Educational meeting on sex trafficking to be held Sept. 20

By Stephen Jones
sjones@casscountynow.com

When you think of all the problems that face small towns, human trafficking is not usually the most common issue that comes to mind, but it can be a reality even for many rural areas like Cass County. 
Interstate 20, the most popular road used in the United States for sex trafficking, lies about 50 miles south of Cass County. This road connects Dallas, Longview, Marshall and Shreveport with Atlanta, Georgia.
Upon further research into Texas, you will find that the state ranks second, behind only California, in the total number of calls made to the trafficking hotline, with Houston having more calls to the hotline than any other city in the U.S.
According to Michelle Valentin, of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service-Cass County, there have been reported cases of minors falling victim to domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST) in Northeast Texas. 
Texas A&M AgriLife is partnering with the Cass County Sheriff’s Department, the Texas Department of State Health Services, and the Cass Health Advocacy PartnerS in the hopes of preventing these events from happening to anyone else.
This local coalition is planning an educational event at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20 in the Cass County Law Enforcement Training Center in Linden to provide information to the younger members of the community of the warning signs of sex trafficking that may be present among their peers.
Shared Hope International, a non-profit organization formed to combat DMST, said these warning signs may include a significantly older companion who is not a child’s guardian, signs of trauma, a chronic runaway, homelessness and/or substance abuse.
After receiving a grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in 2009, Shared Hope International conducted an undercover investigation of the sex trafficking industry and uncovered many disturbing facts regarding sex trafficking.
In the U.S., sex trafficking is a $9.8 billion dollar industry with more than 100,000 minors involved. Of these children, the average age they first fell victim to prostitution is 13 years old, and they were most likely recruited at locations like schools, malls and parks.
The organization also found that 85 percent of victims were a part of the welfare system at some point in their lives and 70 percent have been affected by physical or sexual abuse at home, which may suggest that the more tumultuous a child’s home life is, the more likely they will fall victim to DMST and 90 percent of them are controlled by a pimp.
The traffickers who make a profit from selling minors for  to minors for sex can consist of “boyfriends,” family members and friends.  Victim advocates hope to combat this ever-growing problem through education and awareness.