INDIANAPOLIS — The U.S. Department of Justice says human trafficking increased 49% between 2011 and 2021.
Last year, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office handled about 20 cases involving human trafficking.
Victim advocates gathered at the Indiana Statehouse Tuesday, Jan. 16 to mark Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
Concerns rise about human trafficking when Indianapolis hosts big events, like next month's NBA All-Star Weekend. But victim advocates stress that sex and labor trafficking happens every day across the state.
"It's happening everywhere, in our schools and all the counties throughout Indiana," said Jessica Evans, Allies founder and executive director. "It's in our backyard, yeah, and the people that we work with are teenagers, and so it's happening to our youth. It's happening to adults."
The Indiana Coalition to End Sexual Assault and Human Trafficking wants people to recognize the issue and let victims know they have options to stop it.
"Human trafficking is essentially forced slavery. It is what it sounds like, being compelled to submit to labor without compensation or choice about that labor. It can be sexual labor. It can be any other kind of work," the coalition's Beth White said.
"I think it's really important not to pay too much attention to what the movies or Hollywood tell you, but to really learn from experts in the field of what trafficking actually looks like because it is happening in our community," Evans said. "And if you don't know what to look for, if you think it's sensationalized and it's only the white van and someone being snatched from a mall, then you're going to miss it. And so it's important to really understand what it looks like in our community."
Everyone can watch out for the signs of someone who appears to be under the control of someone else who is not their parent or guardian.
"The vast majority of human trafficking victims do not identify as such. Many of them do not want to get involved with the criminal justice system. They're in fear. They don't have a place to live. They might have children or elders to care for, and this is the way they feel they have to be living and working in order to feed their families and themselves," White said.
ICESAHT wants to reach victims with a message that help and hope are available. Parents can play a huge role in prevention.
"Our knowledge is power. The more that we are able to identify social media, gaming apps, internet access that children have unsupervised, and how that sometimes can lead to them being trafficked and communicating with people they may not always know," said Yvonne Moore, with Indiana Department of Child Services.
Advocates hope lawmakers will also address the issue. Three bills have been introduced this year in the Indiana House of Representatives that would address human trafficking.
One bill would require hotels and motels to provide human traffic awareness training to all of their employees. That same kind of information would have to be posted at each public lodging establishment.
Another House bill would require school employees to complete child sexual trafficking prevention training.