Over the past three years, more prostituted children have been rescued in Seattle than any city in the U.S. Yet studies confirm that law enforcement officers are able to rescue only a fraction of our youth who are sexually exploited for commercial purposes.

Children are not the only victims of human trafficking in our state. There are also numerous cases of adults and foreign nationals who are trafficked in Washington state each year and exploited for commercial sex and/or labor. These cases pose serious risks not only to the individuals whose rights are violated, but also to our local businesses. Traffickers use businesses to fund and facilitate their crimes.

The Businesses Ending Slavery and Trafficking (BEST) Alliance empowers local businesses to take leadership to prevent the crime of human trafficking. By taking a few simple steps, businesses not only protect the youth and the vulnerable in our communities, they protect themselves from the legal, social and financial risks that trafficking poses to local businesses.

Federal Way Coalition Against Trafficking (FWCAT) leaders are taking their cues from organizations such as BEST Alliance, Washington Engage and End Human Trafficking Now to reach out to local businesses to encourage BEST practice guidelines be adhered and they will also be working with local governments to draft ordinances that will have a tremendous impact on human trafficking by requiring licensing and background checks, such as recently was authorized in Macon City, Ga.

If you are interested in joining FWCAT in removing human trafficking from the streets of Federal Way and the rest of our communities of our grand state of Washington, you may contact Roger Flygare by email at RGFlygare@aol.com or Brenda Oliver at brendao@waengage.com.

FWCAT hosts its monthly meeting at the Boys and Girls Club in Federal Way on the last Tuesday of every month. Please take the time to engage with us on this important issue.

Roger Flygare, Federal Way

Note: Flygare is a candidate for 30th District state representative.