Est. 2012 | Colorado Springs, Colorado and Charlottesville, Virginia wedding & family photographer

I have to be honest. If you asked me if there was human trafficking in Virginia over a year ago, I would have guessed no. I mean, we hear about it in other countries/continents, but not so much in the U.S. There’s also this perception of girls in chains and held against their will. That does happen, but the majority isn’t what we imagine, as you will read below! Virginia didn’t establish a law against human trafficking until summer of 2015, which is pretty recent. So because this is still a relatively new idea in the area, we need to spread the word around! It wasn’t until I was introduced to the Higgins Hope leader a year ago when I realized how real this situation is in our own community! This is why Higgins Hope is the chosen nonprofit organization to donate all of the proceeds from the Runaway Brides 5k Fun Run event I’m currently planning/organizing! We want to help combat this terrible act in the D.C. metro area.

Last Saturday, Monterey Church in Warrenton, VA hosted the second annual Lifting Shadows event to raise awareness about how real human trafficking is around us and how we can come together and fight it. I hope you learn something new from this blog post. 🙂 The event had three panelists, one police officer/detective, a Deacon and a post-trauma center organizer. A very well-rounded group to hear this information!

When listening to the police officer/detective talk about what he has witnessed/heard/arrested was shocking. In my mind, I imagined traffickers went after the lower class. WRONG. They actually go after the middle to high-class woman, but who comes from a broken home, who is in need of attention, affection and love. The fact is that 1 of 6 children who run away will be tricked into trafficking, which is a scary ratio! Another scary number is the age involved. On average, we are talking about 12/13-year-old girls. That seems SO young to me!!! Another scary fact … The typical trafficker could be a 45-year old, white male who attends church. We cannot identify or label a particular race, age or even gender as the trafficker. Yes, I do specify “girls” to be the victim in this blog post because it is common, but the roles could be switched around in certain cases.

Thank you, Autumn Smith, for the photo!!

See, what happens is the trafficker will aim for a girl who looks like she is in need of attention. Traffickers will even use Facebook because they are able to scope around and see who they can target. He will trick the girl to believe he loves them. Once he gets her hooked, she feels stuck with him because he’s filling in her emotional needs and wants. That’s when he starts manipulating and abusing her. A lot of the time, the girl doesn’t have a clue she’s involved in this human trafficking act! She loves him and will do anything to keep him from leaving her. And remember what I was saying above, the majority of the time, the man will go to the middle to high-class, so he makes sure to send her home at night and live a healthy lifestyle. They do this because they don’t want any suspicion or reports.

After a girl is identified, they go through a 30-day stabilization time at a shelter. It’s an ideal place to refocus! The organizers will sit down with each of the girls and encourage them, stir up dreams, teach them to be independent, motivate them to do something bigger with their life and so much more! After the 30-day period, sometimes the girls are still struggling, so that’s when a transitional home is necessary to keep the victims from going back to the “old ways.” Higgins Hope steps in and helps! They give the victims “support through education, spiritual enrichment, access to healthcare, a wide variety of therapeutic options, community involvement, and activities to aid in defining their goals and themselves.” It’s an incredible mission they have created.

Trafficking is here, even if we cannot see it. We all need to talk about it because it could save someone. It’s surprising when you hear that a victim doesn’t realize they are involved in this act until you tell them what’s involved. The traffickers brainwash them so much to believe one thing that the victim loses sight of the reality of their “relationship.” As a community, we can fight against this and make sure we create a safer environment!

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

1. Report any suspicious human trafficking to 911. If you see a situation, don’t approach, but call authority.
2. Talk about it! The more we can spread the word, the more exposure the situation is brought to light and will possibly save someone!
3. Donate!
4. Read “Walking Prey” — The author is from Richmond and has experienced the perspective of a victim.
5. PRAY. It’s a spiritual battle!