MARQUETTE — January has been declared Human Trafficking Awareness month.

Human trafficking is a vast and expanding criminal enterprise through which trafficker’s profit from the exploitation and control of their victims. A press release from the Michigan State Police Iron Mountain Post states human trafficking as “a form of modern-day slavery in which traffickers use force, fraud or coercion to control victims for the purpose of engaging in commercial sex acts or labor services againt their will. Traffickers use violence, threats, blackmail, false promises, decption, manipulation and debt bondage to trap vulnerable children and adults in horrific situations.”

If you or someone you know needs help or to report a potential human trafficking situation, please call your local law enforcement agency or call the National Human Trafficking Resource Center’s toll-free hotline 24/7 at 1-888-373-7888 or email nhtc@polarisproject.org. Support is provided in more than 200 languages and all communication with the hotline is strictly confidential.

Presentations on Human Traffickings can be scheduled for groups or organizations by contacting Community Service Trooper Geno Basanese at the Iron Mountain Post at 906-774-2122.