Shawnee Cooper of Bryant Talks Human Trafficking at Nashville Rotary Club

Shawnee Cooper of Bryant was the guest speaker at the Nashville Rotary Club meeting on Wednesday. She is a member of the Rotary Action Group Against Slavery. She explained there are 15,000 active Rotarians that are members of this action group around the world and they speak to organizations and governments in an effort to end slavery in the world.

Cooper said there are 26 different Rotary Action Groups.

Cooper stated off by explaining what human trafficking is.

Cooper said human trafficking is a global problem. She said it’s a $150 billion dollar industry with 49.6 million people being held in human slavery around the world. She said there are more people enslaved today than during the days of slavery.

Cooper said there are five main forms of slavery and they include: labor, sex, organ harvesting, child soldiers and child brides.

Cooper said predators look for people who are vulnerable, like children who have been sexually abused before their 18. She said the FBI is seeing an increase in sextortion cases.

Cooper said only 1 percent of all trafficking cases are reported. She said the main states for trafficking is California, Texas, Florida and New York. In Arkansas, the hot spots are Little Rock, Fayetteville, Memphis and Texarkana because of their proximity to the interstate.

Cooper said there are four pillars to stopping human trafficking.

Cooper also encouraged the members of the Nashville Rotary Club and their guests to move from caring to acting, to get educated about the issue and to learn the laws.