Technology Can Help Women in Trouble

We’ve all heard the horrible statistics. The stories of women, stolen away from their families, forced into prostitution by men who pretended to care for them.

It’s the most common way women are lost to trafficking. They meet a guy, he claims to be her “boyfriend”, gets her hooked on drugs, then puts her on the street to pay off the debt for “taking care of her”. Sometimes they’re shuttled between strip clubs, but many times, they’re listed on the adult hookup or dating websites.

These are ads for prostitution, make no mistake. And most times, those women aren’t posting themselves there. It is that “boyfriend” posting her, and that woman is being sex trafficked.

I am a domestic violence victim advocate and writer of all matters in women’s self defense. My work often intersects with human trafficking and I’ve witnessed it more times than I care to elaborate on. It’s an ugly truth, and often times, these women are convinced that, even if they managed to escape, nobody would want them back after what they’ve gone through.

Of course, if it were your daughter or sister who was being trafficked, you would probably feel differently. I know I did when it was my own sister, addicted to heroin and trafficked by a “boyfriend”. My sister has been gone a decade now, an overdose victim in the early days of fentanyl poisoning.

. . .

Often times, people working in anti-trafficking organizations burn out quickly. The things you see, they’re difficult to unsee. I once knew a woman, 9 months pregnant, prostituting until the day of the birth of the child.

She was doing it for money for crack cocaine. For the father of her baby, because he beat her if she didn’t. She is now dead, she overdosed when her daughter was 8 months old. My friend adopted her baby, and the baby is doing well. The baby’s father is still smoking crack, and has another young woman prostituting in the same area.

. . .

I hang in a lot of forums for domestic abuse and trafficking. I have been known to assist women looking to leave abuse, and when someone needs a quick route to safety, my name is often mentioned. I met someone in a trafficking forum a few months back, and for the first time in a very long time, I was in awe of the work they’re doing.

FaceMRI is a tool for private investigators and law enforcement that will scan the pornography and sex ad sites for the faces of young women who are suspected trafficking victims. It essentially means a detective doesn’t have to sift through thousands of ads for prostitution by hand, the software does it for them.

It works. I know because I have joined the FaceMRI team, and personally run the photos of some young women found to be victims of trafficking.

. . .

Trafficking, much like domestic violence, is such a difficult subject to discuss. Many people hold antiquated beliefs on the matter, like, “why don’t they just leave?” and, “if they wanted out, they would just call the cops”. The truth is, these are complex situations, and there are many reasons these women don’t just pick up a phone and call the police.

Some are afraid they can’t go back home. Some have had children born into the situation. Some have run before, and been found. Some can’t see a life any different, because it’s all they have ever known.

These are just a few of the reasons. In my time as an advocate, I’ve heard many, and refuted a few when I can. With AI and facial recognition software being the new kids on the technology block, it’s not a sure win at this point, but it’s certainly one hell of a tool to use in getting these women back to the families who love them.

I’ll leave you with some facts on human trafficking, because the numbers are astounding. Please remember, if you have lost someone to trafficking, there is hope. If you need information on how to report a family member or loved one as missing or suspected trafficking victim, reach out to me. I’ll help you to the best of my ability to set it in motion.

In 2021, 10,359 situations of human trafficking were reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline involving 16,554 individual victims. Shocking as these numbers are, they are likely only a fraction of the actual problem.* -The Polaris Project
Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age. (22 U.S.C. § 7102(11)(A)).*- Department of Justice

Text 233733 for help if you’re in a situation where you’re being forced or coerced into sexual situations you’re uncomfortable with. In domestic abuse situations, 800–799-SAFE to get an exit plan started. If you need assistance with getting a safety plan together, or just someone to hear you in your current situation, hit the reply to author feature. I will listen.

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This post was previously published on April Hawkins, Ask A Bitchface.

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