Soroptimist club spotlights human trafficking in region

Jan. 18—In honor of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, the Soroptimist Club of Marysville-Yuba City will be hosting its first annual Walk to Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking in the Yuba-Sutter Area.

The event will take place at noon on Jan. 24 starting at Hometown Lenders located at 1210 Stabler Ln. in Yuba City. The route will then proceed north to Butte House Road and take a right before heading south on Civic Center Boulevard and onto Veterans Memorial Circle for its final stop in front of the Yuba City City Council chambers. Organizers are asking that all participants wear blue as it is the internationally recognized color for human trafficking prevention.

“Human trafficking is in our community and there are ways people can help,” said

Tierni Martins, a local Soroptimist Club member. “Soroptimist Marysville-Yuba City is part of an international organization that was established to help women and has been around for over a 100 years. We've taken the initiative to organize this walk to help spread the word about human trafficking and the people it impacts.”

The California Attorney General's Office states that human trafficking is among the world's fastest-growing criminal enterprises and it is estimated to be a $150 billion-a-year global industry. It is described as a form of modern-day slavery that profits from the exploitation of vulnerable populations. There is no set profile of a trafficked person, as trafficking can affect both adults and children from all economic classes, ethnic identities, gender identities, and sexual orientations.

A common misconception associated with human trafficking is that it requires movement across borders. But this is not the case for all victims. Human trafficking can involve any individual who is being controlled by another person through force, fraud, or coercion to perform sexual acts, forced labor, or both. Language barriers, fear of retaliation, and fear of law enforcement frequently keep victims from seeking help, often making human trafficking a hidden crime.

“Traffickers can only exist in the dark,” said Martins. “But the Soroptimist Club here in the Yuba-Sutter area is dedicated to spotlighting human trafficking in our community.”

Human trafficking can happen anywhere at any time and each year millions of men, women, and children are estimated to be trafficked worldwide.

The Soroptimist Club of Marysville-Yuba City will be using this walk to help raise awareness to this issue and encourage the community to start educating themselves on the crime and its victims. Earlier this month, the group commissioned a short video to be made as a public service announcement on human trafficking. That video was created by Yuba City Vice Mayor Shon Harris, and can be accessed on YouTube at tinyurl.com/mteb37b7.

For more information on the Walk to Raise Awareness of Human Trafficking in the Yuba-Sutter Area, or how to become involved with the Soroptimist Club of Marysville-Yuba City, go to www.mysoroptimist.org or email [email protected]. For more resources on human trafficking, visit www.humantraffickinghotline.org, or call 888-373-7888.