Tennessee Human Trafficking BE AWARE

Human Trafficking is modern-day slavery, plain and simple. It happens here. And it has to stop.

Consider the facts:

In the United States, on average, every two minutes a child is bought or sold for sex. The average age of a child sold for sex is 13 years old. Human Trafficking is the second-fastest growing criminal industry, just behind Drug Trafficking.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) has reported that human trafficking is the second-highest rising crime in the state. This type of exploitation can begin in childhood or adolescence. Despite common misconceptions, the Polaris Project’s statistics show that the majority of trafficked individuals in the country are U.S. citizens, not foreign nationals. It is a harsh reality that the young people in our lives may be the same ones vulnerable to traffickers. Additionally, human trafficking often does not align with over-dramatized media portrayals. Manipulation is more common than abduction, and most often, a trafficker is a family member, friend or individual a victim already knows.

According to the TBI, human trafficking cases have been reported in every county in Tennessee. A large amount of them are reported in Davidson and

Williamson Counties. There are a few primary reasons for this: source: freeforlifeintl.org & tn.gov/tbi

The first reason is related to transportation and location. Nashville is one of only six U.S. cities where 3 major interstates converge. Additionally, you can reach 75% of the U.S. market within a 2-hour flight time from Nashville, making it a strategic point for movement around the country. Nashville is also in close proximity to Atlanta – a large metropolitan area known for high amounts of human trafficking – and this adds to the transportation of victims throughout the state.

The second reason that Nashville is a popular spot for human trafficking is its large tourism and sporting industries. Studies have shown that popular events that are characterized by large influxes of people (like the Super Bowl, for example) typically increase the demand for sexual exploitation. The presence of both the Nashville Predators and Tennessee Titans, as well as events such as CMA Fest, the NFL Draft, and Bonnaroo Music & Arts Festival can drive a demand for trafficked services and make it harder for traffickers to be identified and caught.

Text “help” to 233733 Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline: 1-855-55-TNHTH

According to TBI data, the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline received 456 calls in 2018, 728 calls in 2019, and 898 calls in 2020. Middle Tennessee in particular saw 169 calls in 2018, 322 calls in 2019, and 317 calls in 2020.

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