Officer Lily Diaz and Amos Sierra gave a presentation about human trafficking, educating students about the warning signs.

They revealed the truth about many false beliefs that most have about the issue, from how a pimp really looks like to what kind of people they target. Many students were surprised to learn that more young teenage males are the most common targets.

Officer Lily Diaz also spoke about avoiding certain traps, and how to recognize signs of those already being trafficked. New, expensive technology or accessories, as well as dating someone significantly older than them, she warned, can be signs of human trafficking.

“It was a really informative presentation, and it really opened my eyes to the issue,” said Junior Covan Blair. Officer Lily Diaz. Amos Sierra, and Nate Rich discussing the presentation on human trafficking. Photo by Abril Beretta.

Officer Lily Diaz and Amos Sierra also stated that they are many ways to become a victim of human trafficking. Traffickers could come up to an individual in groups in non-threatening ways, like first sending a young woman to lower their victim’s suspicions. Catfishing is another popular tool that they use,
by pretending to be other people on the internet, they can coerce them out of incriminating pictured the can later use for blackmail.

The speakers also wanted to warn that victims of human trafficking aren’t always ‘in chains,’ there can be emotional or mental manipulation that is not always visible at first glance. This is why victims of human trafficking often require therapy toheal themselves from both the physical and emotional scars. 7 NEWS