Human trafficking is widely considered an epidemic by experts because it often happens in silence and way too often.

“Human trafficking is a form of exploitation where there is an exchange of funds or goods with a third party,” said Becci ten Bensel, executive director for WoMen’s Rural Advocacy Programs, Inc. (WRAP) in Marshall. “It occurs when a person is controlled, manipulated, or coerced for someone else’s benefit through commercial sex or labor. Trafficking can impact both youth and adults and does not require kidnapping or physical restraint.”

According to ten Bensel, human trafficking routinely occurs through coercive control or relationship-based exploitation rather than force. Traffickers target victims by preying on vulnerabilities and utilize a process referred to as grooming to gain a victim’s trust and then once that trust and emotional attachment are formed, manipulation and exploitation occurs.

Grooming tactics can include isolation from support systems, offering help, love, employment, or protection, gradual boundary violations, threats, and shame, along with many other strategies. Additionally, traffickers can target a victim’s unmet needs such as transportation, immigration concerns, housing, income, and several other unaddressed needs.

“This can occur in romantic relationships, workplaces, families, or online spaces. Both youth and adults may initially believe they are in a consensual relationship or legitimate job before exploitation becomes clear,” ten Bensel said.

Human trafficking is a prevalent global problem and crime and can happen anywhere from large metro areas to small rural communities. Traffickers tend to operate under a low profile and victims are usually hidden in plain view. Per ten Bensel, trafficking is more identifiable along transpiration corridors, interstates, major U.S. Highways, and state highways.

“In southwest Minnesota, this includes major routes such as U.S. Highway 14, which runs through Lyon County and the Marshall area, U.S. Highway 59, which connects Lyon County north to south, and U.S. Highway 75, which runs through Lincoln County. State highways such as Highway 23, Highway 68, Highway 19, and Highway 71 connect Lincoln, Lyon, Redwood, and Yellow Medicine counties to surrounding regions. Southwest Minnesota has the second highest number of identified victims, ranking above one of two metro divisions,” she said.

One of the most powerful ways to help stop human trafficking is education and awareness. While it is isn’t necessary for parents to “scare their kids,” according to ten Bensel, ongoing conversations about safety, boundaries, and online behavior are important to have. For online safety, ten Bensel suggested conversations about social media safety and privacy as well as messaging apps. Other critical conversations to have include healthy verses unhealthy relationships, noticing what controlling behavior looks and sounds like, and any behavior that involves pressure, secrecy, and manipulation. Also, knowing when to get help and that asking for help is neither a weakness nor punishable.

“In smaller towns, community members are often not trained to recognize the signs of trafficking or exploitation, largely because of the myth that it only occurs in large cities,” ten Bensel said. “Traffickers are aware of this and may intentionally target rural areas where exploitation is less likely to be recognized, reported, or correctly identified. Traffickers often assume — and sometimes correctly — that systems in smaller communities may overlook warning signs or misidentify exploitation as a bad relationship, poor choices, or family issues. This can delay intervention and allow exploitation to continue longer without detection.”

The answer to combating that human trafficking does not happen in small towns and rural areas is knowledge and understanding and being able to recognize the warning signs.

“The takeaway is not that rural communities are unsafe — it’s that education, training, and awareness matter, and when communities invest in prevention and recognition, exploitation is far more likely to be identified and stopped,” ten Bensel said.