struggle with mental illness. All these factors can indicate a higher risk of vulnerability to human trafficking. What Misunderstandings Exist? T rafficking is not a problem in the U.S. and other Western countries. Often, stories of trafficking are set in third-world slum areas, or depict children in red- light districts who were sold by their parents as a desperate act of survival. And while those problems do exist, the face of trafficking in the U.S. is often very different, and some might assume that it doesn’t happen here. Victims know they are being vic- timized. “Many times traffickers lure victims by being their boyfriends,” Laura says. “One huge misconcep- tion about trafficking is that victims know that they are victims. They often don’t know. So they might be just stopping into a homeless shelter to get a meal or rest in between making money for their boyfriends.” They don’t recognize oppression and don’t see alternatives to their dependency on perpetrators. Trafficking doesn’t affect certain groups of people. “I’m a proud Ameri- can and it’s hard to believe that trafficking is here,” Laura continues. “It’s true that the image of trafficking is a Thai girl living in a brothel. But it’s also true that it’s a 15-year-old average-looking high school kid sitting next to you in physics.” Trafficking victims are only females, and pimps are only males. The numbers on the gender of victims vary greatly (studies indicate the number of male victims range from 20–50 percent). Human trafficking is easily identi- fied. Victims are often masked by other social issues: domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, poverty, and so on. Statistics are very fluid and victims are often silent (sometimes even defending their per- petrators), often making the problem invisible. Additionally, the trafficking problem can vary greatly by region; in areas where undocumented workers are prevalent, forced labor may be more of an issue, while in middle- class suburbia, there might be a powerful child pornography ring. How Is the Landscape Changing? T he United States is learning to recognize victims as vic- tims, rather than criminals. Since 2006, 16 states have enacted legislation to address homeless youth and trafficking, and the number continues to grow. Human traffick- ing is taking its place in the forefront of social justice battles. It’s becoming more visible as task forces—locally, nationally, and globally—are backed up with funding, legislation, and activism. Raising awareness brings more soldiers to the fight. Training parents, frontline organizations, law enforce- ment, and churches on local “red Ī WWW.AGRM.ORG MAY/JUNE 2017 35 Human trafficking is easily identified. Victims are often masked by other social issues: domestic violence, juvenile delinquency, substance abuse, poverty, and so on.