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Advocates raising awareness about human trafficking
Regina Gonzalez reports
TAMPA, Fla. - Advocates against human trafficking are raising awareness about a seemingly never-ending issue as Sunday marks World Against Trafficking Day.
Florida ranks third in the nation for number of calls to the human trafficking hotline.
With Tampa being right off an interstate, a city that hosts major events and the home of many sexually oriented businesses, it remains an extremely prevalent issue.
The need highlights several local organizations that help victims get the resources they need for a fresh start. One of those is the Tampa-based specialized non-profit Redefining Refuge.
Their founder, Natasha Nascimento, is from South Africa and worked in finance when she moved to Tampa over a decade ago.
She told FOX 13 she was immediately taken aback by how many young trafficking victims were getting arrested for prostitution and the limited resources at the time to help them.
"There was just this genuinely crazy misconception that is still being perpetuated today that you have to be from another country to be a trafficking victim," Natasha explained. "Almost 100% of the kids we've served in our organization are born and raised in the United States, so we have a domestic minor sex trafficking problem and Redefining Refuge was born purely as an awareness campaign."
Victims of all ages are trafficked for a variety of reasons. In addition to commercial sex, that could be agricultural work or other forms of labor.
Shockingly, about 30% of human trafficking victims in Tampa are minors, and that's who Redefining Refuge focuses on.
The youngest child who came to redefining refuge for help was only nine years old and HIV positive.
Once a call comes in through Child Protective Services, the victims are put in touch with RR team members, who help them find safer living situations and recovery resources.
Natasha says one percent of child sex trafficking cases result from abduction or kidnapping by strangers.
A majority of them start online and with a family member or person the child is familiar with, luring them into the industry for personal reasons.
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"We have children that are trafficked by family members because of a substance use component," Natasha explained. "We have children that are lured on social media, gaming apps. That is a huge problem. About half of sex crimes against children are actually through interaction online, believe it or not."
Even with these disturbing facts, the most frustrating part can be the lack of punishment for predators.
"I know that law enforcement is trying their very best to get these guys off the streets," said Natasha. "But a lot of the times, we will make all these arrests and then they get out the same day. They don't even stay a night in jail. And now they're just smarter. We've told them basically, this is how you got caught. You aren't going to spend any real time in jail. And they just get wiser and wiser and more sophisticated in their approach."
If you want to get involved in prevention efforts, Natasha says one of the best ways to do so is becoming a guardian ad litem for a child.
These are people that are appointed by the court to advocate in the best interest of the children they serve.
You can also get involved in their 'All hands-on Deck' campaign.
All of this information can be found on their website by clicking here.