Sex Trafficking and Prevention: Rendering the Invisible Visible Along Virginia’s Rt 81

• In Event: What STS Can Do: Innovations and Alternatives for STS Practice – II

Abstract

Route 81 literally passes through my college campus, and according to law enforcement data it is estimated that 1 in every 20 18-wheeler trucks on 81 is carrying a victim of human trafficking. I can see the trucks, but the victims of human trafficking inside remain invisible. How can we make them visible? How can we make their trauma knowable? And how can we do so in ways that also protect them from unwanted visibility and know-ability?

As an undergraduate student in an applied STEM major conducting research in an STS lab, my research examines a range of social and technical approaches to addressing this. Truck stops and gas stations along these major highways are some of the most popular places for traffickers to lure their victims. However, even with this common knowledge of the risk of truck stops and gas stations, it is currently not required to have any advertisements, nor the Human Trafficking Hotline number posted at any of these locations. Could this policy approach make human trafficking on 81 visible? Another resource that could be utilized to detect these hidden victims is thermal imaging at truck weigh stations. Could this technological approach complement other law enforcement data to make the level of human trafficking on 81 knowable? Many resources, no matter how small, can be utilized along these major routes to intervene and start a conversation about human trafficking that is happening right here, right now—rendering the invisible visible.

Author

• Riley Catherine Pates, James Madison University