NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Hundreds of tips are pouring into the state's human trafficking hotline.
It's a major step forward in the fight against it. January marks Human Trafficking Awareness Month.
In 2017, the hotline received 323 tips.
Fast forward to 2019 and it more than doubled to 720 tips, according to It Has To Stop. It's an outreach of the TBI.
News4 spoke with Margie Quin who is the CEO of End Slavery Tennessee. The non-profit helps survivors.
Quin said the dramatic increase could be for a couple of reasons.
"85% we're just doing a better job with awareness and identification. Another 15% is perhaps the crime increasing a little bit. The proliferation of the internet and anonymity that comes with the internet," Quin said.
More survivors are also finding help. They're getting referred to End Slavery Tennessee by social service agencies.
Numbers provided by the non-profit show 165 survivors were referred to them in 2017. That increased to 305 in 2019.
For Quin, she said there's more work to do.
RELATED: Tennessee recognized as top U.S. state in fight against sex trafficking in annual report card
RELATED: Social media posts prompt organization to warn community how to spot fake human trafficking tactics
"It's going to take men and women in our society and in our communities to band together to say we're not going to do this. This is not going to be acceptable in our society, but men is the real key component there. Men have to hold other men accountable," Quin said.
Quin also told News4 the increase in tips from a new DCS policy. If they find out about a child being trafficked, they have to report it to law enforcement.
You can learn more about the warning signs here.
If you know someone who needs help, contact the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-855-55-TNHTH.
You can find other resources here.