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Raising awareness of human trafficking
January is national human trafficking prevention month. Olivia Littleton is a survivor of sexual trafficking.
ORLANDO, Fla. - January is national human trafficking prevention month. Olivia Littleton is a survivor of sexual trafficking. "When I was 19, I met a man on a dating app who was 15 years older than me, and he became my main abuser. Between the ages of 19 and 21, he exploited me online, and then it turned into offline, as well," she said.
She said when it started, she didn't even realize what she was getting into. "It started as building relationships, asking for photos, then increasingly more explicit photos, then using those photos against me so I felt I was stuck and couldn't say no, for fear of those photos getting shared with family or friends."
Law enforcement says her story is sadly typical of many victims. Human trafficking includes people like Littleton, forced to perform sex acts - in person or online - against their will. They also include people forced to work for low or no pay, these victims are often undocumented immigrants working in hotels or restaurants. "Through forced fraud and coercion, whether their documents are being withheld, told if they go to law enforcement they'll be deported, they'll continue to work for these lower wages," said Mikala Klein, with the Central Florida Human Trafficking Taskforce.
There is help for victims through law enforcement and local nonprofit groups. Officials say Florida, California, and Texas are the three worst states for human trafficking.
They say in all cases, recognition and reporting are key to stopping exploitation. When it comes to forced labor, they say businesses need to step in when they see it happening. "We were able to pass legislation to strengthen some of the current laws when it comes to punitive measures for hotels and motels that don't train their staff in detection, who continue to let trafficking take place in their establishments," said Florida State Rep. Anna Eskamani.
They say victims of sex trafficking, and also parents, need to see the signs of exploitation as soon as they appear. "Sometimes your children don't like when we ask for their passwords or go through their phones or look to see what they're doing," said Orlando Police Deputy Chief Chad Ochiuzzo, "but this will prevent human trafficking and other such related offenses in the future.