Members of the Southern Tennessee Ladies Society listened to a very troubling and different type of topic during their September meeting.

Special Agent Rick Stout with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation went into explicit detail about human trafficking and its omnipresence within the world and, more specifically, within areas in the state of Tennessee.

Stout said that even though slavery ended after the Civil War, there are actually more slaves now than at any other time in history.

With an estimate of more than 40 million people worldwide, this form of modern-day slavery is also known as human trafficking.

Human sex trafficking is a $100 billion enterprise worldwide with an additional $52 billion attributed to labor trafficking.

While its illegal, human trafficking is a booming business that has become the second fastest growing criminal enterprise in the U.S. with estimates of victims in the hundreds of thousands, and Stout said it is happening all around the state of Tennessee, even in Coffee and Franklin counties.

Stout explained that the same people who traffic drugs and weapons realize that selling people is more profitable and less risky and people can be sold repeatedly.

In the case of a sex slave, that might be dozens of times per day.

Stout explained that sex trafficking is a commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud or coercion.

These modern-day slaves are forced into labor, servitude, sex slavery or mail-order marriages to make money for their exploiters.

The term commercial sex act is defined as the giving or receiving of anything of value to any person in exchange for a sex act, that includes money, drugs, shelter, food, clothing, etc.

Commercial sex acts may include prostitution, pornography and sexual performance. Some forms of sex trafficking are controlled by pimps, gangs or even within a persons family.

The widespread abuse of methamphetamine has lead families to sell their children for money or drugs.

Stout said that while its true that big cities have a larger number of reported cases, practically any town that hosts large events or are located near the interstates are target areas for business related to human sex trafficking

He went on to explain that a buyer can search the internet and buy a human for a sex transaction and have the product delivered to his motel room within a few hours.

Events like Bonnaroo, local festivals, football games, county fairs, conventions in Nashville and races at Bristol Speedway are a few key examples he gave of events that may be targeted.

Stout warned, Dont leave your children alone, ever. Not at the bus stop, walking to a friends home or even in Walmart or a shopping mall without your supervision. Perpetrators are always watching and looking to prey on and recruit children, women and even men into the human-trafficking enterprise.

There are around 1,400 runways each year that are susceptible to being recruited by a trafficker who may force them to engage in survival sex.

Other victims may be tricked into the business by answering ads from traffickers posing as modeling agencies, pretending to be dance and talent scouts or offering jobs to immigrants.

Stout said, Its hard to imagine how anyone in their right mind could physically, mentally or emotionally abuse another person, let alone a child. The problem is these people are not in their right mind. There is growing demand from hundreds of thousands of demented men and individuals who think they could use, buy or sell a human being for whatever the going rate is for whatever pleases them. This is not okay. This is a real problem and it has got to stop. The TBI is trying to address the problem.

The use of computers and cell phones make this type of crime hard to detect and harder to enforce.

Agencies such as the Department of Child Services are oftentimes the first eyes that spot potential child endangerment, abuse and potential trafficking cases.

Stout listed the following signs that mean a minor could be a victim of human trafficking.

The victim may be inappropriately dressed or wearing indecent attire for the location or time of day, dirty clothing or the same clothes each day.

They may have few possessions, no formal identification or claim to be an adult while looking much younger.

They may exhibit fear of authority figures and move frequently from place to place. The victims have no control of their own money, no independence and may be inconsistent with stories.

They may have burner phones, hotel key cards and sometimes may have unexplained changes in their clothing, goods or money.

You may notice an older man with a younger child that keeps their head down and controls the child.

Traffickers will also often tattoo their products with a bar code or their name to show they are part of their stable.

Stout advised everyone to use your gut instinct.

If something doesnt look right, report it immediately, Stout said. You will not be bothering the police with your call. Do not try to approach the person directly or put yourself in danger. Oftentimes, the minor victim doesnt realize their own situation. Many minors are captured and put into sex slavery at a very young age and this is their normal life.

If you suspect someone is a victim, document what you see with photos and location using your cell phone and contact 911 or TBI at the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline, 1-855-558-6484. The TBI website is full of more information on how you can help at http://www.ItHasToStop.com.

New nonprofit resources have been established to rehabilitate, educate, counsel and establish employment for survivors of human sex trafficking.

In Middle Tennessee, EndSlaveryTn.org provides specialized case management and comprehensive aftercare for human trafficking survivors and tactically addresses the problem through advocacy, prevention and training of front-line professionals.

Thistle Farms is a two-year residential program located in Nashville that provides housing, food, healthcare, therapy and education to women who have survived trafficking, prostitution, and addiction.

They believe these women deserve a second chance at life. The women are employed in one of their social enterprises and can learn new job skills and make a living wage to support themselves.

The women have continued access to support after they graduate from the program.

In addition to state and national law enforcement agencies, other nonprofit organizations like Truckers Against Trafficking exist.

They are educating fellow truck drivers and the public and focusing efforts on curbing the demand that perpetuates human sex trafficking.

Tennessees law enforcement officers are changing the conversation around the crime of prostitution, realizing they may be coming into contact with victims, not criminals.

The state of Tennessee is leading the nation in their efforts to enact new legislative directives that will increase the penalties for traffickers who promote another person for prostitution and requires them to register as a sex offender.

They have also made many provisions that protect minors, expunge criminal records and authorize law enforcement to transfer a minor victim of human trafficking to a shelter care facility.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation has original jurisdiction to investigate cases of human trafficking.

Sex trafficking and prostitution are not a victimless crime, especially when a minor is involved.

Children under the age of 18 have no legal right to consent to sexual acts. Laws have changed within the last decade where sex trafficking was only considered a misdemeanor with minimal penalty.

Those caught in acts of prostitution are still arrested but are counselled and identified as victims.

Law enforcement is trying to get information on their handlers and to redirect the survivors into programs for healing and to break the cycle.

TBI is also responsible for training the states law enforcement officers on recognizing potential victims and investigating cases in their communities.

The TBI runs its own ongoing operation in an effort to rescue victims, address demand, and arrest traffickers.

Rick Stout has been employed as a special agent with the TBI for 34 years.

He served in the Criminal Investigations Division, the Special Investigations Unit, the Criminal Intelligence Unit-Gang Unit and the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Stout was one of the founders and president of the Tennessee Gang Investigators Association from 1998 through 2002.

He is retired from the Fusion Center in Nashville and is actively instructing new agents at the TBI in surveillance, gangs and death investigations.

Prior to working with the TBI, Stout was a police officer for five years.

He is available to present programs on human trafficking and other topics by contacting him at rick.stout@tn.gov or 615-744-4015.

The October lunch meeting will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. at the Franklin County Country Club.

Dianne Sumner will provide the latest fall fashions from her boutique, The Tigress in Fayetteville.

New guests from the community are welcome to attend this lunch.

Link:

STLS learns about the dangers of human trafficking - Winchester Herald Chronicle