How Human Trafficking Flourishes in the Age of Social Media and How We Can Push Back
It’s tempting to think that human trafficking is a problem in a far-away land. Unfortunately, it’s much closer. Like in our back yard closer. On this episode, host Robert J. Marks speaks with Charlie Crockett, head educational trainer with Unbound Now, an organization that works to combat human trafficking through education, training, victim services, and partnerships with law enforcement. The pair discuss how online technologies like social media are used to recruit victims and exploit their vulnerabilities. Crockett explains just how prevalent this dehumanizing criminal practice has become. Human trafficking, including sex trafficking and labor trafficking, is a major problem in the United States, with an estimated 313,000 victims in the state of Texas alone. An estimated 40 million people are trafficked around the world. So what can be done? Marks and Crockett explain everyday ways you can help, from having trafficking hotline numbers ready in your phone in case you spot something suspicious to building stronger relationships with your own kids at home so they don’t fall prey to unlikely and dangerous sources of trafficking online.
