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SALT LAKE CITY — The most important thing to know about human trafficking as webinars, rallies and concerts were held on the United Nations-sanctioned World Day Against Trafficking in Persons on Thursday is that sex trafficking is not just an act that occurs in parts of Europe or third-world countries.
It’s happening right here — even in Salt Lake City, said Allison Smith, TIP education and outreach specialist for the Asian Association of Utah during one of those webinars.
“There’s a lot more to the situation than meets the initial eye,” Smith told a webinar audience held in conjunction with the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault. “What I would suggest to you is a paradigm shift.
“If we see the trauma, typically there is something going on behind the scenes,” she added.
Hundreds of Utahns also took to the streets Thursday night to call for an end to human trafficking, a demonstration organized by Operation Underground Railroad, a nonprofit founded in Utah in 2013 that seeks to end human and sex trafficking. Marches were also held in Salt Lake City, Orem, Logan and St. George.
The group also co-sponsored A Concert to Rise Up with Rise Up for Children at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, featuring local artists The National Parks, Jon Schmidt, Alex Boye, Lexi Walker, David Osmond and Lindsey Stirling, among others, along with author and O.U.R. founder Tim Ballard. Tickets were free, but donations were encouraged, with all funds to benefit Operation Underground Railroad “and their fight to end modern-day slavery.”
Identifying the types of human trafficking that occur in the United States is key to combatting it, said Smith and other experts in the field. The UN says people are trafficked for sexual exploitation — the most common form of trafficking at 59% of known cases, as well as forced labor, forced begging, forced marriage, to sell children, as child soldiers and for the removal of organs.
Women make up 49% of trafficking victims, and young girls 23%, according to the UN. Victims have been known to be found through Tinder, TikTok and other social media platforms.
In Utah, trafficking often takes the form of online classifieds, pornography and massage parlors, but the most widespread and fastest-growing crimes are residence-based commercial sex — or trafficking in many neighborhoods, Smith said.
Last November, police arrested 26 people involved in a human trafficking operation that ranged from Salt Lake City to Provo.
Volunteers are needed at community organizations that help victims of trafficking, and can also learn to identify such victims with training from organizations like Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, various after-school programs, youth and civic groups, and even the PTA.
There’s always a need for volunteers to fight trafficking, Smith said, even if it’s something as hyperlocal as the community watch or being a good neighbor — to identify when something may be amiss.
“Try to engage with entities that will allow you to be an insulating factor that will help change the trajectory of kids’ lives,” Smith said.
Utah also has a trafficking tip line through the attorney general’s office at 801-200-3443.
Contributing: Mike Headrick, KSL TV
