Preventing Human Trafficking in the Mid-Columbia Region

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month, also declared as Human Trafficking Prevention month, for the year of 2021. Human trafficking “involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act” (Homeland Security). For the month of January, we want to introduce you to an anti-trafficking initiative, the Mid-Columbia Human Trafficking Task Force. Created in 2019, this task force is comprised of representation from many organizations from within Hood River, Wasco, Sherman, Gilliam and Wheeler counties. The representation includes law enforcement agencies; victim service providers, such as community-based advocates and district attorney advocates; mental health and medical professionals; youth services; juvenile departments; culturally specific resources; and human services organizations.

The mission of the Mid-Columbia Human Trafficking Task Force is to ensure the protection of victims, prosecution of offenders, and prevention of all forms of human trafficking through effective and coordinated partnerships. Our core values are safety, empowerment, humility, and survivor-centric. If you are interested in learning more about our task force or becoming involved, please reach out to the task force coordinator at mchttf@traffickingcoordinator.org. 

Our call to action for the month of January is to learn the indicators of Human Trafficking in your communities. As indicated from Homeland Security, below are some questions to reflect upon when identifying human trafficking: 

Does the person appear disconnected from family, friends, community organizations, or houses of worship?
Has a child stopped attending school?
Has the person had a sudden or dramatic change in behavior?
Is a juvenile engaged in commercial sex acts?
Is the person disoriented or confused, or showing signs of mental or physical abuse?
Does the person have bruises in various stages of healing?
Is the person fearful, timid, or submissive?
Does the person show signs of having been denied food, water, sleep, or medical care?
Is the person often in the company of someone to whom he or she defers? Or someone who seems to be in control of the situation, e.g., where they go or who they talk to?
Does the person appear to be coached on what to say?
Is the person living in unsuitable conditions?
Does the person lack personal possessions and appear not to have a stable living situation?
Does the person have freedom of movement? Can the person freely leave where they live? Are there unreasonable security measures?

Not all indicators listed above are present in every human trafficking situation, and the presence or absence of any of the indicators is not necessarily proof of human trafficking.

For further information, please view the following link: https://www.dhs.gov/blue-campaign/what-human-trafficking 

To report suspected human trafficking to federal law enforcement, please call 1-866-347-2423. To get help from the National Human Trafficking Hotline, please call 1-888-373-7888 or Text HELP or INFO to BeFree (233733).