January 2022 PSA: National Human Trafficking Awareness Month

Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or labor services against his/her will.

Minnesota’s statewide response to human trafficking includes the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Human Services, and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety working in partnership with tribal nations and community-based service providers.

Safe Harbor in Minnesota is a statewide multi-agency initiative designed to meet the needs of sex trafficked and exploited or at-risk youth using a public health, public safety, human services, and human rights approach. Youth under the age of 18 who are sexually exploited are treated as victims, not juvenile delinquents. Supportive services as well as housing and shelter are available through age 24. Safe Harbor includes a child welfare response, training and technical assistance across disciplines, outreach initiatives, protocol development, and program evaluation

MAPA recommends these resources to broaden your understanding of what Minnesota is doing to prevent and deal with this pervasive problem:

• https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/safeharbor/index.html
• https://mnhttf.org/
• https://www.wfmn.org/mn-girls-are-not-for-sale/
• https://humantraffickinghotline.org/type-trafficking/human-trafficking
• https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/safeharbor/communities/youthoutreach.html
• https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/safeharbor/documents/11.8.2017safeharborcommunicationstoolkitexternal.pdf
• https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/safeharbor/documents/infoguidemedia.pd f

Truck Stops are often used for human trafficking.  For more on that aspect, click here.