Rotarians Learn Human Trafficking is Everywhere

McKENZIE — Human trafficking is present in every zipcode in Tennessee. That’s what Monti Herring of the Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition, Inc. told local Rotarians and members of the McKenzie Police Department, Carroll County Sheriff’s Department Chief Deputy Joel Pate, members of Bethel University Security, plus members of McKenzie Rotary Club.

Human Trafficking is a significant problem that has become more prevalent by the use of social media and online activity. There are more than 500,000 predators online each day. More than 50 percent of their victims are aged 12-15, with age 13 being the most common age. Eighty-nine percent of the contacts by predators are through online chat rooms and instant messages.

The predators ‘groom’ their victims by building confidence: telling them they are pretty, befriending them, pretending they are the same or similar age, or possibly in the same situation in life. The victim is occasionally incentivized to make nude or revealing photos of themselves in a scheme known as sextortion.

Parents can better protect their children by placing safeguards on their electronic devices and conducting regular checks of the devices. The victim can also have hidden apps that are nefariously labeled as a calculator while actually being a hidden app to communicate with the trafficker.

Telltale signs of trafficking can be that the victim no longer interacts with family members or friends, the victim will not tell their parents who his or her friends are, changes in appearance,or changes in mood or school grades. The trafficker often works to separate the victim from friends and family.

The Nashville Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition provides a hotline 1-855-558-6484. The group assists parents, victims of trafficking, and law enforcement. The group also provides rescue services and counseling.

For more information, contact nahtcoalition.org.

McKenzie Rotary Club meets on Tuesdays noon at the Vera Low Center on the campus of Bethel University.