Pimps and Prostitutes: Recognizing Human Trafficking and Organizing Community Awareness

• In Event: 2481 - Sociology in Practice Settings Symposium Roundtable Session
  In Informal Discussion Roundtable: Table 08. Application Stories

Abstract

According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, human trafficking affects every nation on this planet, as human beings are being forcibly moved, extorted, enslaved in debt bondage, marketed in the sex trade, and otherwise forced into exploitative situations. At its current rate of earnings, human trafficking, as a business, is the fastest growing enterprise in the world. A 2014 report from the International Labor Organization estimated that the business of human trafficking earned profits of 150 billion dollars a year, with sexual exploitation earning 66% of those profits. The most vulnerable populations for being trafficked are women and children.
Developed nations, like the United States, are not immune to the scourge of human trafficking. The United States Department of State, in its 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report, articulated that human trafficking occurs in all areas and across all demographics. Human trafficking thrives in the shadows and its hidden population grows as the traffickers prey on the vulnerable, runaway youths, and those believing the traffickers' false promises of a better life.
Recognizing human trafficking in our communities, and wiping out its existence requires a collaborative effort. Creating awareness within and among community members and groups is a first step. This presentation will share how one sociological practitioner and one private, non-profit institution of higher education are collaborating with the community to raise awareness and train law enforcement personnel, social workers, front line medical professionals, educators, youth workers, and others in recognizing human trafficking in the community.
These efforts include public engagement, and collaborating with community services organizations to heighten awareness and bring the problem of human trafficking to the forefront.
This presentation will be of interest to sociological practitioners who also work in academic settings, and provides specific examples of community engagement.

Author

• Johanna Bishop