Human trafficking is defined as ìa situation in which an individual is compelled to work or engage in commercial sex through the use of force, fraud or coercion,î according to PolarisProject.org, an organization focused on preventing and ìdisruptingî human trafficking.The Polaris Project refers to trafficking as a form of modern-day slavery. Itís a $150 billion industry that affects 25 million individuals worldwide. The National Human Trafficking Hotline reports that in 2017, 110 human trafficking cases were reported in Colorado; 79 of those were considered sex trafficking cases; 84 were female; and 28 were girls 12 to 18 years of age. A 2014 study by the Urban Institute (posted at PolarisProject.org.) estimated that the ìunderground sex economyî ranged from $39.9 million in Denver to $290 million in Atlanta.Vicky Proffit, the executive director of Sarahís Home, a nonprofit faith-based housing program for victims of sex trafficking, said the number of victims in the U.S. is staggering but there are only about 300 spaces in the country where victims can recover and rehabilitate after they have been rescued. Sarahís Home has eight beds available and is located on the eastern plains of Colorado. They serve girls ages 12 to 18 who have been rescued from sex-trafficking rings. The Rocky Mountain District Womenís ministries came up with the idea of Sarahís Home, Proffit said. And members of a group called MAPS, Mission America Placement Service, helped refurbish a church into a five-bedroom home for sex trafficking victims; Sarahís Home opened in 2013. The nonprofit provides room and board, medical services, enrollment in a private school, therapy, individual and family counseling and more, Proffit said.Kelly Dore is a survivor of the child trafficking industry; today, she is the executive director of the National Human Trafficking Survivor Coalition, which trains government officials how to deal with trafficking and how to develop policies related to trafficking. The coalition also supports organizations that do not receive state or federal funding, Dore said. Of the children who are commercially exploited, 90 percent were sexually abused by a family member or family friend prior to their abduction, she said. Boys and transgender children are among the victims.ìKids from every walk of life can become victims, although those with a sexual assault past are more at risk ó (and) runaways,î said Sgt. Craig Simpson, an officer with the Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Division of the Colorado Springs Police Department. ìIt is estimated that within 48 hours of leaving home, one out of three runaways will be approached by a pimp.îPimps also advertise on social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. Simpson said. They advertise a glamorous lifestyle that includes good money and travel.The pimp wears down the victimsí self-esteem, by telling them they wonít be able to take care of themselves, that not even McDonalds will hire them because they donít have a high school degree, Simpson said. Victims of trafficking think they have to protect their pimps so they donít report them.ìThere is a lot of psychology at play,î he said.Proffit said success with victims is often indicated when they can distance themselves from their pimps. Success is measured when a girl stops calling her pimp ìdaddyî or referring to him as a ìboyfriend,î Proffit said. Most girls are branded or tattooed to show they are owned by someone, so a good sign of recovery is when they ask to remove the marks, she said. ìWhen they stop asking for a staff member to stand guard at the bathroom door while they take a shower or when they smile or laugh at appropriate times; these are all signs of success that we look for,î Proffit said.The average age when children are picked up from trafficking operations is 16, Simpson said.ìThe hard thing about recovering youth from trafficking is because it is right below the surface and easy to hide; you may be behind a victim at Walmart and not even know it,î he said.
