TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With the Gem Show happening in our own backyard and theSuper Bowl in Phoenixjust over a week away, large crowds are flooding into Arizona, and with those crowds can also come crimes that often go unnoticed, like sex trafficking.
What are the signs that someone is being trafficked?
9 on Your Side's Denelle Confair spoke with a trafficking survivor and Tucson detective on things the community can look out for to help.
"At 14 years old, I ran away from home and met some older men and ended up living in their home and was doing things between here and Nogales as a service to these men," began Lisa Hansen. "Somebody saw me on the streets and knew that I'd been missing so they called the police and my dad came to the house where I was at and picked me up with law enforcement there."
She, like many other sex trafficking victims, was trafficked more than once.
"I ran away again and ended up on the streets in different states and for lack of a better word was trafficking myself. I was still a minor, but just finding any type of form of survival just to get by, it was all I knew at that point," expressed Hansen.
For Hansen, it took the birth of her son to pull her out of the cycle.
"I ended up pregnant with my first son at a at a very young age and that just kind of put me on a different path to what I wanted to do with my life because I had something to live for," Hansen stated.
In 2022, the national human trafficking hotline received more than 30,000.
Tucson detective Jennifer Crawford has been helping victims for several years but says she'll never forget the first victim she met.
"She got her GED. And she got out and got recovery. Actually, she reached out, so it's nice when you hear a success story because unfortunately there are few and far between," Crawford said.
Crawford says there are certain signs a person is being trafficked, such as whether they're wearing appropriate clothing for the environment, if they seem to be malnourished or avoid making eye contact with you.
It can also be a sign if a young person is with someone older who doesn't seem to be a family member.
Besides being vigilant in public, Crawford says to also look out for predators online.
If you think someone is being trafficked, call police or you can call the national human trafficking hotline at 1 (888) 373-7888.
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Denelle Veselik is an anchor and investigative reporter for KGUN 9. It's been her dream to tell your stories for the past decade. She is extremely curious and wants to continue to use her storytelling for the greater good. Share your story ideas and important issues with Denelle by emailing denelle.veselik@kgun9.com or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram and X/Twitter.
