Why is Iowa an easy target?
It’s time Iowans woke up to what is really happening right here in our state and in our own communities. January is “Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.” For the next three weeks we will explore a variety of topics related to this disturbing issue.
Living in Iowa we assume we are immune to some of the activities that we think only occur in big cities. Our naivety toward human trafficking is starting to show and our young people are in danger.
“People in Iowa are lulled to sleep thinking this doesn’t happen here, which actually makes Iowa the perfect place for human trafficking to occur,” said Melody Stone.
Stone is a licensed, trauma-trained clinical therapist with over 30 years of experience working with children. In 2002, she opened a private practice specializing in individual child and family counseling, abuse and trauma in Iowa. During that time she worked with survivors of human trafficking and became an Ambassador with Shared Hope International. She moved to Hawaii in 2014, where she provided professional training and prevention education at more than 180 locations. In September 2021, she moved back to Iowa and joined forces with others to continue anti-human trafficking efforts here. In January 2022, she founded North Iowa Coalition Against Human Trafficking, which seeks to eliminate commercial exploitation of people and help survivors heal.
The North Iowa Coalition Against Human Trafficking serves the following Iowa counties: Kossuth, Humboldt, Winnebago, Hancock, Wright, Worth, Cerro Gordo, Franklin, Mitchell, Floyd and Butler.
“Our children are the most vulnerable, because of their age they have no life experience and sex traffickers capitalize on this. The most common age of victims is 11-14,” said Stone. “Since Covid, hotlines have seen an 800 percent increase in calls for help and youth suicide has increased 200 percent.”
The definition of human trafficking is the unlawful act of transporting or coercing people in order to benefit from their work or service, typically in the form of forced labor or sexual exploitation. Another term to be familiar with is “sextortion,” the practice of extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activity. The most common way this is done is through the internet.
“You may think your child is safe sitting at home, but you may not know who they are talking to via social media sites and gaming sites,” said Stone. “Sextortion is the fastest growing human enterprise, because you can sell a human many times, unlike selling drugs or alcohol, which is a one and done. And there is a never ending supply of people.”
Iowa is a prime location for human trafficking for a number of reasons. There are major interstates that criss cross the state, making it easy for traffickers to move their victims. Large meat and egg production companies typically employ migrants, who have become key targets.
“No community is immune to any variation of criminal activity. Clear Lake and North Iowa is no exception,” said Captain Mike Colby of the Clear Lake Police Department. “We are located along I-35 and between many larger cities, Minneapolis, Des Moines, Kansas City, Omaha, etc. From time to time we have human trafficking and sexually related crimes in our community.”
Captain Colby joined the Clear Lake Police Department in 2016. Prior to that, he worked for the City of Clive near Des Moines. While there, he was assigned to the Mid-Iowa Narcotics Enforcement Task Force. Part of his assignment was to investigate human trafficking and related vice crimes. Since coming to Clear Lake, he has been in charge of the department’s operations divisions, which includes patrol and investigations.
“We are also not immune to local community members being involved in such acts,” said Colby.
According to Stone, one-third of those trafficked are targeted by someone they know, such as friends, boyfriends, and family. Kidnapping victims is rare. Traffickers can do it locally in homes, hotels and vacation rental properties, which are more private than hotels.
Next week we will look at how children become entangled in human trafficking via online methods and how they ultimately get trapped into situations they didn’t see coming.
