G et free. That's the message The Life Link, a Santa Fe based agency, is sending out to human trafficking victims. The message comes with a textable number that connects victims to services and counseling.
The number is plastered on a city of Santa Fe bus, two bus stops and posters in hopes that victims will see it and find their way to freedom. Human trafficking happens when human predators coerce and enslave others for money and their own purposes.
Across the world, hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked every year - many are children who are forced into sex work because there is a lot of money in it for traffickers. It's estimated to be a multi-billion-dollar industry. Sanchez said that traffickers prey upon people who are experiencing hardships like homelessness and poverty.
Once in captivity, the victim's identification and personal documentation are taken away from them and they are often beaten, raped and threatened. Reports are coming in from the Bureau of Indian Affairs," he revealed, adding that traffickers often use tribal lands to escape detection crossing state borders.
Advocates say that's because the trafficker can be just about anybody - a friend, boyfriend, neighbor, parent, spouse, landlord, or a member of a gang or organized crime. At the time, Jasmine was a single parent of two young children stretching her budget to make ends meet. If I would have married him, there may not have been a way out. I thought, 'This woman is trying to buy me. I could have become a slave,'" Jasmine said. Maes told the community summit participants that human trafficking is modern-day slavery and it can take many forms.
