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As California Attorney General Rob Bonta and event leaders poured thousands of visitors into San Diego to join on Wednesday, California Attorney General Rob Bonta and event leaders joined in providing tips on the fight against human trafficking.
The Bonta office said the State Department’s San Diego Trafficking Task Force will carry out operations during Comic-Con, saying “the public can help by reporting suspicious activities that may be seen.”
“Comic-Con is an incredible event in San Diego that brings people from all over the world together to celebrate creativity, arts and community. We are grateful to Comic-Con International for working with my office to use our platform to raise awareness of human trafficking,” Bonta said in a statement.
Bonta’s office said human trafficking is the world’s fastest-growing criminal enterprise (estimated as a global industry of $150 billion a year), and criminal activity could surge during large gatherings like Comic Con.
Identifying victims of human trafficking or identifying crimes in which perpetrators benefit from the exploitation of men, women, and children through coercion, fraud, or force, for gender or labor can be difficult as they are often isolated by traffickers.
Victims can also be locked behind closed doors or kept their eyes on them. They may be doing seemingly legal work in hotels, factories, or restaurants, but they actually work for little or no wages.
A list of common signs and red flags for human trafficking can be found online.
The United States is a major destination for human traffickers, with California leading the state in 2023 with 11.74% of cases, according to US State Department data. In 2023, up to 17,000 casualties were involved in approximately 10,000 human trafficking in the United States, data shows.
If you or someone you know is forced to engage in any activity and is unable to leave, you can call the National Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 to access help and services.
If you, or someone else, are in immediate danger, call 9-1-1.
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