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In 2023, culture wars, divisive news headlines, and bickering between political leaders on various sides of the aisle are par for the course. This is what a portion of US society has devolved into. Unfortunately, issues that are designed to engender outrage, rather than solutions, routinely gather mass public attention. Meanwhile, real issues of value, such as the fight against human trafficking, largely get swept under the rug. In all fairness, recent years have seen an uptick in attention toward human trafficking. Earlier this week, during National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, an outpour of support on social media emerged. This support came from not just everyday Americans, but also political leaders, organizations, and government agencies. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before human trafficking truly gets the mass, widespread, and consistent attention that it's worthy of.

Where are the protests for human trafficking victims?

Within recent years, there have been mass protests over COVID restrictions, abortion access, and more. Make no mistake; protesting is all well and good. Here in the United States, it's a constitutional right. However, it begs to question where all the protests are for people who remain ensnared in human trafficking today. Human trafficking exists in all 50 states and worldwide. It impacts women, men, and children. Human trafficking, despite an uptick in awareness, is increasing, rather than decreasing. Predators are routinely turning to the internet, social media, dating apps, gaming chatrooms, and other venues to trap people and exploit them. It's unacceptable for human trafficking to be so rampant and pervasive in a nation that's supposed to be free. Furthermore, it is high time for everyone to start getting loud and vocal about human trafficking, rather than sweeping it under the rug and pretending like it doesn't exist.

Where are stronger anti-human trafficking laws?

If current anti-human trafficking laws on the books were good enough, human trafficking would not be growing. Its growth stands as direct testimony to the fact that anti-human trafficking laws are not good enough and need hardening. Granted, recent years have seen more states pass laws to educate various industry workers who are more likely to come across human trafficking cases. However, this should be the tip of the iceberg, not the iceberg itself. Until more people get loud about human trafficking and become active in the fight against it, the selling and exploitation of human beings will continue.