Realities and dangers of Human Trafficking can be seen in Adams County – WGEM

QUINCY (WGEM) – January is Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Local authorities said the Tri-State region is not immune to human trafficking.

There were more than 10,000 reports of human trafficking in the United States in 2021, of which 2,331, were made in Illinois, Missouri and Iowa combined, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

It's not often that people are randomly kidnapped and forced into human trafficking, something domestic abuse treatment center workers said is a dangerous misconception.

”We sometimes have these myths in our head that it's people being smuggled in a van somewhere and being held in a warehouse, when the reality is, it's much more mundane and common,” Quanada CEO Megan Duesterhaus said. “It can obscure when it's actually happening because it doesn't look like what we think that it should.”

Adams County Sheriff's officials said no investigations have been done involving their office, but they said it's an issue they see the signs of in the community.

Police said when you're doing things like putting groceries in your car, you could be a target for human trafficking. But in most cases, people who are trafficked are exploited by someone they know, be it, family members or significant others.

Duesterhaus said human trafficking is whenever someone is forced, coerced or manipulated into some type of labor.

“There's a lot of intention and planning, its not something that just happens. The people who are trafficking others are being very targeted in how they're doing this,” Duesterhaus said. “So for Quanada, because we specifically focus on survivors of domestic and sexual violence, for us its often for people who have been sex trafficked.”

She said locally, she mostly sees people who have been manipulated into a relationship where trust is built and they don't realize they're being trafficked until it's too late.

“Survival sex is another huge for this area, that would be like exchanging rent for sex. So if your options area sleeping rough on the street or being coerced into sex by your landlord. Like which one is going to be worse?” Duesterhaus said. “Like in climate weather, like in the Midwest, those can be very hard choices to make.”

Adams County Sheriff Tony Grootens said it can also happen in areas of mass transportation like bus stops and train stations.

“If you're on a bus or a train and you see some someone kind of out of character with a younger male or female and they don't look like they belong, I would absolutely contact authorities or the conductor, or the bus driver or whoever and contact authorities to investigate it,” Grootens said.

Grootens said traffickers target women, children, boys and girls for a profit.

“Never ever get tunnel vision and be aware of everything around you, because typically they would, like with anything else, if they want to kidnap you and you're getting gas at a gas station and they force you in a car, they got you,” Grootens said. “When you're talking about a county like Adams that's small and even when people are being charged. Like they might not be being charged with sex trafficking, they might be charged with sexual exploitation of a minor. So, it can make it hard to really determine those numbers.”

According to the US Department of State, here are some key red flags that could alert you to a potential trafficking situation that should be reported:

• Living with employer
• Poor living conditions
• Multiple people in cramped space
• Inability to speak to individual alone
• Answers appear to be scripted and rehearsed
• Employer is holding identity documents
• Signs of physical abuse
• Submissive or fearful
• Unpaid or paid very little
• Under 18 and in prostitution

Officials said if you see some thing, say something.

The national human trafficking prevention hotline number is 1-888-373-7888.

For more resources:

National Human Trafficking Hotline
Blue Campaign
Center for Prevention of Abuse

If you or someone you know is a victim of trafficking, help is available. To request help locally, call 1-800-559-SAFE (7233) or click here for more information on our additional support services. To make a report, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888.

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