Idaho

Idaho, the 43rd state, joined the U.S. in 1890. The state is appropriately shaped like a logger’s boot, and logging as well as mining are big industries in the state. But the state is probably best known for its potatoes. The state’s name is thought to be an Indian name, Ee-dah-hoe, which means “gem of the mountains.” Idaho has a rugged landscape with some of the largest unspoiled natural areas in the country. Boise is the capital and the state flower is the syringa.

Human trafficking is a serious issue that affects people all around the world, including in Idaho. It is a form of modern slavery in which individuals are exploited for labor, sexual exploitation, or other purposes.

In Idaho, human trafficking can take many forms, including forced labor, domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation. It often affects vulnerable populations, such as immigrants, children, and people who are homeless or in poverty.

If you suspect that someone you know may be a victim of human trafficking, there are steps you can take to help. You can report the situation to the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or by text at 233733. You can also contact local law enforcement or a trusted organization that provides services to victims of human trafficking. It is important to remember that the safety of the victim should be the top priority and to handle the situation with care and sensitivity.

 

 

Human trafficking survivors share powerful stories during Nampa awareness event
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Human trafficking survivors share powerful stories during Nampa awareness event

Well-known child safety activist Elizabeth Smart, local survivors and law enforcement talked to hundreds of people about the epidemic. BOISE, Idaho — The Nampa Civic Center was packed on Wednesday night as several hundred people listened to Elizabeth Smart, local survivors, and a detective talk about the human trafficking epidemic. “It’s happening here in Nampa,…

Florida keeps using unpaid prison labor to prepare for hurricanes
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Florida keeps using unpaid prison labor to prepare for hurricanes

  As Floridians prepared for Hurricane Idalia to make landfall on the upper central coast earlier this week, several counties deployed unpaid prison labor, as they have in the past, to fill the sandbags used to prevent flood damage. At least four counties — including Lake County, Polk County, Taylor County and Flagler County — relied on…

Not even wild dogs could keep these cyclists from their cross-country goal: Raising awareness for human trafficking
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Not even wild dogs could keep these cyclists from their cross-country goal: Raising awareness for human trafficking

YORKTOWN — The six bicyclists who pulled into Yorktown on Tuesday after a 3,775-mile cross-country journey specifically wanted to do something uncomfortable. They were riding for an uncomfortable cause, after all: the worldwide fight against human trafficking. And during 53 days on the road, they endured painful crashes, flat tires, aching body parts, dehydration, blistering…

Opinion | Kids Know Books About Abuse Are Not Pornography. 'Moms' Should, Too.
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Opinion | Kids Know Books About Abuse Are Not Pornography. 'Moms' Should, Too.

 EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a good look at American “book burning” culture. Last year, a parent at a Virginia school board meeting stepped up to a microphone and read a passage from my book, “Sold.” The scene she chose to read, informed in part by my own experiences of sexual abuse, describes the sexual assault…

TN AG Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Effort Calling on Congress to Improve Federal-State Coordination
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TN AG Skrmetti Joins Bipartisan Effort Calling on Congress to Improve Federal-State Coordination

Nashville – Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, in partnership with 35 other state attorneys general, sent a letter to Congressional leaders informing them of an issue of grave concern with the National Human Trafficking Hotline. The letter requests assistance from Congress to preserve the critical joint federal-state effort to end trafficking. Since 2007, Polaris has…

Oakland church helps sex workers get off streets and back home – ABC7 News
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Oakland church helps sex workers get off streets and back home – ABC7 News

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — An East Oakland church is collecting funds to send women believed to be trafficked sex workers back home, following an I-Team investigation exposing the problem nearby a local grade school. “We’ve sent three women home,” said Michael Vigil, the pastor at Victory Outreach church, an evangelical church along International Boulevard that’s…

Does the Superbowl lead to a spike in sex trafficking? – KIVI-TV
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Does the Superbowl lead to a spike in sex trafficking? – KIVI-TV

With the big NFL game weekend here, there’s often a dark side that’s spoken of – and that’s sex trafficking. Contrary to popular belief, experts and advocacy groups say there is actually no evidence to support that the game leads to a spike in sex trafficking. Victim’s advocates, like Freedom Network USA, say the problem…

Idaho bill would criminalize transportation of minors across state lines as a form of human trafficking
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Idaho bill would criminalize transportation of minors across state lines as a form of human trafficking

Editor’s note: this information is presented for your research.   A bill introduced in Idaho’s House of Representatives would criminalize the transportation of a minor within the state or across state lines to seek an abortion as a violation of the state’s human trafficking law. Republican Rep. Barbara Ehardt introduced House Bill 98 on Tuesday, which…

Idaho Republicans Want to Charge People With “Human Trafficking” for Helping Minors to …
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Idaho Republicans Want to Charge People With “Human Trafficking” for Helping Minors to …

Republican lawmakers in Idaho want to expand the definition of “human trafficking” to include helping a minor get an abortion. The bill, which was introduced Tuesday, would prohibit “recruiting, harboring, or transporting” a person under the age of 18 to get an abortion or abortion medication, either in Idaho or out of state. It would…

Idaho Republicans Want to Charge People With “Human Trafficking” for Helping Minors to Get an Abortion
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Idaho Republicans Want to Charge People With “Human Trafficking” for Helping Minors to Get an Abortion

Republican lawmakers in Idaho want to expand the definition of “human trafficking” to include helping a minor get an abortion. The bill, which was introduced Tuesday, would prohibit “recruiting, …