Schools aren’t taking the issue of children being forced into prostitution — essentially modern-day slavery — as seriously as they should, say members of the Human Trafficking Task Force of Southern Colorado, who are working to change that. Pimps usually target adolescents on social media and trick or force them into having sex for money, threatening to expose them if they tell anyone. Lewis-Palmer School District 38 in Monument is on the radar of such illicit activity because of its proximity to Interstate 25, Superintendent Karen Brofft said. “I-25 has become a hub for human trafficking,” she said, adding that a now shuttered hotel in Monument had been a well-known site for human trafficking. “If we can provide enough information for our staff members to be aware of the warning signs that might be a signal students need help, we can get them people to talk to,” Brofft said. Lisa Brandt, chairwoman of education awareness for the task force, said teachers and students don’t always have the knowledge they need to identify and be safe from human trafficking. “Without consistent, frequent education, this crime will continue to thrive,” she said. Human trafficking, defined as when someone is forced, coerced or tricked into working for the profit of someone else, primarily as a prostitute, is a much larger issue than people think, Brandt says. Since the Colorado Springs Police Department formed a Human Trafficking Unit in 2014, the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office has seen a 50 percent increase in the… [Read full story]
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