According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center the number of human trafficking cases increases each year. In 2015 the NHTRC responded to 21,947 calls and 5,544 human trafficking cases were reported.

Human trafficking doesn’t only refer to sex trafficking this can also include labor trafficking. In 2015 4,684 of the victims were women and 574 were men. In the United States, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines sex trafficking as:  “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age.”

California is the state with highest number of human trafficking cases, last year 979 cases were reported.

The most common places that sex traffickers sell their victims are along major highways are rest stops and truck stops. One of most highly populated highway’s runs right through Iowa, I-80.

Kennedy High School plans to start a Students Against Human Trafficking Club. Social Studies teacher, Melissa Osborn will be the adviser. The first meeting took place last Tuesday, but the group will continue to meet frequently.

If you would like to sign up contact Ms. Osborn.

“My stance is that this is a VERY critical Human Rights issue,” Principal Jason Kline said.

Read more about the story in the up coming issue on March 31.