Human trafficking does not happen in a vacuum.

[[link removed]] [[link removed]]Dear John,

“Shocked and horrified.”

That’s the reaction we hear most often when people reach out to us wanting to
help after attending a January Human Trafficking Awareness Month event and learning about the issue for the first time.

We get it. Human trafficking is indeed horrifying. But the more you know about
sex and labor trafficking in the United States, the more you realize that it is
not - unfortunately - shocking. Indeed, it is entirely predictable. Believe it
or not, that is actually good news - because understanding that trafficking is not random, that it doesn’t happen in vacuum
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We’re sharing this important - and frankly, often misunderstood - reality this
month in partnership with the United Way , the largest charitable organization in the United States, to spread the word
to communities across the country.

Together, we are making clear that human trafficking is the end result of a
range of other persistent injustices and inequities in our society that make
people vulnerable to the manipulations and machinations of traffickers. And so it follows, that fighting human trafficking is not only the job of law
enforcement and prosecutors, it is the varied and complex work of ensuring that
everyone in our society has what they need to thrive. That means ensuring
everyone has a safe place to live; that every child in foster care is indeed
well cared for and loved; that workers’ rights are defended and protected, and
so much more.

It is the work so many of you do every day - whether you know it or not - of
caring for and about the people around you and people you don’t know, people you
will never meet, but who need your help.

We are, as always, grateful.

In Solidarity,

Caren Benjamin
Chief Communications Officer



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P.O. Box 65323, Washington, D.C. 20036
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