HUNTSVILLE – The North Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force is among several area organizations and municipalities recognizing January as Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
The Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force is sponsoring Alabama Human Trafficking Awareness Day today. The ninth annual Alabama Human Trafficking Awareness Day aligns with the national observation.
Human trafficking is the second largest criminal activity in the world and the fastest growing.
In 2020, employees with Huntsville International Airport and Delta Airlines became aware of a situation and prevented a young woman from becoming a victim.
The area cities recognizing Human Trafficking Awareness Month are Albertville, Cullman, Fort Payne, Geraldine, Hamilton, Holly Pond, Killen, and Madison.
The Huntsville-Madison County Human Trafficking Task Force began as a subcommittee to the Madison County Coordinated Community Response Task Force Against Domestic Violence, Sexual Assault & Human Trafficking in 2009.
In 2010, Huntsville’s first human trafficking awareness event was held in observance of National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. The Human Trafficking committee was formed, sponsored by Crisis Services of North Alabama.
In 2011, the first human trafficking awareness training in the Huntsville area was offered, and in 2012, the newly-christened North Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force was formed.
The task force is hosting Alabama Assistant Attorney General Audrey Jordan and Special Agent Cameron Perry. The event is Jan. 21 from 10 a.m. to noon in the Bryant Bank Community Room in Huntsville. For information, visit stnow.org.
Human trafficking occurs when an adult or child is recruited, harbored, obtained, or exported through force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor, involuntary servitude, debt bondage and other methods of slavery.
An Alabama Human Trafficking Summit is planned for Jan. 26-27 at the Renaissance Hotel in Montgomery. For information, visit https://www.enditalabama.org/summit.
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