Waukesha Times

Human trafficking is an important issue and Catholics should focus on helping those who are being trafficked, as well as prevention.

Debra Schneider said Catholic teachings layout that Catholics should treat everybody with dignity.

"We are also to respect all human life," Schneider said in an interview with Waukesha County News. "Then, we need to put that into the context also of people who are being trafficked."

Schneider said people need perspective when it comes to people who are being trafficked.

"And I think, this is where the problem comes in is that often people think of trafficking as people who are prostitutes, and they believe that they're doing it because they want to do it," Schneider said, "so, there needs to be an understanding of how people are being coerced and defrauded into the situations that they are in."

Schneider said the average age of a person who is lured into trafficking is 13 years old.

"And that age range keeps going down," Schneider said. "So, somebody who is a teenager does not make a choice to be a prostitute. They are coerced into it."

Schneider said trafficking is coming more and more from activities on the Internet and social media. She said traffickers begin by building trust with young people — not just girls, but also boys.

"And when they build that trust they're able to either coerce them to do something or lure them to some particular place in order to continue with the relationship of trust with them that eventually ends up in a trafficking situation," Schneider said. 

Schneider said something needs to be done about it. She said it's not just a Catholic issue — it's a human issue.

"Just as we wouldn't ... walk past somebody who's being shot, we don't walk past people who are being abused, who are being traumatized and ... this trauma and abuse is something that stays with an individual for the rest of their life," Schneider said. 

"It is a huge impact and if we can do something to stop just one person from being trafficked, we're making a huge impact," Schneider told the Waukesha County News. 

Schneider said her church created a human trafficking group and has set out to create awareness within her community about the issue, as well as bringing awareness into the local schools.

The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) issued a report over the summer suggesting that state and local communities needed to fight back on the issue, Gastonia Times reported.

"The connection between children with a history of child welfare involvement and human trafficking is clear," the report states. "According to a Children’s Bureau report, it is estimated that 50% to 90% of trafficking victims have previous history with child welfare services."

TPPF stressed how important it is for communities to be involved and aware to recognize trafficking and stop it, the news media reported.