Human trafficking is a serious issue in many parts of the U.S.; one community in Fairfax, Virginia, gathered to bring awareness to the epidemic.
Saturday, June 3, marked the first inaugural Human Trafficking Awareness Walk in Fairfax, Virginia. Activists, community leaders, students, parents, and law enforcement were some of the more than 400 people who participated. The Just Ask Prevention Project organized Saturday's walk. "Just Ask" is a non-profit organization that collaborates between detectives from the Fairfax County Police Department and representatives from county agencies, schools, and community leaders to help educate and raise awareness about human trafficking in Northern Virginia. The organization firmly believes that the issue can only be addressed if they get people talking about it. Consciousness-raising was one of the main goals of Saturday's walk for awareness.Human Trafficking in Virginia?
Jodi O’Hern, School Sector Chair at Just Ask, spoke to the crowd before the event got underway Saturday morning.Many of you don’t know that we have had trafficking victims from every single high school in this county, many victims from many middle schools and some elementary schools, some children as young as 9 years old," she said. "It’s tragic isn’t it?”According to the FBI, human trafficking of minors is the second fastest growing crime in the U.S. and in Virginia. Disturbingly, Northern Virginia and the greater D.C. area are hot spots for the trafficking of minors, and there are multiple non-profits working to combat the crime in the area. [caption id="attachment_1860" align="alignnone" width="727"]
One of the campaigns by Just Ask involves the distribution of wrist bands at local schools. Photo by WTOP.[/caption]
The Just Ask website says that traffickers can be anyone; they can be of any socioeconomic status, ethnicity, or gender, and can even be teens themselves. Liz Payne, Just Ask volunteer and health curriculum coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools, and Fairfax County Police Detective Bill Woolf agree that gangs are involved in the trafficking of minors. They both suspect the gang MS13, in particular.
"The gangs in general are shifting to human trafficking as a source of revenue," Woolf said. "It’s a higher yield and less risk."
While drugs or weapons provide a one-time payout, forced prostitution means continued pay. Despite suspected gang-involvement, the Just Ask campaign emphasizes that trafficking can be more deceptive.
