Imagine a woman walking alone on the street, she suddenly turns around and notices a suspicious car has been following her for the past five minutes. She tries to lose the car but it’s no use, and one moment to the next she is being thrown in a van and taken away. This is unfortunately the hard reality many women face today. Even though human trafficking does not discriminate against males, the female population is more susceptible to being a victim. It really boils my blood to know that some psychotic man will take time out of his day to go and kidnap a woman, and most of the time they aren’t even grown women, it’s mostly children or teenagers.

   The highest amount of human trafficking cases that have been reported is 1,507 people in California. However, even though most cases are reported,  in many other small places like Colombia and Puerto Rico they are not reported as often. I am half Colombian and half Puerto Rican which means that this information is especially heartbreaking to me. To think that there are these teenage girls getting abducted and most of the time being sexually violated and then left for dead. Although it may seem like these events could be inevitable, there have been new gadgets that are made specifically for preventing an uncomfortable situation from becoming a life-threatening one. 

   Apple has designed an alert that is built into iPhones that if you press the power button five times it immediately alerts the local authorities with your location. There also rape whistles, mini alarms, pepper spray, and even window breaker key chains that are easily accessible in any dangerous situation. I also think it’s very interesting that businesses are starting to make tasers in the form of feminine products like how they are used in super cool spy movies.

   Even though companies have made the effort to create emergency situation gadgets for women, I still think it’s very sad that it is necessary in the first place. Everyone should be allowed to walk alone and not feel as though their life could be in danger. I do believe that society has done a better job in highlighting this growing issue and providing more tips on how you can save your life.