Week 3 [Extra Credit Blog]

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Hurricane Dorian threatened our small central Florida campus, forcing the school to take precautions and close for the week. Thankfully we were spared from any extreme weather, but this time off got me thinking. If a hurricane can impact my Human Sexuality class, I wondered how natural disasters in general can impact human sexuality issues.

A quick google search got me started and I found this site: https://fightthenewdrug.org/natural-disasters-fuel-sex-trafficking/

We haven’t gotten into sex trafficking yet in class, but the article basically discusses that sex traffickers take advantage of vulnerable individuals and that natural disasters create opportunities to do so. This opened my eyes to issues people may face on top of being in the midst of disaster and destruction.

I have heard of sexual abuse, rape and sex trafficking occurring in homeless shelters so it surprised me that I didn’t make an immediate connection to storm shelters as well. Being displaced suddenly is very distressing so I could see how a person could fall into a sex trafficking scheme more easily during the trying times. It can be difficult to stay in contact with others during natural disasters so someone could be sold into the sex trade and moved before their loved one even got to check if they were okay. One of the points that the article made that is particularly scary to me is how children who are separated from their families during the natural disaster could easily be misguided or taken by a sex trafficker. So from the family’s perspective, their child goes missing during a catastrophe and is never heard from again. I know I would assume the worst in this case, but I don’t know if I would ever consider that the child was abducted and now in that kind of situation. To me that is arguably worse than death, especially if the sex trafficker is never caught and the abuse continues.

I’m glad the article pointed out that anyone who goes out to help with disaster relief could also help stop the sex trafficking of the people who faced the natural disaster. Just by being aware of the issue, looking for and acknowledging signs of sexual abuse and being willing to help someone could stop the exploitation of someone in an already unfortunate situation.

Here’s a graphic I found with some more basic info I wanted to share: