The city of Ames recently proclaimed the week of Jan. 10-17, 2017 as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Week just a few days after Gov. Terry Branstad’s declared January as Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness month in Iowa. At the heart of both of those declarations was Ames resident George Belitsos, founder and former CEO of Youth and Shelter Services and chairman for the Iowa Network Against Human Trafficking.

As chair of the Iowa branch of the NAHT, Belitsos said a lot of work being done in the state is beginning in Ames, but he’s not doing that work alone. According to Belitsos, his organization has aligned with local groups such as Protecting Our Children, Teens Against Human Trafficking, the Ames Police, AMP, the Rotary Club of Ames, ACCESS, ISU Student NAHT and the United Church of Christ to fight human trafficking.

NAHT defines human trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transporting, obtaining or maintaining of a person by means of force, fraud or coercion for purposes of servitude, debt bondage, slavery or participation in the sex trade.

According to Belitsos, this is a growing issue that still needs to be understood better by most Iowans.

“Iowa is a place where traffickers feel safer because they go undetected,” Belitsos said.

He said his efforts to create more awareness over the issue are mostly about teaching people what to look for.

“What we’re trying to do with trafficking awareness month, or week as it has been declared here in Ames, is get people informed that this is a major problem, a growing problem here in our state, in our community, and to urge people when they see something that doesn’t look right to make a phone call,” Belitsos said.

For years, it’s been difficult to identify human trafficking, Belitsos said, because it would typically be viewed as drug trafficking or prostitution because of the close ties between the types of organizations and the crimes being committed. However, over the last few years, people have been identifying common traits to look for that could help identify victims of traffickers, Belitsos said.

Those indicators include things like being a runaway or not enrolled in school, being overly sexualized at a young age, not speaking on their own behalf or constantly being in the presence of an older “boyfriend” or “girlfriend” who seems controlling. Those are just a few signs on the ever-growing list of things that could be warning signs that some kind of trafficking is taking place, Belitsos said.

Along with raising awareness, the Iowa chapter of NAHT is also working to get legislation passed that would help educate children age appropriate ways of recognizing sexual abuse as well. One initiative is referred to as “Erin’s Law.” Similar bills have already been passed in 26 states and area currently pending in another 17. The bill would provide prekindergarten through 12th grade education on child sexual abuse and warning signs. Belitsos said Iowa has fallen behind by not approving this type of education when it was first introduced during a previous legislative session.

Another step that’s being taken by Belitsos and others is to work with local law enforcement to help identify human trafficking, which will include an upcoming free training event for police in the state.

Ames Police Cmdr. Geoff Huff said that working closely with these organizations has helped police look more deeply into the issues being experienced by victims of trafficking.

“There’s a lot of different kinds and I think generally what you hear about is sex trafficking, but it’s a much bigger issue than that,” Huff said. “There’s people that are coerced into working conditions that are not very good that they’re kind of being trafficked. So it’s a bigger problem than just that one small piece of the pie. There’s a lot more going on out there, and so we’re trying to be cognizant of those issues when they come up.”

To make sure those types of issues are recognized immediately, Huff said it’s not uncommon for an advocate to accompany police to add another perspective to the conversation.

“If we bring the advocates along and people that have had specific training in this, then we can ask the right questions and determine whether this person is being trafficked so that we can try to get them out of that,” Huff said.

According to Belitsos, this may have been an issue that has been going on for several years in Iowa, but it’s only now being recognized to understand the complete extent of the problem. For anyone who fears that human trafficking may being going on in their community, they are encouraged to call NAHT at 888-373-7888.

To read the story in the Ames Tribune: http://www.amestrib.com/news/20170114/ames-takes-lead-role-in-fight-against-human-trafficking