Center for Prevention of Abuse seeing increased demand for human trafficking trainings

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — The popular movie Sound of Freedom is raising awareness about human trafficking here at home.

Carol Merna, CEO of Center for Prevention of Abuse, said they have received more requests for human trafficking presentations and anticipates they will get more due the film's popularity.

“The movie is an attention getter and it's a conversation starter. The more often we can start the conversation about human trafficking and other forms of abuse, the better off we're going to be,” she said.

Merna said important to remember it's still a movie, and to separate fact from fiction.

“It is a production, so we know it's not 100 percent truth, it's not a documentary. The organization that it's based on will be the first to admit that. But we will take the truths it does provide, and we dispel any myths,” she said.

It's rare for children to be snatched off the street by strangers or “guerrilla pimps”, but it does happen.

“They may snatch someone, or a kidnapper may do that and sell a child into trafficking, but it is something that is very rare, but certainly not the most common,” said Merna.

In fact, Merna said, the trafficker is usually a family member. CFPA's youngest client, an eight-year-old child, was trafficked by their aunt.

“Lots of abuse is perpetrated by people that the victim knows, loves and trusts. It could be a boyfriend situation or a girlfriend situation. It could be mom and dad, a distant relative, it could be a neighbor. They look for vulnerable people,” she said.

Locally, a growing form of labor trafficking is panhandling, Merna said.

“Those who are caught up in a begging ring are in a very desperate situation…The new facet we're seeing is that it can involve a family. Traffickers are seeing the benefit to not only having a single person out collecting funds, but maybe having a family of three or four with children to really tug at somebody's heartstrings,” she said.

Merna said Illinois ranks 10th in the country for human trafficking. CFPA's Human Trafficking Division has served 160 clients since 2018, of which 88 percent are from Central Illinois. Services offered include case management, emergency housing, counseling, therapeutic services and safety planning.

One in four victims of human trafficking are children. Additionally, one in seven missing children are caught up in sex trafficking, Merna said.

The $150 billion human trafficking industry is the second largest crime in the world, second only to drugs.