It has been estimated that every two seconds a child is exploited in the sex trade and approximately 100,000 boys and girls in the US are bought and sold annually in this human trafficking trade. Human trafficking as defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is “involving the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act.' Human trafficking can include prostitution, pornography, or sexual act that is done in exchange for any item of value such as money, drugs, shelter, food, or clothing. There are three main types of trafficking including sex trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage.

As the month of January is recognized as National Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness month, the area’s own South Central Coalition Against Human Trafficking made their presence known as they wore a blue heart on their hand for compassion and encouraged others to wear blue and mark themselves with a blue “X” to empower victims, prevent and end human trafficking.

Under the leadership of Sister Pat and Charon Asetoyer, the South Central Coalition was created and began meeting at the resource center. The coalition tries to maintain a presence and cover the local towns of Wagner, Lake Andes, Platte, and Armour. It is the goal and mission of this organization to rebuild the victims, their families, and their community after a human trafficking case comes to light, as well as prevent human trafficking in the first place through education and raising awareness.

South Central Coalition Against Human Trafficking has approximately 30 members with a small core group that faithfully attend the monthly meetings and plan events. Members come from many different local groups including the Native American Women’s Health Resource Center, Women’s Lodge, St. Paul Catholic Church, St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Wagner community members, Wagner Community Hospital, YST Child Protection Team, Indian Health Services, Charles-Mix County Sheriff’s office, YST Law Enforcement, Wagner Community School, Wagner Police Department, Marty Indian School, Boys and Girls Club of the Missouri River Valley, and Call to Freedom.

One of the biggest misconceptions about human trafficking is that “it doesn’t happen here” or that it requires the crossing of a border. Unfortunately, human trafficking has come to be an out in the open, wide-spread atrocity that is happening in cities, suburbs, small towns, and rural areas across the United States. South Dakota has been home to several events with human trafficking activity reported including during hunting season, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally, and during large community celebrations.

Many of the members of the South Central Coalition Against Human Trafficking have said that Sister Pat is the heart of the coalition as well as a founding member. It all began when a sister from the Omaha area traveled to Marty to talk to Sister Pat to make her aware of the complication of problems that is human trafficking. Sister Pat then took the information that she obtained from her fellow sister and began talking to local community residents in order to raise awareness; to try to prevent trafficking; and how to intervene on behalf of victims. Some of the ways that the coalition has tried to raise awareness include putting up signs along the highway; holding community wide events; partnering with Call to Freedom of Sioux Falls to implement training in area schools; and setting up tables/booths at local events and pow wows.

One coalition awareness item that is very present in local businesses are the human trafficking fliers with phone number tabs that can be found on bulletin boards and in restrooms. There are a variety of fliers thus different fliers will send a person to different organizations including the Native American Women’s Health Resource Center, the National Hotline, or Call to Freedom of Sioux Falls.

If human trafficking is suspected or someone is a victim of human trafficking it is important to report it right away. Another misconception that many people have is that they feel it is stupid to call 911 if they see or suspect human trafficking. It is very important not to write the instance off as many victims are not able to report the trafficking themselves.

Human trafficking happens here in our local communities and as a community, there is a need to work together to stop it. It is important to realize the impact and trauma of these events on the victims as well as the prevalence of the problem in order to do the best to stop human trafficking in all forms. There are many simple things that any and every community can do to help raise awareness and prevent human trafficking including seeing it, reporting it; raising awareness; training and educating people on what to look for and how to respond to trafficking situations; and having employers and employees trained to notice behaviors, situations and other red flags.

If interested in being a part of the South Central Coalition Against Human Trafficking or if there are any questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to Sister Pat in Marty or any other members of the coalition. Together we can both prevent and raise awareness about human trafficking in hopes of eradicating this plague on society.