Roundtable brings awareness and resources to combat human trafficking

York Township, York County — It’s a global issue rearing its ugly head in Pennsylvania. Over six million people around the world are victims of human trafficking and now a local panel is trying to bring an end to the practice.

“Wherever there are hotels, wherever there's large highways, you are going to have trafficking,” said Brad Ortenzi with Zoe International.

One of the biggest ways to combat human trafficking is simply raising awareness and knowledge about the issue, what it looks like and how it works. Amazingly, the average age of a girl trafficked in the U.S. is 14-years-old and getting younger. It’s a societal problem, with everyone from legislators to police, fighting back.

“It's a real problem in our area for people that may not be aware that they are even being trafficked,” said Congressman Lloyd Smucker, (R) Lancaster County.

Fighting to shed light on an awful crime, Congressman Smucker assembled a roundtable discussion of advocates, law enforcement, state and federal legislators to take on the issue of human trafficking.

“Human trafficking unfortunately is everywhere,” said York County District Attorney Dave Sunday.

Unlike scenarios in the movies, human trafficking is a crime aimed at young vulnerable people. In the typical scenario, a young person, many times struggling with issues like a tough home life, money or drug problems, is exploited by a trafficker or pimp.

“Usually, when you are talking about trafficking, it's all about the trauma bond,” Ortenzi said.

After luring them into their web, the trafficker will many times sell the young woman or man into the sex trade making money while keeping control over the victim. On average, the victim tends to be around 14-years-old and in most cases has a substance use problem.

“This problem in our community is probably greater than those that live in the community who aren't involved in a police department are aware of,” said Congressman Smucker.

Open conversations like today’s roundtable prove are important to get out the word about the issue, putting many facets of the fight into action.

“You have to attack issues like this from every angle. You have to attack the demand. You have to attack the supply. You have to remove the incentive on the part of the traffickers,” said DA Sunday.

Lawmakers, Representative Seth Grove, (R) York County and Senator Kristin Phillips-Hill, (R) York County, were on hand to discuss legislatively, at the state level, what can be done to to crack down on human trafficking. State law was tightened in 2014 putting a focus on the buyer to try and clamp down on the practice.