CommentsBCK FILE--Last Friday’s Florida massage parlor prostitution sting operation that had netted Patriots owner Robert Kraft may have been the talk around the water cooler.
Kraft was one of a reported 200 men to be charged with solicitation. However, the real story is about the pervasiveness of human trafficking around the world and in the United States.
The Asian Orchids Day Spa, located in a Florida strip mall is at the center of what became a four-county, two-state investigation into human trafficking. What authorities uncovered was what they say is a multimillion-dollar human trafficking and prostitution ring.
Human trafficking is a huge business, taking in an annual $150 billion, across the globe. The State Attorney General’s Office describes it as “controlling a person or group through force, fraud, or coercion to exploit the victims for forced labor, sexual exploitation, or both.”
According to The National Human Trafficking Hotline, which maintains one of the most extensive data sets on human trafficking in the country, California is one of the top reported states for trafficking events. As of June of last year, the hotline had received over 5,000 calls reporting trafficking. The top three states included California, Texas, and Florida, with almost twice as many calls coming from California than from Florida. Sex trafficking accounted for 3,718 of the cases. The top two venues for sex trafficking were illicit massage/spa businesses and residence-based commercial sex.
Since 2013, specified businesses and establishments have been required to posts notices with information on services and support for trafficking victims. By federal law, any minor under 18 who engages in commercial sex is by default, a sex trafficking victim, regardless of the presence of force, fraud, or coercion. Los Angeles County has developed a protocol for law enforcement officers to identify and help minor sex trafficking victims.
What can you do to help in your community?
The Human Trafficking Hotline is a great resource for information such as warning signs for trafficking, as well as contact information for help.
CAST LA, The Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking, provides training and resources for volunteers and professionals who want to help.
To report human trafficking:
Call (888) 373-7888
SMS: 233733 Text HELP or INFO
Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Languages: English, Spanish, 200 other languages
(Beth Cone Kramer is a professional writer living in the Los Angeles area. She covers Resistance Watch and other major issues for CityWatch.)
-cw
