A collaboration between McKay Security and some of the country’s top reggae artistes was launched this week to help combat human trafficking — a crime that affects more young women — mainly by way of sexual exploitation.

Highlighting the presence of operational state mechanisms to counter the spread and ultimately eliminate what has been described as ‘modern day slavery’, Jason McKay, CEO, McKay Security, says the main purpose for launching the initiative was to create awareness among the nation’s citizens.

“… We wanted to do something on human trafficking because we felt that unlike the other crimes where they were knocking us with statistics left, right and centre, there really wasn’t a lot in terms of people realising what it was. I think everybody who watched the movie Taken, that’s their version of human trafficking. That’s not really the depth of it,” McKay declared at Tuesday night’s press launch at the Knutsford Court Hotel in Kingston.

A criminologist, McKay said his company first discussed the idea of using music as a “methodology to get the message across” with the Counter Terrorism and Organised Task Force (CTOC) 11 months ago, then linked with a few artistes, including Miguel Collins, better known as Sizzla.

“This is where Jamaican artistes unite, come together for a cause and as a united body they are saying they will not accept it taking place in Jamaica, or anywhere else in the world for that matter,” McKay pointed out.

Sizzla and Yola Moi, are the leading singers on a track dubbed Not the Only One, titled specifically for the cause, Jamaican Artistes Against Human Trafficking. Other popular artistes involved in the production are Tessanne Chin, Shaggy, Sean Paul, Jesse Royal, Protoje, Kelissa, Kevin, Voicemail, Dre Island and Bella Blair.

The track was one of two productions used to enhance the message at the launch, the other being a video, which depicted two examples on human trafficking. One involved men kidnapping a teen, then selling her to an intermediary who moves her on in the process to another purchaser; the other involves a financially challenged single mom selling her only daughter at age 13. In both instances, the children are taken to a location with other young women, where they are paraded sround then sold.

“More and more we’re seeing where our children are becoming victims of modern-day slavery, known as human trafficking,” said presenter Audrey Budhi, director of policy, planning and evaluation at the Child Development Agency.

Budhi added: “After drug dealing, trafficking in persons is tied with illegal arms as the second largest organised criminal industry in the world. Trafficking in persons involves three inter-related activities; recruitment, by exception or force, transportation across borders and exploitation.

“History shows that 150 years ago slavery was abolished, yet there are more persons in slavery today through trafficking in persons than any other time,” asserted Budhi.

The constabulary body leading the change to cripple human trafficking, CTOC, says while it is ongoing it has no proof that the numbers are increasing.

“We at CTOC are doing our work and at the moment we’ve not seen a rise in it,” said Senior Superintendent of Police Collin Pinnock, who noted that persons are sometimes deceived.

“It’s country to country … Jamaicans have been shipped to other Caribbean countries, flown to remote islands. Just this year three sisters were rescued from a Caribbean island. They were taken from Jamaica in the belief that they were going to get jobs,” said Pinnock.

He pointed out that in some cases the perpetrators are influential members of society.

“Some of the persons who are involved in this type of crime are not just the ordinary citizen, they are people who have substantial education, substantial positions in society, substantial professions,” said the senior superintendent.

Regularly, children are reported missing in the media but Pinnock and Budhi concurred that a large percentage return home. However, he urged public participation to aid their efforts.

“A significant number of these persons who go missing have turned up,” he said. “When something like this happens we’re urging persons to report it,” said Pinnock.

“I hope from an investigative perspective that the entire Jamaica will come onboard with us.”