COLORADO SPRINGS — A new report addresses issues and concerns regarding human trafficking in Colorado.
The Laboratory to Combat Human Trafficking is an organization based out of Denver. In October they released The Colorado Project 2023 which highlights three issues among labor and sex trafficking.
The report states:
- Housing instability and homelessness remain a top challenge for survivors of human trafficking in Colorado and the systems that serve them. We must innovate to create more safe, stable, and trauma-informed housing options.
- Marginalized groups including immigrant and tribal communities, individuals who hold LGBTQ+ identities, and youth experiencing homelessness continue to be more vulnerable to exploitation,
- Colorado must address root causes of human trafficking by looking "upstream" to tackle issues that create risks and vulnerabilities.
- Anti-trafficking partnerships still lack critical representation in their coalitions necessary to be more effective. Membership must prioritize survivors, and organizations supporting underrepresented groups like immigrants, tribal communities, sex workers, youth, and LGBTQ+.
The data from the report identifies how many human trafficking cases were charged in Colorado counties. From 2006 to 2022, there were 267 criminal human trafficking cases in Colorado. 257 of those were for sex trafficking, 24 for labor trafficking, and 14 for both sex and labor charges. These charges were spread across 23 of the 64 counties in the state. El Paso County is the third highest, above Denver.
The report also shows more and more people are reporting human trafficking through Colorado’s 24/7 Human Trafficking Hotline.
According to the report they estimate these cases that were charged only represent a fraction of the human trafficking actually cases reported in Colorado.
Jo-Ann O'Neill is the Chairman of The Board of The Directors For Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado. She said human trafficking is a bigger issue in Southern Colorado than people think it is. O'Neill, says there needs to be more safe and stable housing options for survivors.
“There are children who have been out there and adults as well who have been homeless who will have survival sex because they need money to get food. So it is unfortunate but it is what happens,” O’Neill said.
O'Neill said one of their biggest concerns is children in human trafficking.
“I am always concerned about the children. What are they doing, what are they doing on their tablets and phones? Do their parents know what they are doing online? Who are they contacting? Who are their friends,” O'Neill said.
She said human traffickers start recruiting children into human trafficking in middle school, if not younger. One of their future goals is to train teachers on what signs they should look for to identify trafficking among their students.
“We are trying to get information into middle schools and train teachers to notice signs of trafficking. They see the children more than probably their parents, during the week. So what they notice is, are they picking up on anything, if they see something, say something,” O'Neill said.
O'Neill said she hopes people will be less judgmental and more empathetic.
“There are derogatory names that people have come up with for girls at truck stops. It's like, do you realize they are humans? They are humans. Do you have any empathy towards why they are doing this? What is their life like, that they are doing this? And why are the truckers feeding into it,” O'Neill said.
Since 2018 calls and texts to the state's human trafficking hotline have increased at a steady rate. According to the report, calls and messages have been rising by nearly 20 to 30% each year. Data shows the hotline has received 1,055 calls and texts in 2022 and is on track to receive about 1,274 in 2023.
The three main issues that need to be addressed are housing instability and homelessness, marginalized groups, and anti-trafficking partnerships.
Marginalized groups such as youth, LGBTQ+, and immigrants are more vulnerable to sex and labor trafficking.
“I have worked with transgender children who were kicked out of their homes and who were having survival sex on the street. They didn't know what else to do in order to get a place to live in order to have food so they turned to sex trafficking,” O'Neill said.
Bailey Thiry is the Human Trafficking Program Manager with the organization TESSA, in Colorado Springs.
Thiry said human traffickers target people who are most vulnerable, have few support systems, and do not have access to resources.
There are resources to help. People can reach out to organizations such as TESSA and Reclaiming Hope, in Colorado Springs to get assistance.
Colorado's Human Trafficking Hotline:
Call 866-455-5075 or Text 720-999-9724
National Human Trafficking Hotline: 888-373-7888
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