Do you know Lacy? A
short film by the NGO Shared Hope International set the theme for the
night. The film tracked the story of a
young girl named Lacy who was courted by a charming older boy. As the boy took Lacy on expensive dates and
lavished her with expensive gifts, she fell in love and he took advantage of
her trust. Night after night, he sold
Lacy for sex—multiple times per night.
No one noticed and no one helped.
This is the very real story of Lacy, which happens to be the same story
of countless girls around the world and across the United States—including
right here in Hampton Roads.
On Wednesday, August 27th, 2014, Congressman Scott Rigell hosted “Justice Against Slavery: A Summit on Human Trafficking” at the Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library in Virginia Beach. Congressman Rigell opened the summit by asserting that the first step to finding a solution is to acknowledge that the problem exists. While human trafficking is often not recognized as a local problem, Congressman Rigell called on those present to raise awareness of this exact problem in the Hampton Roads area. To bring about that awareness, several prevalent community members spoke about human trafficking in Hampton Roads.
First, David Dennison from the Department of Homeland
Security (DHS) spoke about the leaps and bounds being made in the fight against
human trafficking at the federal level.
Last year alone, DHS initiated over 1000 cases against perpetrators of
human trafficking. This number is
dramatically up since 2010. So what
makes the difference? “Support and
collaboration,” said David. Working with
local task forces that have been trained in combating trafficking has helped
DHS be more effective in its efforts.
DHS follows the approach set forth in the Palermo Protocol
in the fight against human trafficking: prevention, protection, and
prosecution. Prevention focuses on
efficient outreach and effective education.
Protective services are victim centered, and prosecution focuses on
successful law enforcement investigations and criminal prosecutions. With respect to the protection aspect, Mr.
Dennison noted that currently, Virginia
has no shelters specifically for human trafficking victims. This is a huge
problem that must be remedied.
Next, Tanya Street spoke about her story as a victim of
human trafficking. Tanya was just
another girl like Lacy. She was seduced
and sold by a man she thought loved and cared for her. She now spends her time raising awareness
about human trafficking and working towards breaking the stereotypes towards
women seen on the street.
The night ended with a panel of local professionals in the
fight towards eradicating human trafficking in Hampton Roads. First, Officer Michael Hudgins of the Newport
News Police Department informed the audience of recent human trafficking
investigations in Newport News and the efforts local law enforcement is taking
to apprehend the perpetrators. Virginia
Beach Assistant Commonwealth’s Attorney Scott Alleman spoke next. Mr. Alleman spoke about the recent
prosecutions of pimps in the area, including a case that resulted in a 35-year
sentence for a trafficker. Finally,
Meichell Worthing and Larisa Sutherland spoke about counseling services
available to human trafficking victims in the area. Ms. Worthing provides counseling free of
charge to those who have suffered from this crime. Ms. Sutherland works at Samaritan House, a
local nonprofit with 11 emergency housing shelters in the area.
The night ended with an unexpected plea. We were called on to think like
traffickers. If we as a community are
able to spot potential victims faster, we can beat the traffickers to the
vulnerable among us, offering them love and care instead of exploitation.
Thank you, Congressman Rigell, for your efforts to combat
this heinous crime in our own backyard.
Emily Arthur, 3L
Regent University School of Law
Graduate Assistant for the Center for Global Justice
Contact info: emilart@mail.regent.edu
For further information on how you can get involved:
Summit on Human Trafficking Resource Fair Participants
Virginia Beach Justice
Initiative, Lighthouse
Counseling, Virginia
Beach Police Department: Crime Prevention Unit, Virginia
Beach Commonwealth Attorney’s Office, Community Collaboration Center,
Samaritan House, Center for Global
Justice, Human Rights, and the Rule of Law, Awaken Church, Bon Secours
Health Systems, Newport
News Police Department, M1:Zero, Real Life Church, Identifiable Me, Homestead Ranch
This link is to the Homeland Security Investigation’s site,
which Special Agent Dennis Davidson spoke on. It was not listed under the
resource fair participants; however, it may be a helpful link to include if you
ID his position with Homeland Security.
No comments:
Post a Comment