Jan. 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY)-- Jan. 11 is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Dana Hunter with the Human Trafficking Prevention Commission told News 10 the 2022
Annual Human Trafficking Data Report documents there are 992 victims of human
trafficking in communities across Louisiana.

Cpl. Ken Handy, with the Lafayette Police Department and an assistant public information
officer told News 10 in 2023 the department had a total of ten cases that were listed as human
trafficking related.

He explained he couldn’t give updates on the individual cases due to them being under
investigation. However, He said out of the cases, six have been closed by arrest, and four are still open at this point in time, actively being investigated.

“It’s an issue everywhere, not just Lafayette, and it's more so an awareness that there is a human
trafficking incident occurring,” he said. “A lot of people don't understand. You hear the term
human trafficking, and you might just think sexually; it's also a labor aspect as well. At any point
in time, whenever one individual uses some type of coercion upon another person to force them
into labor or into enslavement, that's considered a form of human trafficking.”

He explains ways that a person can go about human trafficking is by harboring a person. You can
transport a person from one point to another person. You can also recruit one person to perform
certain acts, whether it be work-related crimes or you're forcing them to do sex-related crimes.

“We've seen an incredible boom in awareness of human trafficking over the last couple of years, which is very exciting," Katie Guinn, the Regional Director of The Center for Children and Families said.

“Awareness and more communication and insight around this topic are our biggest armor. It is an ever-changing issue that we have seen arise in this country, in this world, specifically among women and children and men. So awareness and increased talk and just highlighting this topic continue to inform the community so we can stay aware and really fight this darkness that is all around us," she continued.

She said victims of human trafficking “feel silenced and don't feel empowered or feel safe
enough to speak up.” According to the most current data with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services, in 2021.

“Sex trafficking occurs in about 3.43 per thousand people in Louisiana. Texas and
Mississippi are in the top ten highest trafficked states, number nine and two, respectively.
Louisiana was number 12 last time I checked. So that's helpful," she said.

In addition, she adds, “ In 2021, there were over 22,000 reports of suspected human trafficking
nationally. In Louisiana, it was about 4000 reports.”

“As we continue to spread awareness and stay informed on this topic, I think more and more data will come in and continue to educate us and inform us on this ever-changing topic,” Guinn said.

Working with the agency Guinn said she has learned three things with human trafficking victims.

Behavior makes sense in context.

Human beings are built to survive.

“No one chooses this life, but human beings are hardwired to survive, and we do the best that we can, right? So sometimes we're placed in these situations where we have to do things that otherwise we would not choose to do. So all of this starts to make sense as we get a full picture of what's going on in that child or that individual's life,” she explained.

There's always a vulnerability.

“More importantly, in human trafficking, there is always a vulnerability. Trafficking does not happen in a vacuum. There is always an unmet need or a void in that individual or that child's life that a pimp or a trafficker fills and fills well and creates a hook or a dependent, thus luring them into the trafficking game,” she said. “The biggest piece of what we do is try to educate, inform, and help people fill their needs on their own. That way, an outside predator cannot do so.”

“Typically, in children, there are high-risk populations, children who isolate quite a bit. Runaway populations are at a higher risk of human trafficking. Actually, in Louisiana and in the United States, every child that runs away one in four will be approached by a trafficker within the first 48 hours because there is that vulnerability rate that child is trying to survive. They're trying to get their next meal met, trying to find housing. So they will do almost anything to survive," she continued.

Although runaways are high risk populations for being targeted by human trafficking there are
others where a person trying to traffic is always looking for that vulnerability, void, or unmet
need, or other external source could come in and fill in an unhealthy way.

Handy said if you see any type of suspicious activity, especially involving juveniles, alert
authorities.

“If you see a man and it looks as though he might be coercing a younger individual, and it just
looks abnormal to you as a human being, you should be able to get that sense that something's
not right with this situation. You can always report it to us, and we'll definitely come out and
investigate that incident. It doesn't just have to be a man on a female; it could be a female on a
female that's older, and it looks like she's forcing that female into a situation that the victim
necessarily would not want to be in,” he said.

Some areas he said are prime to human trafficking and should pay attention to are hotels when
dealing with sex-related crimes. Also, massage parlors.

“When you talk about not only the sexual nature of the crime, but you also refer to the
work-related nature of the crime that can be a form of human trafficking,” he said.

Peyton Conlin, the Press Secretary for Group Programs for the Office of Governor Jeff Landry
offers more information on the topic. She said please note, that this data reflects the number of
victims who accessed and received social services by Louisiana service providers in the
calendar year of 2022; the data does not reflect actual human trafficking arrests and/or
prosecutions. The report details the scope of the data in more depth.

The 2023 calendar year data collection is in progress and will be available by February 1, 2024.

If you think you’re a victim call the National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888

The Center for Children and Families also offers free training services to spread awareness.

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