Tori Lemon
Editor-in-Chief
The number of human sex trafficking cases involving minors in Wichita have seen a jump in recent years. According to the Exploited and Missing Child Unit (EMCU), there were 29 cases of trafficking in 2014. In 2015, that number more than doubled to 65 cases. As far as nationwide cases, Polaris reported 8,042 cases in 2016, a 35 percent jump from 2015.
“Human trafficking is a crime against humanity,” the Kansas Human Trafficking Advisory Board said. “It is plain and simple modern day slavery, the exploitation of human beings. Human trafficking involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them.”
Human trafficking is a form of modern slavery. Trafficking happens when the person in power exploits an individual using manipulation of some kind to make them perform commercial sex or work. Trafficking can fold into two categories: labor and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking is defined as “Individuals are compelled to work or provide services by force, fraud or coercion,” according to the Office on Trafficking in Persons (OTIP). Sex trafficking can be defined as “Adults are compelled to engage in commercial sex by force, fraud or coercion. Minors are compelled to perform a commercial sex act regardless of the presence of force, fraud or coercion,” according to OTIP.
Most struggle with differentiating the difference between human trafficking and prostitution.
“Most prostitution is human trafficking,” Executive Director of ICT SOS Jennifer White said. “Minors in Kansas involved in prostitution activities are automatically considered victims. Adults involved under force, fraud or coercion are also victims.”
ICT SOS is a non-profit organization based in Wichita whose main goal is to provide resources, training, education and awareness regarding human trafficking. They provide volunteer resources, as well as information and statistics. Their website helps to explain what exactly human trafficking is, what you can do about it and why Wichita is a popular spot for trafficking.
Wichita is sometimes referred to as a “hot spot” for human trafficking since the city sits right in the crosshairs because of the various highways. Major highways, much like the ones in Wichita, are easy ways for traffickers to move victims around the country rather easily. Through “likes,” friends request and private messages, the Internet has been an easier outlet for traffickers to access vulnerable victims.
In May of 2017, a measure that would strengthen state laws against human trafficking cleared the Kansas Legislature without a single vote against it. This bill creates new crimes related to human trafficking along with toughens some existing laws. It also would create the crime of internet trading child pornography and increase penalties for sexual exploitation of a child. To help notice trafficking, the bill would also require that truck drivers get training to help them notice signs of human trafficking in order to get or renew a commercial license.
In the past, there have been cases where minor sex workers were charged with more consequences than those who bought sex from them. This created great controversy among some; however, White insists that changes are being made in the positive direction.
“Law enforcement has made a major shift over the last 10 plus years in treating victims as victims and going after the pimps and buyers,” White said. “New state laws have supported this as well.”
With new laws and training to catch predators before something happens, there are hopes that human trafficking will be better recognized and fewer and fewer cases will happen.
