This all goes away when we implement a natural community protocol to simply eliminate poverty itself. Recall this is a way of life globally wherever poverty exists. Thus the end of global poverty can end all this.
The surprise was that it applied out here, but adding in the opioid crisis has certainly fueled it as well.
We needed to know this is a real thing as well.
.
Exposing East Tennessee's dark secret: Families sell children for sex
By Amanda Hara |
Posted: Wed 9:28 PM, Nov 13, 2019
|
https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Children-sold-for-sex-to-fuel-addiction--564887542.html
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) - An alarming epidemic plagues East Tennessee, but few fully understand the gravity or magnitude of the situation.
In the simplest of terms, children, some as young as three
years old, have been sold for sex by their own parents and family
members.
Adults, many with children of their own, have also fallen victim to human trafficking.
Experts identify the most vulnerable
human trafficking victims as children in foster care or group homes,
children or adults with a history of physical or sexual abuse, runaways,
people with special needs, and anyone with a weakness or vulnerability
that can be exposed or exploited.
"Traffickers promise a high-paying job,
a loving relationship, or new and exciting opportunities and then use
physical and psychological violence to control them," said the National
Human Trafficking Hotline.
As one of the region's darkest secrets bubbles just below the surface, the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking answers with a swift and focused attack.
The coalition, which serves all areas of upper East Tennessee, offers a variety of services to help communities identify and respond to human trafficking.
One program pairs mentors like Tamara
Klauer with survivors like a woman identified only as 'M.' Both started
as partners in survival but quickly grew as friends.
When WVLT News Anchor Amanda Hara
first met Tamara, she was sifting through old memories, packing up
little treasures from the past, and preparing to sell her West Knoxville
home and move to Chicago.
As Tamara waited for crews to arrive
and begin the moving process, M was already moving Tamara's heart with a
letter of gratitude.
+
"Dear Tamara, You're going to make me
cry that you're moving away. My life is better for knowing you and
counting you a dear friend," Tamara read. "It seems like I’ve known you
a long time, which is a good thing since the longest I’ve known anyone
is four years, the anniversary of our rescue."
M escaped a lifetime of trafficking,
sold by her own family for sex. She found refuge in Knoxville, in the
coalition, and in Tamara.
"You can’t wrap your head around it; you
can’t even imagine what would lead someone to do that. It’s just pure
evil ... When you think of a survivor you think of someone who’s young.
She’s a mom, she’s older than me. She has a son who’s a freshman in high
school, she has an older daughter. This is not some kid. I think that
is often surprising that it’s not just a 14- or 15-year-old girl,"
Tamara explained.
The profile of a human trafficking
survivor and victim is often misunderstood. Not just their age, but how
they come to find themselves being sold for sex.
It's true, Knoxville's interstates
provide traffickers a direct route from southern states to the north.
But experts say the convenient infrastructure that brings people to East
Tennessee isn't the only culprit.
Family members, fueled by drug
addiction, are selling children for sex straight from their East
Tennessee homes. This chilling scenario makes up an alarming amount of
the coalition's cases.
"It happened to grandma, it happened to
mom, and it's happening to the daughter because that’s how families got
by - that’s how they survived," explained Kate Trudell, Executive
Director of the Community Coalition Against Human Trafficking.
Trafficking is especially
prevalent in rural communities. The coalition points to a 2011
assessment from the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation which found 85
percent of Tennessee counties reported at least one case of sex
trafficking. Familial trafficking is the primary reason for sex
trafficking in rural communities, the coalition reported.
Furthermore, it's happening far more
often than most of East Tennessee realizes. Trudell said, "Our state
really needs to digest the reality that trafficking does happen. We are
seeing more referrals year to year than ever before, and that’s because
there’s more trafficking than there ever has been."
The coalition serves 30 to 40 clients
every month, some as young as toddlers, many of them living in a safe
house which keeps its location private to protect survivors.
Trudell said the uptick in clients can be attributed to improved detection and reporting of cases.
For Trudell, every story is one that
sticks. "A teenager couldn’t understand I didn’t want anything from
them. They were so used to relationships being a transaction they just
could not comprehend that wasn’t our role, we were simply there to make
sure they were okay."
The coalition says the process of
healing can often take a lifetime and include setbacks and milestones
that require consistent support. CCAHT provides clients and survivors
with emergency shelter, legal aid, transportation, case management,
medical care, therapy, workforce development, and so much more.
Trudell said love is the most
important, "There is nothing they can do that will make us not love them
because that’s what they want to feel like there’s someone on earth
that will love us no matter what, and many of them have never had that
before."
There are several ways to identify a
victim of human trafficking. Trudell said to watch for big changes in
personality and behavior, sudden expensive belongings that aren't easily
explained, and sudden drug or alcohol use.
While the general public may
misperceive human trafficking, so do some law enforcement officers.
There's a criminal justice component to the epidemic that muddies the
waters. Trudell said oftentimes law enforcement officers mistake a
victim for a prostitute and file criminal charges that can render long
lasting negative effects and criminalization of a victim.
Founded in 2010, CCAHT has served
nearly 400 survivors across East Tennessee. It prides itself as being
the only agency in the region dedicated to specialized trafficking
services with safe shelter.
In 2018, Tennessee was ranked first in
the country for its counter human trafficking legislation, according to
Shared Hope International. CCAHT credited its partnership with the TBI,
the Tennessee Anti-Slavery Alliance and countless other groups, for
achieving the ranking.
If you or someone you know is in trouble, please call the national or state human trafficking hotline number:
National Hotline: 1 (888) 373-7888
TN Hotline: 1 (855) 558-6484
Be Free Textline: Text HELP to 233733 (BEFREE)
Copyright 2019 WVLT. All rights reserved.
https://www.wvlt.tv/content/news/Children-sold-for-sex-to-fuel-addiction--564887542.html
https://www.facebook.com/AmandaHara/videos/1562274857248835/
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