COVID-19 Has Led to an Increase in Human Trafficking, Experts Say

From The Daily Signal.com (July 28):

The sexual exploitation of women and children has likely increased amid the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say.

Groups such as Polaris and International Justice Mission work to fight human trafficking and to free the estimated 40 million victims of modern-day slavery. Their work has not slowed down during the global pandemic.

Sadly, experts say, the virus is leading to an increase in violence against women and children.

“Buyers are getting more violent, more aggressive, trying to pay less,” Robert Beiser, strategic initiatives director at Polaris, told the Daily Signal in a phone interview.

Polaris operates the National Human Trafficking Hotline, which exists to connect victims of sex or labor trafficking with resources to help them find a way out of the abuse. The hotline also serves as a tip line to prevent future trafficking cases.

The hotline has received more than 48,000 calls or texts from individuals asking for help this year alone. Polaris has documented more than 63,000 cases of human trafficking within the U.S. since 2007.

Beiser said the coronavirus actually has created a climate for human traffickers to exploit the most vulnerable. A recent study, conducted by his group, found that crisis trafficking situations rose by 40% in April of this year compared with the numbers for April 2019. [read more]