Almost every week, local news outlets from across the nation share stories of human trafficking arrests. Las Vegas, Nevada, Orange County, California, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Larimer County, Colorado, Santa Clara County, California, and DeKalb County, Alabama are just a few of the areas that have seen arrests since mid-May.
As encouraging as these stories are, don’t let them fool you. There are indicators that human trafficking is increasing in the United States, despite this constant stream of arrests. While the work of law enforcement to track down these criminals and put them behind bars is important, it is ultimately insufficient. If we want to end human trafficking, we can’t leave the job to law enforcement alone. We all have to join the fight.
At first, this may sound counterintuitive and even downright dangerous. Ordinary citizens aren’t equipped to intervene in a trafficking situation; doing so exposes them to potential abduction and exploitation themselves. Leaving the matter to trained and armed law enforcement seems like the safest approach.
This is a fair point, but it oversimplifies the issue. Human trafficking is a supply answer to a demand problem. As long as there are men who will pay to rape America’s women and children, suppliers will come forward to meet that demand. No police force, no matter how many resources it has or how well-trained it is, can arrest every trafficker or stop every transaction in this underground industry. The demand is just too great.
And that is exactly where you and I come in. We might not be able to stop the supply, but we can certainly work to end the demand. No one is born with the desire to exploit other human beings for sex. These desires, disgusting as they are, are the result of a long series of choices and experiences on the part of the buyer. Those choices and experiences are where we must focus our energy. By intervening before the choice to buy another human for sex even comes up, we can end the demand and eliminate the evil of modern-day slavery in our country.
This intervention will look different for each of us, depending on where we work and what our role is. Government leaders, for instance, must examine state and local laws on prostitution. Do they punish the provider, or do they lay the blame where it really belongs — with the buyer? And while federal leaders have done a great job condemning and fighting human trafficking in recent years, they haven’t done as great a job paying attention to its drivers. Poverty, abuse, and homelessness all render individuals vulnerable to being trafficked; pornography and systemic violence set men on the path toward being a buyer. Until we begin to consider these factors in our legislative solutions, our solutions will fail and the trade will fester.
Religious and cultural leaders also have an important role to play. We learn what to desire from the images and messages that surround us, and for far too many men, that means desiring to conquer and abuse others rather than to care and advocate for them. While this desire doesn’t lead every man to buy sex, it does lead anywhere from 10% to 20% of American men there. Only when men see models of masculinity that use strength to support women and children rather than to exploit them will we begin to see a decline in the demand.
It’s not just those in leadership roles who can help fight the demand, however; ordinary Americans can make a massive difference as well. Pay attention to the TV you watch and the music you listen to. Are you supporting artists like R. Kelly, Harvey Weinstein, and Allison Mack, who abuse and traffic women and children? Are you teaching those in your care that doing so is acceptable? Are you voting for politicians who see human trafficking and pornography for the human rights and public health issues that they are?
While these might seem like private lifestyle choices, the reality is that they are decisions that shape America’s families, churches, communities and cultures. Do your choices reflect the freedom and dignity that we as Americans believe is every human’s birthright? Or do they contribute, even slightly, to the ongoing oppression of our most vulnerable?
Ordinary citizens can help on a practical, concrete level as well. Attend city council meetings to hear about what’s being done in your area to fight trafficking. Call your representative to urge action. Band together with other concerned individuals to start a Trafficking-Free Zone: a community-wide program that brings together county leaders in business, government, and faith communities to combat trafficking.
None of this is to say that the work of law enforcement is insignificant. These brave men and women confront the ugliest parts of human nature on a daily basis, exposing themselves to danger to save innocent lives. It is to say that we should do all we can to render that bravery unnecessary. The police can save individuals and help communities; they cannot transform a nation. That task — easier in some respects, so much harder in others — lies with you and with me.
Kevin Malone is the president and co-founder of the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking, a nonprofit, faith-based organization committed to ending human trafficking in America. He is also the former executive vice president and general manager of the Los Angeles Dodgers.
