Most people in the heart of Cajun country would think we would never see a case on human trafficking or “modern slavery,” but it is here all around us.
Hopefully, I will assist you in understanding what human trafficking is and how to spot it. Human trafficking is the modern-day form of slavery and involves the control of people by means of force (violence), fraud (deception), or coercion for the purpose of forced labor, servitude, or slavery-like practices.
Human trafficking involves the exploitation of persons who are used for commercial sex or forced labor. Today, human trafficking is the third largest criminal industry in the world, after arms trade and drug trafficking. It is also the fastest growing. Many of these victims are lured from their homes with false promises of well-paying jobs; instead, they are forced or coerced into prostitution, domestic servitude, or other types of forced labor. Victims are found in legitimate and illegitimate labor industries, including sweatshops, massage parlors, agricultural fields, restaurants, hotels and domestic service.
Here is a recent breakdown of human trafficking victims in the Louisiana which has seen a 52 percent increase in the past years. There were 681 cases of human trafficking identified in 2017. The top five in the state were Orleans Parish with 102 cases, Caddo Parish came in second with 94 cases, East Baton Rouge Parish had 52 cases, Jefferson Parish investigated 25 cases and St. Tammany having 16 cases.
In the next part we will discuss the obstacles and police calls dealing with human trafficking.
