Project Harmony Raises Awareness for Child Sex Trafficking, Shares Signs to Look For
January was National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, and Project Harmony (www.ProjectHarmony.com) says that there’s no better time to educate yourself on the vital issue of child sex trafficking. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children responded to 10,719 reports of possible child sex trafficking in 2021. Although this number is staggeringly high, it also represents all the people who recognized the signs of this crime and took action to report it.
Some signs of child sex trafficking include: a child in possession of large amounts of cash, prepaid cards, hotel keys, or multiple cell phones; the child’s ID being held by another person, or not having any ID; signs that the child has been coached when talking to people, letting others speak for them, or looking at others before they speak; tattoos that indicate money or ownership, such as “$” or barcodes; or evidence that the child has been living out of a suitcase, at motels, or in a car. Visit www.missingkids.org/theissues/trafficking for a full list of indicators from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Project Harmony exists to protect and support children, collaborate with professionals, and engage the community to end child abuse and neglect. Their Anti-Trafficking Youth Services Program was established to assist the Omaha Police Department with their astronomical case load of youth at high risk to be sex trafficked. You can read more about the recent expansion of services at www.ProjectHarmony.com/services.