“Gridshock,” a documentary directed by Iowa State University alumni Vanessa McNeal that uncovers the human trafficking crisis in Iowa, was screened in the Sun Room at the Memorial Union on Monday. The screening aimed to bring awareness to the problem and highlight the industry during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Following the film, a panel was hosted to allow the audience an opportunity to ask questions to survivors of human trafficking and sexual violence and trauma-trained licensed counselors.
The film told the story of several victims who survived human trafficking and dug into how deep the industry and market runs, with input from individuals in law enforcement and even a former ‘buyer.’
It confronts how sex trafficking is a large problem in the Midwest but goes widely unnoticed. The documentary helps viewers identify signs and red flags, challenge their assumptions and understand the issue. It emphasizes a specific focus on uncovering the world of the ‘johns’ or ‘buyers’ that engage in and fund the industry of human trafficking and exploitation.
One survivor whose story was featured in the film was present for the event and panel, and she shared her experience with human trafficking. She gave advice she wished she could have given her younger self, who was at the time being trafficked. She provided the pseudonym “Heather,” choosing to remain anonymous.
“I have worth, I have value,” Heather said. “I am more than what people say that I am or that they think of me. No matter what, I had a village behind me that would’ve stood up and fought for me had they known what was going on. With human trafficking, your traffickers do a really good job of manipulating you into that fear and coercion, that you’re so scared to tell anybody, but if I knew then what I know now, that my village would come together and stand beside me, maybe it would’ve ended a lot sooner.”
Human trafficking affects a vast and diverse group of people, and anyone could be a victim regardless of their age, sex or race. This makes pinpointing the issue that much more difficult. However, there are certain signs that can be a warning that someone may be in a dangerous situation and being trafficked.
“If you start noticing people that you know that are starting to maybe become more withdrawn and maybe their behavior is changing, they seem depressed or anxious, or maybe hypervigilant, heavy drinking, drug use, those are all red flags,” said Melody Stone, founder of the North Central Iowa Coalition Against Human Trafficking and Ambassador for Shared Hope International. “If you see something, just sit down [with them] out of concern. It can save lives.”
Oftentimes, people have a preconceived notion about what human trafficking is and what it looks like, but in reality, it does not have a specific look or circumstance. It is defined ambiguously as the illegal exploitation of another person. Many survivors end up in the situation through coercion, manipulation, abuse and blackmail.
“Lots of times victims don’t see themselves as victims,” said Stone. “They don’t think ‘I’m being trafficked.’ They’re blackmailed, these little mind games are played with them, and they’re manipulated, so they don’t always see themselves as a victim of human trafficking.”
The event was sponsored by the Rotaract Club, Ames Rotary, Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking, the Women and Gender Studies Program and the Committee on Lectures funded by Student Government.
If you would like to learn more about putting a stop to the human trafficking crisis in Iowa, visit stophtiowa.org. Resources for students experiencing crisis can be found here, and additional support can be found on the Student Health and Wellness page.
