Pat McKay, a retired software developer, has been fighting human trafficking in North Alabama since 2009 when she convinced Crisis Services of North Alabama to extend their services to sex trafficking victims. Since then, McKay has expanded on her mission to end modern-day slavery by founding the North Alabama Human Trafficking Task Force in 2012.

McKay uses the task force to foster awareness about a problem that has become the world’s fastest growing illegal activity. Each year, between 14,500 and 17,500 people are trafficked in the United States. Seventy-five percent are used as sex slaves. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 37 human trafficking cases were reported in Alabama last year.

A number that McKay said does not accurately reflect the number of people in Alabama trapped in trafficking.

“This area is a actually a hot spot for trafficking because of all of the interstates,” McKay said.

Interstate 20, which links Birmingham to Atlanta, has long been considered a superhighway for human trafficking.

Sex trafficking survivor Tujan McCarty said that during her ordeal, her handlers sold her up and down Interstate 22, which connects Birmingham and Memphis. McCarty founded the Well House, a group home for human trafficking victims, in Birmingham in 2011. To date, she has helped rescue hundreds of women from sex trafficking situations.

McKay warns that because Interstate 65 runs through Athens, human trafficking has seeped into Limestone County.

Although trafficking takes on many dark forms, the most prevalent scenario in this area involves older men who ensnare younger people, sometimes even children.

“The idea that most sex trafficking victims are violently kidnapped like they portray in the movies is a myth,” McKay said.

The trap is far more subtle, according to Cindi Stewart, assistant director at CSNA. The Huntsville-based center extends their services — which include examinations by forensic nurses, a 24/7 Helpline and emergency shelters — to victims of sex trafficking.

“The girl may have self-image issues, or she might have problems at home, or maybe she fell into it accidentally,” Stewart said. “The trafficker is a master manipulator and knows exactly what buttons to push to get to these girls.”

Stewart said traffickers work their way into the victim’s life, initially treating them to gifts, clothes and drugs. McKay said they often play the role of boyfriend.

“They start having sex, and all of a sudden, he’s pimping her out,” McKay said. “Once she does it once or twice, he’s got her. He controls her by withholding drugs, food or through physical or mental abuse.”

Then, when the trafficker is finished, McKay said, “he’ll use her to recruit other unwitting victims, starting the cycle over again.”

By using his victims as recruits, the trafficker is able to increase his inventory, fulfilling a seemingly endless demand from customers willing to pay for sex. Those buyers and traffickers come from all walks of life.

“We’ve seen pastors, lawyers, business men, soccer coaches and politicians who have been on both ends of the deal,” she said. “Trafficking is also very common at truck stops and sporting events.”

Traffickers and clients often use online classifieds like Craigslist, using codes and terms to communicate race, age, gender and price of the person being offered for sex.

In response to the growing problem, Truckers Against Trafficking, a nonprofit anti-trafficking organization, has launched a nationwide campaign, plastering truck and rest stops with posters, stickers and wallet cards containing the sex trafficking hotline phone number.

The city of Minneapolis-St. Paul has ramped up efforts to crack down on sex trafficking during the upcoming NFL championship game. Polaris Project, a nonprofit organization working to combat human trafficking and modern-day slavery, has trained 10,000 volunteers, hotel employees, Airbnb and Uber drivers how to recognize the signs that someone is being trafficked and how to safely report it.

On a more local level, McKay and a host of other anti-trafficking experts, will meet Feb. 9–10 for the fourth annual Alabama Human Trafficking Summit in Montgomery. The two-day summit helps educate law enforcement agents, legal experts, social workers and educators about the growing problem.

State Rep. Jack Williams, R-Vestavia Hills, will open up the summit. A bill that Williams recently introduced to the State House that would impose stricter penalties on those found guilty of obstructing an investigation in trafficking passed Jan. 30.

Designated Senate Bill 179, it is just one of several bills that will come up in the House and Senate this session that will attempt to put an end to what McKay calls an “evil industry.”

Last year, McKay spoke to 82 organizations in North Alabama, hoping to raise awareness and encourage others to get involved in the fight against human slavery.

She said she is amazed by the number of people that she encounters on her speaking circuit who know little or nothing about a blight that ensnares 2.9 million people globally.

In the near future, McKay hopes to share her anti-trafficking message with area school districts, including the Limestone County and Athens City school systems.

“Knowledge is power,” McKay said. “The problem is, our kids are too naive, we don’t talk about sex in the schools, and we don’t warn kids about the many ways they can get caught up in human trafficking. I want to scare them enough so that they will take heed.”

If you or someone you know is caught in human trafficking, call the national hotline at 1-888-373-7888, text 233733 or contact the CSNA Helpline at 256-716-1000.