Warning! Human Trafficking is Real and It’s in West Michigan!

This is an issue that all to often we don't want to think about. It is only on TV crime shows. It only happens in major cities. It doesn't happen here. All wrong.

Guess what? It is here! And we can't ignore it.

IT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING!

Surprisingly, it happens in plain sight, anytime of the day or night, but most people don't notice it.

The Kent County Sheriff's Department has a specific human trafficking unit of three detectives and they continue to uncover more and more cases and victims. They realize the more staff they are able to add the more they will uncover. That is totally sad.

WHAT EXACTLY IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING?

The United States Attorney's Office Western Michigan District defines Human Trafficking as this.

"Human trafficking is a crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services, or commercial sex.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. § 7102) defines human trafficking as:

a) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

b) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery."

The Sheriff's Department is finding victims, mostly young girls, 17 and under. And a lot is happening online and predominately on Instagram.

The hopeful thing about our community is that there are programs to help. Wedgwood Christian Services offers their Manasseh Project dedicated to ending the exploitation of both young men and women.

Safe Haven Ministries has a survivor support system to stop abusers and support survivors.

This is a major problem and we all must get involved and come together to fight the problem and keep our kids safe.