What does love have to do with trafficking?

Love is a complex emotion and although the hardened of hearts try to deny the human emotion, it is real. Philosophers, writers, musicians, artists, scientists, anthropologists and psychologists have published copious writings, works, research and music dedicated to love. One of the lines from a Tina Turner song, “…who needs a heart when a heart can be broken?” describes the struggle of many with such a powerful emotion. Love is risky, yet anthropologists and scientists have maintained it is integral to human development. The pursuit of love or need for love can make humans vulnerable.

Traffickers are adept at exploiting the vulnerabilities of their victims and often pursue “relationships” with their victims promising to love them like no one else can. Unfortunately, many of the victims find themselves in a situation of being trafficked. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, of the labor and sex trafficking cases reported to the hotline in 2021, 24% reported that they were recruited by a trafficker via an intimate relationship or via false promises of marriage. Traffickers do not just use intimate relationships to exploit, they often use friendship, mentoring, familial relationships, or caretaker relationships as well.

According to the FBI, young girls often enter sex trafficking between the ages of 12 to 14. Boys and transgender youth enter sex trafficking typically between the ages of 11 and 13. Runaway youth are especially vulnerable; it is estimated that 1 in 7 runaways become victims of sex trafficking and many of these runaways are from foster care. Runaway youth end up in these situations because the trafficker meets their basic needs which makes the teen believe the trafficker loves and cares for them.

An emerging trend in human trafficking is that runaways are not the only children trafficked, many children are being trafficked at the hands of a foster parent or a caretaker (referred to as familial trafficking). According to Shared Hope International, the caretaker can be a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, etc. The difficulty with familial trafficking statistics is the cases may be reported as child abuse (which it is) but these cases may fail to be reported as human trafficking cases as well. According to the Department of Homeland Security in 2021, the International Office of Migration (IOM), reports approximately 41% of child trafficking cases involve facilitation by either a caretaker or family member. These cases are difficult to track and provide services for as the child often does not realize they are a victim. The child often has a bonding attachment, they see their trafficker as someone who loves them, and the exploitation has been normalized. Familial trafficking is sadly a growing issue in South Carolina.