'Human trafficking doesn't happen in a vacuum': Events to raise awareness this month – Yahoo News

Jan. 3—In observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, local governance and advocacy groups will host a series of events they believe will advance the public's understanding of a complicated issue.

“Human trafficking doesn't happen in a vacuum,” said Dustin Contreras, co-director of Kern Coalition Against Human Trafficking, a local advocacy group composed of law enforcement and local leaders. “It is the end result of other inequities in our society and our economic system that makes people vulnerable to the enticements of traffickers.”

The Kern County Board of Supervisors next Tuesday, Jan. 10, will make its annual proclamation at the Liberty Bell on Truxtun Avenue that January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The Bakersfield City Council will make its own proclamation on Jan. 19.

Other events include a 5k Race Against Human Trafficking on Jan. 18, a Light Up the Night vigil on Jan. 25, and several film screenings that Contreras said are picked to be palatable to people. Kern County Human Services will also host several educational events this month, which can be found on the county website.

“Bringing awareness with a call to action to train, equip and send educated individuals to combat sex trafficking and modern-day slavery is our main focus in 2023,” said Doug Bennett, founder and president of Magdalene Hope. “This movie brings public awareness to the sex trade and we are very fortunate to be able to show the film here in Bakersfield.”

One screening, which will be presented by Magdalene Hope at Fox Theater, is a free showing of “Buying Her,” a documentary that delves into “the lives of sex buyers and what drives them.” The film will be followed by a Q&A session tabled by several local advocates in hopes of educating the public and dispelling the many myths about human trafficking.

Ask anyone of consequence and they will likely say: There are many misconceptions about human trafficking. For the most part, it is nothing like its portrayal in film and television. There are no martial arts scenes, no walkaway-from-explosion shots.

Many of those trafficked are coerced, likely by a family member, significant other or co-worker. It is slow and methodical, a lot of times over online messaging. Victims of human trafficking are also found among migrant and seasonal agricultural workers, providers of residential care and in California's garment sector.

Contreras said that conditions that provoke poverty and despair — homelessness, family violence and discrimination — are often precursors to trafficking, as a way to escape a poor situation. He likened situations of human trafficking to domestic violence, where the psychology of the victim is either ignored or misunderstood.

“You can't run in there guns blazing and tell them they are a victim and have them confess against their traffickers. It just doesn't work that way in the real world,” Contreras said.

This psychology, Contreras said, plays a big part in the difficulty of convicting traffickers.

“A lot of them don't think they need rescuing,” Contreras said. “A lot are held by coercion, held by a belief that they are in a romantic relationship — they're not being trafficked, they're in love … with a person who makes them do things for money.”

But it does happen, especially here in California. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, there were more than 1,300 human trafficking cases reported in California in 2020 — more than any other state in the nation.

“California consistently ranks number one in the nation in the number of human trafficking cases reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline,” said Kern County Deputy District Attorney Tyson McCoy. “Some of the largest hubs for human trafficking activity in the nation are located in Northern and Southern California.”

Kern County, due to its location, plays an unfortunate role in trafficking people from either end of the California hubs. There were several arrests and convictions of traffickers across Kern County last year, Contreras said.

“The 5, 99, and 58 freeways are three of the main corridors traffickers use to transport their victims across the state for purposes of sexual exploitation,” McCoy said. “As such, Kern County's geographic location places it at the crossroads of statewide human trafficking activity.”

Last month, 26-year-old Kajuan Richardson was convicted of trafficking three Highland High School girls. In the same month, the Kern County Sheriff's office arrested nine people in connection to the human trafficking of 16 people from Mexico.

“These things don't happen overnight; the stars don't always align with whether the victims are willing to testify, similar to domestic violence,” Contreras said. “Many cases do not come to fruition because victims just want to be taken out of the situation — they just want to get out and go back to their lives.”

Some 24.9 million people worldwide, according to federal statistics, are subjected to human trafficking. Data suggests that “traffickers often take advantage of instability caused by natural disasters, conflict, or a pandemic to exploit others.” Since 2010, at the behest of then-President Barack Obama, January has been the month dedicated to raising awareness of human trafficking throughout the United States and the world.

The conversation around trafficking has become more normalized, Contreras said, and this is largely due to constant advocacy at grassroots level.

“We have seen leaps and bounds in gaps we had in the state and county,” Contreras said. “Ten years ago people didn't talk about human trafficking.”

Since 2018, California has required school staff and law enforcement to undergo training about recognizing human trafficking. And starting in 2024, emergency medical staff in California will be required to do at least 20 minutes of training.

“Prior to that, you only got training if you were a specific detective assigned to a specific unit,” Contreras said. “But now it's mandatory training.”

Two bills are currently working their way through the state. One new bill would penalize hotels in the event supervisors knowingly fail to properly alert authorities of existing sex trafficking.

Another would require places such as beauty salons, gas stations, airports and bus stations to post information on human trafficking, including hotline phone numbers, in restrooms and public entrances.

“Human trafficking is a horrendous crime that has run rampant in our state,” said state Sen. Shannon Grove, who sponsored the bills. “California has been the epicenter of the human trafficking problem for far too long. We must take action immediately to stop this modern-day slave trade and protect the most vulnerable people in our communities.”

For more information on human trafficking, visit the State Department's website at www.state.gov. If you may know someone that may need help, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 888-373-7888.