After I filled the Bird Buddy AI bird feeder and birds were stopping by, these two hawks decided to hang out on our fence. All the other birds left immediately. (Photo has nothing to do with story except the hawks prey on weaker birds and animals than them.)
Yesterday, I attended a lunch with a women’s group I belong to. Our mission is to help victims of sex trafficking. We support the Phoenix Dream Center, a residential facility for victims that offers counseling, medical care, a safe place to live, ophthalmology, gardening, food, clothing and worship services if desired. They are changing their name to the Phoenix Dream Center Where Hope Lives. I’ve written about it HERE.
The guest speaker was from Arizona Anti-Trafficking Network, named Nate Boulter. He works with the Dream Center along with other organizations including government, police departments to train and save the victims of human trafficking.
One organization he belongs to is called CEASE Arizona. From the AATN website about CEASE:
OUR MISSION
The mission of CEASE Arizona is to train and educate employees of Arizona cities and counties, including first responders (law enforcement and fire/EMTs), to recognize, report, and respond to incidents of human trafficking in their communities thereby disrupting demand for commercial sexual exploitation. CEASE stands for Cities Empowered Against Sexual Exploitation.
https://aatn.org/cease-arizona/
Here’s a bio of our guest speaker from the AATN website:
NATE BOULTER
Program Director, Cities Engaged Against Sexual Exploitation (CEASE)
Nate joined the AATN team in July 2022. Nate retired after over 22 years as a law enforcement professional, having reached the rank of Sergeant with the Mesa Police Department. During his career, Nate has worked in plain clothes and undercover assignments and has been involved in all levels of investigations in Gangs, Street Crimes, Drug Interdiction, Special Investigations, and Human Trafficking. He was an AZPOST Instructor, having amassed several thousands of hours of specialized instruction, and is a qualified and certified subject expert in the Arizona Court System in Drug Trafficking, Prostitution and Sex Trafficking Investigations.
As the Mesa HEaT (Human Exploitation and Trafficking) Sergeant, Nate successfully planned, carried out, and assisted in numerous major operations in Mesa and across the Valley to combat sex trafficking. He created and hosted training for undercover decoys across several Valley law enforcement agencies, and established a partnership with the Arizona Attorney General’s Office to better prosecute sex trafficking cases. He has worked to influence the revision of state statutes and city codes to better respond to the very real victimization of people in The Life.
Nate received numerous awards, citations, and commendations during his tenure at Mesa PD for his work keeping the community safe and “smashing bad guys!”
https://aatn.org/board/
I was seated at his table for lunch and asked him about our border crossing in Lukeville that is closed to legal crossers like myself to get to Puerto Penasco, our beach getaway, but has an influx of single men from throughout the world coming through.
He explained that it’s a staffing issue. Without the budget dollars being passed in DC to address our border issue, they can’t hire enough people. They have no idea if a position would be funded full time or for one month, so they are having a tough time filling positions. He also explained that Mexico has a zero immigration policy. They are bussing the immigrants to the border crossing to get them out of their country and into ours.
His words to describe the situation at the border: “It’s radical.”
Later in his talk to our group, he explained there is a difference between sex trafficking and human smuggling. Human smuggling is happening at our border. It’s a crime against our border, but it’s willful by those being smuggled. Sex trafficking is completely different and it’s a crime against a human being. Some of the people crossing the border may find themselves human trafficked at a later date, but that is a separate issue and crime.
According to Boutler most of the people sex trafficked are young girls from age 14 to 27. They are US citizens. Many are groomed online by someone they fall in love with, although some may be trafficked by family members. Like any abusive relationship, the victim believes things will change and that the trafficker loves her.
Boulter said “Nobody who loves you will sell you.”
One shocking statistic is the quota. A victim of sex trafficking may have a quota of $1,000 a day. Taking out days for illness, etc. one girl may make her trafficker $300,000 a year. If he has three girls, he’s making close to a million dollars a year.
The relationship is one of control. The trafficker controls what she wears, where she lives, when she can eat and he may dole out drugs to her. Her ID and credit card are in his possession and she’s been cut off from support of family and friends. Her phone will have an app on it where the trafficker can track her, listen to her calls and read her texts.
Boulter talked about “Force, Fraud and Coercion” which is used by the sex trafficker on the victim. He gave us things to look out for in public — like a huge age difference in a couple. Also, if the girl has her head down and cannot look the trafficker in the eyes. He also said parents need to take phones out of their kids rooms at night. Phones are the way most teens meet their sex trafficker.
He gave us a local number to call if we see something suspicious and said the best number to call is 911.
As parents how many of us were or are aware of what our children are doing on their phones?
Do you know if your area has a problem with sex trafficking?
Yet another reason to be grateful for the lives we have!
My area has a problem with everything….
That’s terrible. I live in such a safe area it’s hard to believe it’s an issue. But the speaker said it’s everywhere.
I have a friend who lives rural and he mocks my urban life style. I remind him that most horror movies take place in the woods by a pond…
You gave me a good laugh! We live next to the largest urban preserve in the country. Past that is Tonto National Forest. They recently found a body there. You may be right.
😉
I think your choice of using the hawk image was perfect. Preying upon. Yes. Trafficking is a heinous example of what humans can do to one another. 😢
I didn’t make the connection with the hawk until after I placed the image. Amazing what our subconscious will do. It’s pure evil what humans do to each other.
😔❤️😔agree
👍🏼
It’s such a scary topic and it’s even more terrifying how common it is, and I think especially so close to the border.
It is scary. Mostly it’s our location with the easy freeway access to other states. Plus all the events hosted for primarily men in Phoenix like the car show and golf tournaments that attracts sex trafficking, according to the speaker.
Wow, I never considered events like the golf tournament and car show drawing sex trafficking. I attended the PGA tour with my work a few times and one year ended up in the ER with alcohol poisoning after two drinks… I’ve always kind of wondered if I was drugged. So scary!!
You could have been drugged! I learned at the luncheon that 5% of the men attending those events (throw in the Super Bowl too) are there to buy sex. I don’t know the attendance numbers but if you figured out the math, it would be a whole lot of sex trafficking.
Wow, that’s so terrifying! It’s so sad that this is the world that we live in…
It is. I’m sure things like this have always happened in history, but you’d think we would improve.
It’s so sad and you’re right it really is everywhere. I keep reading his comment over and over. It’s just so stunning how horrible some people can be. “Nobody who loves you will sell you.”
That comment put it all in perspective. They prey on the vulnerable who are looking to be loved.
So sad!
It shocking because we don’t have any idea that it’s going on all around us. The speaker said he’s made busts at the Motel 6 as well as the $800 a night hotels.
Wow
How we treat and protect our children defines us as a species and it affects us all. Such a horrible situation. But the truth is the only reason it exists is there is demand for young girls and certain deprived “people” are willing to pay. We should arrest and prosecute the customers and see if that helps.
Exactly. Most of the work this speaker does is to disrupt the trade by arresting men. He’s had more stringent laws passed, but unfortunately he said it’s up to individual judges to enforce the laws. He suggested to research when our ballot arrives to look at judges sentencing records.
Seattle is a big time, well known area for trafficking what with Seatac just to the south girls, boys women are flown in all the time, especially for those big events like you mention EA. Even without that, a large number of our unhoused and indigenous culture is targeted as well.
That’s exactly what the speaker told us to about unhoused and indigenous people. They are more likely to be targets of traffickers.
It seems that a country as rich as ours would have the ability to make a dent in this tragedy, but it appears to be getting worse. I imagine young boys are trafficked to, but not to the same degree.
The last time I heard this speaker was in April. There are fewer boys trafficked, but they bring in more money and are more valuable to the traffickers.
As you point out, it’s been going on forever. Even one john or pimp in jail has to help. It’s a shame that there are children who feel so unloved that they fall into this trap.
What the speaker said is social media and phones have changed things. First, bullying online. There are unstable homes. The kids may find someone giving them attention online
— even in middle or upper class families, they fall prey. My kids are adults now. We gave our son his first iphone (or smartphone at high school graduation.) Our daughter got hers sometime in high school. Today the average age children get phones is 10 and that’s also an average introduction to porn.
Yikes! I don’t think kids need smartphones at that age.
It wasn’t common with my kids age 27 and 30. There were one or two in their classes. But now it’s normal.
Wow, incredible scary and sad. Thanks for the work you are doing to help and for the information, Elizabeth.
We’re a group of about 50 and fundraise for the Dream Center. Or sometimes they will let us know what the girls need like deodorant or underwear and we all pitch in. It’s not that much, but it’s helpful to them. Also, I think getting the word out is important too.