When you think about a problem as terrible and widespread as sexual trafficking is in this world, you can be overwhelmed by the idea of confronting it.
It is so big and so awful, what can any one of us do?
But there are signs of hope, and it is possible to make progress in the fight.
Look at these recent news items out of Texas about trafficking. Each of the stories is good news in its own way: a 14-year-old girl was rescued in Odessa, Texas, from the clutches of two men accused of selling her; 47 people were locked up after a massive sting in Katy, Texas, involving 22 law enforcement agencies; and, finally, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is fighting in federal court to uphold a law that helps curtail the power of internet sex trafficking.
Thinking about these three stories gives a sense of the ways society is working to face this evil. And they offer ideas about how we can continue to improve this effort.
The first story reminds us of how important it is for each one of us to be alert to the signals someone is being trafficked. The 14-year-old victim was rescued because someone heard something and took action. According to police, a person staying in an adjacent room to the one where the girl was stashed overheard men talking about sexually assaulting a 14-year-old.
The lesson here is that we can’t be afraid to speak up, to contact law enforcement or the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 if we see or hear something that isn’t right.
The second story demonstrates how crucial it is for law enforcement to continue coordinating on the local, state and federal levels. “Operation Tri Point” in the Katy area led to the arrest of 20 men and 27 women in connection with human trafficking.
Stings like this create real consequences. Because trafficking is a crime based in financial gain, such consequences go a long way toward deterrence.
There is another lesson here. Most of the victims were “recruited” into the life of sexual victimization primarily through social media. This is another reminder that, beginning very early, young people need to be educated about what is lurking online.
This brings us to the last piece of news. Paxton had to join a legal fight in order to protect some important changes to the law that help address prolific human trafficking on the internet. Paxton led a 21-state coalition in urging the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington to reject a constitutional challenge to the Allow States to Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act. The 2018 act, also known SESTA, reformed the 1996 Communications Decency Act to allow civil liability claims against online platforms that host sex trafficking ads.
The act must be protected.
The fact that it needs legal defense shows how crucial it is for top elected officials to be willing to face down powerful forces such as big tech in the search for tools to address human trafficking.
These three stories are important examples of the way human trafficking must be fought. At the level of policy, law enforcement and everyday people, work needs to be done and is being done.
Seeing that work, and supporting that work, gives us hope that we can continue to make progress against this darkness in our midst.
— The Dallas Morning News