It was something like a movie you would see that you didnt think was real, but that was her life and that of so many others who havent come to our office. These are the words of a Catholic Charities caseworker, Rosa Alamo, regarding her newfound friend, Flor Turcio, a human trafficking survivor who lived through two decades of abuse, two kidnappings, one escape and almost getting killed. According to the Human Trafficking Hotline, since 2007, more than 49,000 cases of human trafficking in the United States have been reported, which receives an average of 150 calls per day. Each year, an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders, and the trade is growing (US Department of Justice, 2004). In society today, with human trafficking happening so much, and to such a wide range of people, it is important to realize what is being done, how to help, how to be aware, and how to prevent yourself or someone close to you from getting into these situations. The media and the news outlets are just a couple of places that people around the world can go to look at so they can
view different topics of the news. These outlets ensure that people are aware of what is going on in the world, their own country, their own state, and their own surrounding communities, including awareness about human trafficking. The importance of immense reliability and factual information that the media portrays is important when discussing serious topics including human trafficking. What is concerning is the lack of media coverage when it comes to human trafficking. Theres an outstanding amount of cases of human trafficking in the United States but the thing is, not all of them are reported, which makes it hard for there to be accurately recorded data from the previous years. In addition to the lack of data, human trafficking is a very dark topic to talk about in general and the media hesitates to make some stories public because of the general rights of the victims. The amount of cases reported on the media does not compare at all to the actual number of cases that happen each day. Information is important and increased education about an issue such as human trafficking will eventually help promote awareness.