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Every community in every state has a role to play in the fight against human trafficking. An untold number of individuals remain trapped in the clutches of human trafficking and modern-day slavery in real-time. Thankfully, recent years have seen an uptick in more attention directed toward this issue. The same also applies to laws, initiatives, law enforcement efforts, and other avenues exhausted to stop human trafficking in its tracks. One state that has joined the fight against human trafficking is none other than Idaho.

A closer look at Idaho's work against human trafficking

The Idaho Department of Transportation is joining forces with the Idaho Anti-Trafficking Coalition (IATC) to ensure the National Human Trafficking Hotline number is widely distributed across public buses. Idaho GOP Sen. Jim Risch also brought forward the Human Trafficking Prevention Act. This is a clean piece of legislation that mandates public hubs and transportation vehicles to post the National Human Trafficking Hotline number. Thankfully, this bill has cleared the House and the Senate. Now, Joe Biden just needs to sign it into law.

Testimony from law enforcement in Idaho

The women and men of law enforcement in Idaho often get an upfront look at the horrors human traffickers subject their victims to. Detective Joe Whilden with the Meridian police has subsequently spoken out about what things look like on the ground. According to Whilden's account, human traffickers often control the schedules and physical movements of those they are victimizing. Furthermore, these predators confiscate the documents of trafficked persons to prevent them from fleeing. Beatings, isolation, and threats are additional horrors that victims of human trafficking remain subjected to on a daily basis. At the end of the day, human traffickers don't see the people they are exploiting as actual human beings. They view trafficked persons as property to be controlled, used at will, abused, etc. It is critical for every state, community, law enforcement agency, and individual to join the fight against human trafficking. It is time to stop these monsters once and for all, rescue survivors, and ensure that no human being lives as a slave. Anyone who wishes to report what they believe to be human trafficking can contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline via phone at 1 (888) 373-7888 or by text at 233733.