TRAFFICK911 AND FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH OF MCKINNEY TEAM UP AGAINST SEX TRAFFICKING OF CHILDREN IN TEXAS
This past Thursday, the United Methodist Women (UMW) of First United Methodist Church of McKinney held an event intended to take aim at child sex trafficking. “The buying and selling of children isn’t something that only happens in some far-off land. It happens in our own country, our own state, and right here in Collin County,” said Patty Froehlich, Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church of McKinney. The UMW is working with Traffick911, a nonprofit organization dedicated to freeing American youth from sex slavery through increased awareness and education for prevention, rescue, and restoration. Colette Copeland Williams, the Collin County Volunteer Director with Traffick911, spoke at Thursday’s event.
Williams told the story of a 13-year old honors student from Irving who was lured away from her middle school gymnasium with the promise of getting a clandestine tattoo. Instead, she was sexually assaulted, drugged, and sold for sex for 9 days. “She made one bad choice and it changed her life forever,” said Williams. She was lucky and made it home again. Many do not. The average life expectancy of a child sold into sex slavery is 7 years.
SharedHope.org reports that human trafficking is a $9.8B industry in the U.S., with at least 100,000 child victims each year. “Traffickers are hiring teenage recruiters to befriend girls and boys, who are on average 13 years old, to lure them away so they can be sold for sex.” Williams said. Traffickers prey on a child’s insecurities or home life issues, all under the guise of friendship or even love. “Some masquerade as best friends, others as boyfriends. Children are meeting them online, through social media, and in person at schools, malls, and movie theaters. Wherever your children are, the recruiters are too,” said Williams.
According to Homeland Security, Texas is ranked second in the U.S. for child trafficking. The Department of Justice has designated the I-10 corridor as the number one route for human trafficking in the country. Williams says this has little to do with Texas’s international border and much more to do with its highway system and the amount of money available in the state. At highest risk are homeless youth and runaways. According to the school districts, 2,970 homeless kids are registered in Collin County schools, with over 1,500 in the McKinney ISD alone. The National Center for Missing and Exploited children puts the number of active missing children cases in Texas at 47,000. Traffick911.com reports that one in three runaways will be approached by a trafficker within 48 hours of leaving home.
Williams described some of the red flags to look for, including truancy, inappropriate clothing, tattoos pertaining to money or with a strange name, and a sudden change in behavior or possessions. While one sign might not indicate trafficking, two or three together can be an indication. Williams gives an example: “If you are at a convenience store late at night and you see a young girl standing around alone, dressed inappropriately and by herself, do not approach her (because she is likely being watched), but do call 911. Then you can call the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 1-888-373-7888. A life might just depend on it.”
This fall, the United Methodist Women will sponsor a Traffick911 program, “Traps of a Trafficker,” at First United Methodist Church of McKinney to train middle and high school students and their parents how to avoid the tricks, traps, and lures of traffickers. “Tonight’s event and this training program are just the start for us. I want to see this information offered in every school and every church. The average person, by being informed and observant, can save a life from trafficking just by paying attention,” said Velvet Hammond, a member of UMW and one of the organizers of the event.
Traffick911 partners with Homeland Security and other groups to take steps to end trafficking, prevent its spread, and heal its victims. In late 2013, Traffick911 opened Triumph House, a long-term campus of small homes where survivors of trafficking can live and heal, safe and free. See www.Traffick911.com for more information about trafficking and to donate or volunteer.
Written by Rebecca Traeger: Rebecca Traeger is a member of First United Methodist Church of McKinney, Texas, www.sharingtheheart.org.