Reliable sources to know if a country is "safe" to visit? [duplicate]

I'm from the US and interested in traveling to the Balkans.

I checked the US Embassy government website for certain countries in the Balkans, and they are apparently deemed safe. But numerous people have told me of issues like sex trafficking that happen in that region, suggesting I'm at risk if I travel there. Part of me thinks that is unnecessarily cautious, but at the same time, I wouldn't want to be putting myself in that situation if more reliable sources would have confirmed that to be a real risk.

Is it safe to trust just the US Embassy website? Or are there other places I should check for this type of information? What about political issues?