20. It pointed out a decline in police investigations and charges against possible offenders in their reports. Lets look at the top 20 worst cities for human trafficking. Washington state is a beautiful place to live. The US State Department and trafficking hotlines are helping to paint a clearer picture of what's going on. Trafficking is done to obtain forced labor, sex work, forced marriages, and organ trafficking. The Mason girl managed to get away in a matter of days, but some victims are trafficked for years. Human Trafficking Frontis a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that raises awareness, builds capacity, and conducts research to prevent human trafficking, modern slavery, and online child exploitation. Overall, since 2007, the total number of calls has reached 7,439, with a total of 2,165 cases reported. Reddy said law enforcement must focus on the demand side of the sex industry. The report also states that the government isnt doing enough to help more susceptible foreigners. There have been reports that sex trafficking rings will offer girls as young as 10 years old to their customers. The first thing to note is that human trafficking is, fundamentally, slavery. Most people have a general idea about human trafficking, but its a broad term. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. While human trafficking is at an all-time high in Michigan, not everything you read is true. Michigan Attorney General's robocall initiative is leading several efforts to protect Michigan residents from the billion plus robocalls made to them every year. The Office of Special Counsel was no longer needed, and Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy were tapped to lead the criminal investigation. They have done this through a number of efforts, including the creation of the Lakeshore Human Trafficking Task Force (LHTTF) to combat human trafficking in Muskegon County. National Human Tracking Hotline. The first federal trafficking law was passed in 2000. According to theImmigration and Civil Status Department of Seychelles, they have teamed up with the Transnational Organized Crime, Illicit Trafficking, and Terrorism Program to battle the ongoing human trafficking problem. They can include: Human trafficking is unpleasant to think about and horrific for the victims. Now, she wants state lawmakers to do more to help protect others who might be in a similar situation. Police reports and court records show trafficking and prostitution happenin cities such as Detroit and Lansing, but also in small towns such as Mason and on MSUs campus. 1. The girl and her family declined to be interviewed for this story. People were drinking alcohol and Ireland drank cough syrup to get high, but the teen did not drink or do drugs. Victims come in all races, genders, nationalities, and socio-economic backgrounds. Sometime in the last few weeks, the FBI in Detroit came across two very active prostitutes. They were recovered, not arrested, said Maureen Reddy, assistant special agent in charge of the FBIs operation in Michigan. I don't think the public is seeing it that much because we just dont have that many cases where were able to prosecute or where we even get a complaint. The darker side of this area takes any opportunity to lure men, women, and children into sex work and forced labor. Due to a variety of factors, includingfear of their trafficker, self-blame, orthe shame of being identified as being involved in sex-acts, victims may not share their situation. Hope Against Trafficking (HAT):A non-profit organization, HAT works with women to provide them 12-month residences so that they can rebuild their lives. Now it's reaching new places and new lives because of the Internet. Are you safe? A huge number of people is working in unsafe conditions, with meager salaries and in fear of leaving the employer as their chances of finding proper employment in thesetop cities for human traffickingare minimal. Please update to a modern browser such as Chrome, Firefox or Edge to experience all features Michigan.gov has to offer. Related: Michigan State Police teaming up with other states to help fight human trafficking. On Feb. 20, 2015, Ireland and a friend, a graduate student at MSU,picked the young girlup in that snowy parking lot where her mother lost sight of her. Michigan actually comes in around #7-#11 in statistical ranking by the FBI. Dallas, TX Short- and long-term services for victims, greater community awareness andmore training and resources for law enforcement are important, butit will take a pillared-village approach to eradicate trafficking, Docks said. LANSING On a frigid February night in 2015, a young girl with many secrets bolted across the parking lot of a Mason apartment complex. The majority of the victims are women and children. But I think what has happened, at least in my opinion, is that they have gone from viewing the prostitute as a criminal to viewing that person as a victim.. The Hope Project:The Hope Project works to provide services that aid in healing girls victimized by human trafficking. So where will they go? he said. Since the establishment of human trafficking laws in Michigan in 2006, a number of cases have been reported. The US is considered to be the most developed country in the world, with human rights secured and defended (it does belong to the Tier 1 group countries which are successfully dealing with human trafficking, according to Trafficking in Persons Report). "Sex Trafficking Slowly Spreading Into Northern Michigan." Michigan law enforcementtakesmore than 1,000 reports of missing children every month (actual reports fluctuatebetween 1,000 and 1,400 reports each month). Copyright @2023 by Human Trafficking Front, Inc. {"email":"Email address invalid","url":"Website address invalid","required":"Required field missing"}, __CONFIG_colors_palette__{"active_palette":0,"config":{"colors":{"62516":{"name":"Main Accent","parent":-1}},"gradients":[]},"palettes":[{"name":"Default Palette","value":{"colors":{"62516":{"val":"rgb(229, 103, 38)"}},"gradients":[]}}]}__CONFIG_colors_palette__, Human Trafficking in Michigan: Complete Prevention Guide. Similarly, Canada has been identified as a transit destination country, particularly of South Korean females, en route to the United States, as mentioned in the 2009 U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report. According to police reports, Ireland and the friend took the girl back to the friends apartment at Spartan Village. Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery and is a large and growing criminal industry worldwide. In 2016, then-President Barack Obama told the Clinton Global Initiative: "I'm talking about the injustice, the outrage of human trafficking, which must be called by its true name: modern slavery. While Michiganhas seen a significant increase in human trafficking, our state is not second in the nation. Human traffickers are following my kids around at the mall, gas station, schoolyard,etc. I was sexually attacked at knifepoint by my father and other men in a secret society in the cult church. Corruption plays a crucial role in these crimes, according toInsight Crime. We reviewed our security footage and checked with the Traverse City Police Department, which confirms this is the case. Violent crime, unfortunately, has done less well: according to City-Data, there have already been 223 aggravated assaults, 29 rapes, and 97 robberies in Flint Township this year alone. More than 1,000 children go missing each month in Michigan. According tothe 100 Most Populous Cities Reportfromthe Human Trafficking Hotline(12/7/2007 12/31/2016), Detroit ranks in the 17thposition with a total of 223 number of cases. There are some excellent places to, Read More The 20 Worst Places to Live in WashingtonContinue, Wealthier people have more options when choosing where to live, as their budget allows them to take the pick of the property market to find a home and location that meets their needs, lifestyle, and, Read More The 10 Richest Neighborhoods in PhiladelphiaContinue, California goes by many namesthe Golden State, Golden West, the Land of Milk and Honey, the Land of Sunshine and Opportunity, and our personal favorite, the Land Where Stars are Buried. Two victims in Smiths case were trafficked for at least a year, according to court records, with one being with him for nearly two. There are some surprising statistics, such as 30% of countries reporting that there are more women traffickers than men. BY KTAR.COM. Learn more below. Since its inception, the unit has arrested 24 people, with eighteen of them already convicted. Copyright 2022 WILX. FALSE. Report inappropriate or criminal behavior to the appropriate authority. In fact, Detroit (via Toronto) was identified as an arrival gateway to the United States of Korean sexually exploited minors (Richard J. Estes & Neil Alan Weiner, University of Pennsylvania). This legislation underwent substantial reform in 2005 to include more specific trafficking offenses. This is a national, toll-free hotline, is available to answer calls, texts, and chats from anywhere in the country, 24-hours a day, 7-days a week, every day of the year. All of these purported as human trafficking incidents have been debunked as myths. Jacksonville is undoubtedly one of the worst US human trafficking cities. Cathy Knauf, founder of the Southwest Michigan Human Trafficking Task Force, told us that trafficking itself "has to have force, fraud, or coercion taking place" and this incident does not qualify: Somebody just following you or smiling at you or looking at you, it may be creepy or it may be uncomfortable but if there's no force, fraud or coercion going on, by definition that's not trafficking. Slowly but surely, people are starting to realize that prostitution is a form of trafficking and these women are being forced by someone in the background thats profiting off of it.. Most sites have a reporting mechanism for non-criminal behavior. TheUS State Departmenthas reported that it would like to see cities like Colombo increase their efforts to investigate the offenders and anyone who aided those people. "Myths & Misconceptions.". Homelessness and poverty are pathways for entering kids into trafficking. Domestic violence shelters often cant take trafficking victims because of funding restrictions, for example. The state also shares a border with Mexico, making crossing country borders easier than one might think. The victim may think the communication is innocent at first, but it may become aggressive, with the person asking to meet in person, or the person may attempt some type of a fraud, like making a job offer or a date in disguise as a sex-trafficking introduction. Jacob Courtad's 5 June 2017 Facebook post detailed his experience with a "strange man" at the Grand Traverse Mall in Traverse City: This guy with a white curly hair mullet walked past her 5-6 times in circles and kept smiling, I sat down and he walked past us twice and did a circle and sat about 6 tables behind us and kept starring [sic] at her and smiling and constantly on and off his phone. 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