When a disaster strikes a community, it exposes preexisting vulnerabilities such as poorly built homes or weak infrastructure. An often-forgotten reality is that disasters expose a community’s vulnerabilities to human trafficking. If a community is vulnerable to human trafficking pre-disaster, the disaster only exacerbates that vulnerability. Discussing his experience during humanitarian crises, Dr. Jamie Aten (n.d.), a disaster expert at the Humanitarian & Disaster Institute, reported, “women and young girls are particularly at threat for experiencing a wide range of atrocities and traumas.” Therefore, knowing children, especially small children, are vulnerable in times of peace; in a large-scale emergency, they are incredibly vulnerable. A disaster or mass trauma can expose women and children to harmful conditions that are either a direct result of the disaster, by other disaster survivors with malicious intent, or by predators seeking victims to traffic.  

For example, the crisis in Ukraine is a man-made disaster and complex emergency in terms of populations in need of aid. That is to say, first, it is complex because soldiers are wounded and dying on both sides of the conflict. Next, Ukrainian citizens are in the line of fire and suffering from the attacks. Finally, simultaneously, refugees seek asylum across borders, and IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) travel inside Ukraine’s borders to avoid the dangers of battles. Because of these factors, the most vulnerable populations in Ukraine are women and children. Fear surrounding the complexities of war, forced migration, and the anxiety from looming threats, contribute to their experience of complex trauma. The connecting point for disasters and traffickers is the increased opportunity for manipulation of those experiencing these vulnerabilities. Disasters offer traffickers the advantage because they “offer jobs, shelter, transportation or to fill any of the other massive and multiplying unmet needs of individuals and families facing increasing desperation.” (Essential Resources for People Affected by Conflict in Ukraine and Afghanistan | Polaris, n.d.). Indeed, women and children in Ukraine are exposed as easy prey for traffickers as they seek refuge or during their plights to flee violence.

With this in mind, it is better to safely prepare a ship for a storm at the harbor rather than repair the ship during the climax of a storm. Unfortunately, communities are often oblivious to those vulnerable to human trafficking in the wake of disasters, especially if the disaster has affected us personally. Nonetheless, if we work to reduce or eliminate vulnerabilities to human trafficking before a disaster strikes, we protect women and children from falling victim to sex traffickers post-disaster.

Accordingly, disaster relief organizations classify the reduction of vulnerabilities to disasters as “mitigation/prevention” under the pre-disaster phase of the Disaster Management Cycle. The anti-human trafficking sector would agree that their programs on prevention work to build capacities in the communities they operate. 

Put simply, it is not required for community members to be disaster experts if we want to protect our vulnerable populations from the threat of traffickers during disasters. Accelerating our community efforts toward the prevention of human trafficking will invariably mitigate the threat of predators during a humanitarian crisis. 

Are you passionate about building the capacity of your community and other communities to stand impervious to human trafficking in times of peace or crisis? 

Here are a few actions you can take:

• Educate women and children about traffickers’ tactics and recruiting methods
• Bring awareness to all the complexities of human trafficking by posting warnings on your social media networks
• Advocate for our governments to establish safe spaces for women and children to shelter in preparation for the next disaster
• Post the National Human Trafficking Hotline number up in storm shelters and homeless shelters
• Reduce the demand for trafficking victims by fighting the porn industry
• Volunteer with local anti-human trafficking organizations
• Implement fundraisers and donate to programs focused on preventing sex trafficking

To learn more about how you can help reduce the vulnerability of communities to threats of human trafficking, contact the team at Life 107.