According to stats compiled by the Attorney General’s Office, there are currently 79,000 victims of youth and minor sex trafficking within the state of Texas at any given time. Joseph Travers, founder of Saved In America, believes that a new approach could be the key to combating the immense problem of human trafficking that exists within this state. 

Why Sex Trafficking is Such a Problem

Human trafficking is a uniquely horrific crime due to the lasting impact it has on its victims. For example, Travers has shared what he has learned about the ramifications for the victims who are bought and sold within the human trafficking industry:

“This ruins these kids' lives, children are at the age which their mindset isn’t fully developed, and they go through something like this, and we’re talking years, a lifetime of trying to fix the mental, emotional and physical trauma.”  

Obviously, the goal is to recover children from the clutches of these predators before they are sold into the industry. Many times, recovery efforts can find them when they have run away, but before they are captured by the trafficker. This is ideal. Other times, they are already sold in the sex trafficking industry and in need of rescue. 

Why Texas is Struggling With Human Trafficking Numbers

Texas remains the number one human trafficking corridor in all the country, which is a problem created due to a lack of resources and knowledgeable professionals to approach the job and solve the problem together. He says, “There’s just not enough resources. If we bring in people like licensed and private investigators to assist and help, it’s going to put a dent in the child trafficking problem.”

Travers Plan to Combat the Issue With a New Approach

It is this new approach to combating the problem, through volunteer efforts of immensely qualified professionals, that Travers is hoping helps Texas overcome its modern problem of slavery and human trafficking. This team approach will stand in the gap for law enforcement officers who are unable to do the surveillance and data gathering necessary to track down every missing child who has gone missing from the state of Texas. State Senator Peter Flores agrees that the modern problem demands a new approach. He says “Human trafficking has been and continues to be something we need to deal with.”  #ChildSavedNotSold