While most consider human trafficking an issue in far away lands, evidence suggests — and has for some time — that Kansans must be vigilant in fighting it as well, notes Jennifer Montgomery.
Montgomery is the chairman of the Human Trafficking Advisory Board, which works in the Kansas attorney general’s office.
She was invited to speak about a number of issues related to trafficking Thursday to Iola Rotarians. Attorney General Derek Schmidt was on hand to introduce Montgomery to the audience.
Montgomery, who has worked for the state since 2013, noted human trafficking case reports have remained steady since the state enacted laws to combat both labor and sex trafficking in 2013.
The number of trafficking victims served by agencies across the state have ranged between 400 and 500 a year since 2015.
Part of the reason is the state’s central location, at the intersection of Interstate 70 and Interstate 35.
“We know it’s happening in our state,” Montgomery said. “This isn’t just in New York or California.”
Likewise, trafficking can be in rural areas.
Victims of sex trafficking tend be middle school-age, and even younger, she warned.
Trafficking — recruiting, harboring and/or transporting people for the sole purpose of exploitation — is akin to modern day slavery, she said.
Montgomery spoke on the profiles of both the victims and the traffickers.
“Traffickers seek those with vulnerabilities,” she said, such as those with a history of sexual abuse, those those in unstable conditions or face poverty and often have substance abuse issues.. “Mistreated and marginalized groups,” she concluded.
those in unstable conditions or face poverty and often have substance abuse issues.. “Mistreated and marginalized groups,” she concluded.
And traffickers don’t fit the profile most assume.
The typical trafficker is between 19 and 45 years old, has barely a high school education, and almost universally has a history of drug or alcohol abuse as well as a criminal record.
Oh, and traffickers can make upwards of $500,000 a year, she noted.
