On the latest BASEDPolitics podcast, human trafficking survivor & survivor advocate Eliza Bleu told her harrowing personal story of surviving one of the world’s worst crimes. So, too, Bleu explained the many ways that foolish Big Government policies make human trafficking worse—with COVID lockdowns as the prime example.
“Human trafficking can happen to anyone,” she said. “That’s why the pandemic was so scary for me, during the lockdowns.”
“[We suddenly had] an entire world or nation that’s an at-risk, vulnerable population,” Bleu continued. “Folks that are experiencing homelessness, food insecurity, addiction, mental health issues, these are all the perfect storm for exploitation.”
NEW POD: @elizableu did us the honor of sharing her story as a human trafficking survivor & survivor advocate.
She also explains how Big Government fuels human trafficking with terrible policies like lockdowns.
Apple: https://t.co/XZdT0v7U7p
Spotify: https://t.co/6wUScY0l5v pic.twitter.com/6mAmmQGOgx— Brad Polumbo 🇺🇸⚽️ 🏳️🌈 (@brad_polumbo) March 27, 2022
While government COVID lockdowns did not meaningful reduce COVID-19 deaths according to a John Hopkins meta-study, they did cause widespread isolation and economic devastation that fueled all the above issues.
However tragic, Bleu said this was always going to lead to more human trafficking, and data have confirmed it. She said that human trafficking increased during the lockdowns “by every metric and [set of] data we have available.”
“Right away, within the first month of lockdowns, the human trafficking hotline received a 40% increase in phone calls. After the second month it was a 46% increase. It was the same with the national sexual assault hotline—especially from children. A lot more children were calling.”
(More sources here, here, and here).
By analyzing 6 months worth of data reported to the Polaris-operated U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline during the height of the pandemic, we found that reports of sex trafficking were more than 45% more likely to involve online exploitation. pic.twitter.com/DtrbaN0MyW
— Polaris (@Polaris_Project) August 2, 2021
It’s not just the lockdowns, but any crisis or government oppression that leads to this vulnerability.
“When we look now at the situation that’s going on in Ukraine-Russia, it’s the perfect breeding ground for exploitation,” Bleu said. “When folks are fleeing… when the at-risk vulnerable [population] starts going up, it’s going to increase no matter what.”
To hear Eliza Bleu’s full story, listen to the latest BASEDPolitics podcast on Apple, Spotify, other platforms, or below. Follow Eliza on Twitter and check out her podcast here.