Transitioning Times

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness and Prevention Month. Here at Transitions, we are involved in several aspects of working with this population. We offer services to survivors of human trafficking, provide education and outreach to the local schools and the community, and also participate in the Pennsylvania Alliance Against Trafficking in Humans (PAATH). These are just some of what we do with regard to human trafficking in this area of service. PAATH was formed as a work group, following the passage of Act 105 in the fall of 2014. This act significantly strengthened Pennsylvania’s legislation regarding human trafficking. From this statewide work group, three main committees were formed: the outreach and community awareness committee, the training committee, and the direct services committee. I personally co-represent Transitions on PAATH’s Direct Services Committee. This committee meets regularly and works to develop best practices for working with this populati...

“But it’s their choice,” you might say. Well, I’d like to tell you why buying sex from a person is degrading and criminal even if the person is “choosing” to sell sex. First off, I do not like the terms “choose” or “choice” when it comes to prostitution. More often than you might think, prostitutes are actually forced to sell sex – otherwise known as sex trafficking.  According to rapeis.org the average age of entry into “sex work” is around 13-14 for girls (Farley, n.d.).  Other sources are estimating this number even lower. Because they are under 18, not able to consent to sex, they are actually victims of sex trafficking. As a result, a lot of women, so called, “choosing to sell sex” started off in sex trafficking and this is the only life they know. In my opinion, for the others who this might not be the case, there is almost always a reason or circumstance that leads to a person choosing to sell sex for a living. I do not believe that anyone truly wants to sell hi...

January is the National Human Trafficking Awareness Month and Sunday, January 11, is the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. What is human trafficking? It is the modern day slave trade, which is worse than it ever has been in history. According to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (n.d.), the Trafficking Victims Protections Act, defines human trafficking and sex trafficking in the following ways: “Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purposes of a commercial sex act, in which the commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age, (22 USC § 7102). “Labor trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bon...

This powerful video portrays how entry into sex trafficking can feel, as told by a survivor, GEMS founder Rachel Lloyd.

Shyima Hall has been in the news before, for becoming a naturalized citizen in 2011.  She is currently in the news for writing her own story.  She has written a book, Hidden Girl: The True Story of a Modern-Day Child Slave.   Shyima was sold into slavery by her parents at 8 years old, approximately 2 years later, the family she was sold to smuggled her into the United States.  She lived in their garage and worked for the family, including children her own age, from morning until night, for as long as they needed her.  2 years later, a neighbor called authorities because they saw Shyima working but not going to school.  She has stayed in the United States, graduated high school, become a citizen and wishes to become a law enforcement officer. This is human trafficking .  Many people think only of sex trafficking, but human trafficking can also include anyone who is forced into performing labor or services against their will. Watch an interview w...

Did you know that January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month?  Not only has our President declared it as such, the Northumberland ,  Union , and Snyder County Commissioners have also. While unfortunately, trafficking happens every day, in the light and in the dark by known and unknown perpetrators, January is an appropriate time to think about trafficking in light of the National Football League schedule.  It has been said , by the Attorney General of Texas, that the Super Bowl is the single largest human trafficking incident .  Although this has been argued by others to be untrue, I am glad that at least the media is covering this topic.  At least people are realizing that humans are being trafficked for nefarious reasons and against their will.  Did you see the video we posted about awareness at the Final Four ?  I would agree with Rachel Lloyd that trafficking happens much more in the dark, not during publicly recognized ...