Today is an international day of recognition for human trafficking crimes. The World Day against Trafficking in Persons is dedicated to bringing awareness to the horrific crime that is human abduction and trafficking. This is a global crime that targets and exploits women, men, and children for horrible purposes such as forced labor and sexual molestation. People may feel that this is the type of thing that only happens in specific areas or on TV crime shows or as a bad plot for action movies starring Liam Neeson – but the reality is much sadder and so horrific.
The Panhandle is not immune to human trafficking. In fact, just last November a Pensacola business owner named David C. Williams pleaded guilty to trafficking women to provide prostitution services out of his massage parlors (amongst other charges like money laundering). Additionally, the state of Florida is ranked SECOND in the country for highest number of human trafficking reports received by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.
If you are interested in learning more about how you can bring awareness on how to spot human trafficking, report it, and fight it in your life and community, please check out the local organization Called2Rescue located in Pensacola. This non-profit organization as founded by Brad Dennis in 2013 and was created to “educate, empower and mobilize an alliance of local churches and community partners to search for and rescue trafficked and exploited persons in our area.” Additionally, the Florida Coalition Against Human Trafficking is an excellent source of information and resources.
