like saying they're going to do one thing and not do that or not follow through with it. And coercion is kind of that blackmail in kind of convincing, like having to convince people in usually an intimidating way to do something they want. So with sex trafficking, it's any sort of physical acts or it can be online, like content, like photos or videos of a sexual nature. And then labor is any sort of working sort of jobs, things like that.
And so with human trafficking, typically, if it's sex trafficking and they're a minor and they're anyone under the age of 18, it's automatically sex trafficking because children cannot consent to having any sort of sex or sexual imagery of them at all. Adults can obviously consent to that if they're an adult. But if there is force, fraud or coercion, it would be sex trafficking. And then when we look at labor trafficking, of course, there's legalities that are on minors working, like how often they can work, the wages that they're expected to get, things like that. And same with adults. Adults can work. But if there is any of those force, fraud or coercion, then it would be labor trafficking as well.
Paul Szmal: So are these victims coming from outside the United States into the U.S. or are they going from the U.S. to other places or some of both?
Audrey Button: Great question, Ted. So that's also a lot of misinformation that they have to be foreigners brought in, they have to cross a border, things like that. Well, a lot of people who are coming in, whether it's because a lot of people do come in, like migrant workers or people from other countries coming for other opportunities in the United States, or they're being promised opportunities in the United States and it turns into be trafficking, whether it's labor or sex. But typically victims are people right here in our own neighborhood. You're more likely to be trafficked by someone you know or get to know. So the statistics haven't been updated as of recently, and I'm getting these from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, is in 2021, out of all the reported cases of trafficking, whether it was sex or labor, 22 percent of people are recruited by an employer, 33 percent by a family member or caregiver, and 28 percent by an intimate partner. So those were the three highest types, and if you add up the percentages, it's a significantly high percentage. And the fourth highest was 8 percent were being trafficked by a friend, acquaintance, or a co-worker. And so you're more likely to be trafficked by someone you know or get to know, and a lot of times it's people right here.
And you can look at, if you're interested, the Polaris Project, which is the National Human Trafficking Hotline, compiles data of reported cases. So of course this is stuff that's just reported. Of course a lot of stuff is underreported because one, people don't understand what's happening. Two, they may be scared to report because of being threatened or hurt in any way. And so a lot of our data is definitely underreported, but if you want to, they have a map that they show cases in the United States, and they even show like cases in our area, in New York State, but specifically in the counties that we live in. And there have been cases reported here, and I do know that just from my work when I used to work at Safe Harbors, is we do in the Child Advocacy Center, of course, these cases of minors being trafficked, whether that's for sex trafficking. So yes, it happens here, and it's with people in our own community, but yes, there can be people from other countries that come in.
Paul Szmal: So I can see where a lot of this is probably being done online. Someone strikes up a relationship online with a vulnerable girl, she's having trouble at home or whatever the case is, and the relationship progresses, and it comes to the I-want-to-meet-you stage, and that's where the trap has sprung.
Audrey Button: Absolutely, and it can stay online completely, or it can, like you said, it can end up coming into person, and it's because the reason it's, you know, people are taken advantage of. Traffickers know what they're doing. They're taking advantage of people with vulnerabilities, and they don't, you know, typically, yes, if they have a poor home life, a lot of violence in the home, you know, if they're LGBTQ, any of those vulnerabilities absolutely make them at greater risk for being trafficked, but even just low self-esteem can put people at greater risk of being trafficked, which, you know, if they're looking, seeking that out online, you don't know always who's on the other side, right? And they know that, and they get taken advantage of because of that, and it's really scary.
Paul Szmal: What are warning signs for parents, and what can they do to prevent this from happening to their kids?
Audrey Button: Absolutely. Well, the biggest thing I encourage parents or guardians or caregivers is to get education on it, and there's lots of great resources, which I'll share at the end, but there's also local resources such as Safe Harbors that also provides education, and also just, like, if they have questions or concerns, they can call these hotlines and ask questions, but if you're concerned that maybe your child or someone in your life is experiencing this, you might notice typical signs of, like, are being withdrawn or isolated. Maybe they have a new partner that's really controlling, wants to know where they are and who are they with all the time, controls their phone, things like that, or they're saying they have to do certain things for this person, which, especially if their personality is changing. I mean, you know your kids the best is if you notice a huge shift in personality or they're online a lot. It's just usually, it's usually noticing these signs of the shift that is telling you that something's wrong, but there are signs of, like, controlling, and then there might be even, like, more intensive signs such as, like, getting tattoos that typically, you know, the person wants them, their exploiter wants them to get. They're getting really expensive gifts, because oftentimes exploiters shower them with love and affection and gifts and money, and then that's how they kind of pull them in. So maybe they do have things that they typically can't afford or, like, seem out of the norm for them to have, and so it's just paying attention to those things. Are they're out a lot? Are they're on the computer all night long? Things like that could be possibly signs.
Paul Szmal: If someone's able to get out of this, how do we support them? Because particularly in the sex trade, there's a lot of shame involved for the victim, and they're going to want to turn inward, and they're not going to want to talk about it. How do we be a good ally, I guess, to use the word that we use, and other consequences?
Audrey Button: No, absolutely, and I think it's important, if we know that someone's been through it, is just try to be as non-judgmental as possible, like, watching what the language that we use, not victim-blaming, like making them feel like it's their fault, because at the end of the day, it's not their fault. The person who did this to them or the persons who did it are the ones at fault and to blame. So just being mindful of how you're using your words and what phrases you're using, but just listen. At the end of the day, they just need someone to listen, because they've had the power taken away from them. Let's empower them and give them that, their voice back, and encourage them, like, not pressuring them to do things that, you know, making, letting them make the choice that they want to make, like encouraging them to reach out for help. Obviously, if it's a minor, encouraging, you know, we would go to law enforcement if there was concerns of sex trafficking, because that is, you know, actually, you know, a concerning thing, but this is a crime, whether they're a minor or an adult that's being trafficked. This is a crime, and, you know, encouraging them, like, to reach out to, for example, Safe Harbors of the Phoenix, because maybe some people aren't comfortable reaching out to law enforcement right away or knowing what the process looks like. So as a caregiver or person in this, this, this victim's or survivor's life is walking them through the process of reporting or getting the supports that they might need, and at the end of the day, they might need just you to listen, really. That's all they might need, and it's, it's hard being that person on the other side, not knowing what to do, but it's just being there for them.
Paul Szmal: Give us some of those resource sources to learn more.
Audrey Button: Absolutely, Todd. So, of course, my biggest one is Polaris Project. It's also the National Human Trafficking Hotline. They have so much great information about statistics, like media that you should watch, where you should get your information from, just lots of great things, and, of course, they're a 24-hour hotline, so if you or you know someone who's experiencing this, they can call at any time for support. Of course, National Center of Missing Exploited Children is a great resource. They'll, they do a lot of stuff about missing children and Amber Alerts. They also do a lot of stuff about child exploitation. Their website's missingkids.org. A couple other ones are love146.org. They provide a lot of education for children in schools about human trafficking. THORN also does a lot of great work on exploitation relating to preventing that for children, and, of course, in New York State, a really great thing that was passed back in 2019 was Aaron's Law, which a lot of states are enacting now, but it requires kindergarten through eighth grade public schools to teach about child sexual abuse and exploitation as a part of their curriculum, which is really important because kids are not getting this information, and it's so important that we talk about it.
Paul Szmal: All right. I got to jump in here because we're about out of time for this segment.
Audrey Button: Absolutely.
Paul Szmal: FCSFL.org for Family Counseling Service of the Finger Lakes. Audrey, thanks so much, and thanks, everybody, because we, these are some of my favorite conversations all year long because we cover these important issues, and we break up some of those myths, and I think it's just a really valuable service you give to our listeners, and I thank you all for it.
Audrey Button: Absolutely. Thanks so much, Todd.
