By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

RICHMOND, VA, April 8, 2013 – Building relationships with survivors, advocates, and other professionals across the country has greatly impacted my life.  Not only have many of these individuals and organizations supported me in my personal growth, but they have also educated me in my advocacy.  Even though I am a survivor of child sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC), I do not claim to know everything about these issues.  Even as I write an academic book on these topics, I continue to learn different perspectives and ideas from others.

Over the next few weeks, several advocates and organizations will share with us their efforts and achievements.  I encourage readers to reach out to these interviewees in order to learn more about their philosophies, goals, and strategies.

This weekend I was excited to interview Ruth Jacobs, Author and Charity & Human Rights Campaigner.

What would you say is your personal mission statement?

To show the reality of prostitution and sex trafficking. Originally, I had only set out to be a writer. Through my fiction work, I wanted to show how prostitution at the level of being a call girl, which is far too often glamorized in the media, is still a dangerous and traumatic way to earn money.

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

SAN BERNADINO COUNTY, Calif., April 2, 2013 ― Building relationships with survivors, advocates, and other professionals across the country has greatly impacted my life.  Not only have many of these individuals and organizations supported me in my personal growth, but they have also educated me in my advocacy.  Even though I am a survivor of child sex trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC), I do not claim to know everything about these issues.  Even as I write an academic book on these topics, I continue to learn different perspectives and ideas from others.

Over the next few weeks, several advocates and organizations will share with us their efforts and achievements.  I encourage readers to reach out to these interviewees in order to learn more about their philosophies, goals, and strategies.

This week I’m excited to interview Anne-Michelle Ellis, Coordinator of the County of San Bernardino’s Coalition Against Sexual Exploitation (CASE).

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

WASHINGTON, DC, March 28, 2013 – My path crossed with Candace Wheeler, Executive Director for Restoration Ministries, at a Shared Hope International (SHI) event in San Antonio, Texas,  in 2011. I happened to meet Candace over pastries one morning.  This gave me a chance to learn more about her ministry, including her work with juveniles in detention centers and psychiatric hospitals

As a survivor of child sex trafficking, I was both honored and overwhelmed by the experience and hope to meet with Candace in Washington, DC to join her in outreach with juveniles in detention centers and psychiatric hospitals.

I sat down with Candance to learn more about Restoration Ministries:

Restoration Ministries seeks to bring healing to men, women, and children who have been caught in the trap of sex trafficking and lead them into the freedom of Jesus Christ

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

WASHINGTON DC, March 22, 2013 – As a consultant for Fox Valley Technical College’s AMBER Alert Program, I often speak to law enforcement and service providers across the country.  At the end of my presentations, I always encourage my audience members to connect with local empowered survivors, if possible, who may be able to speak with victims.  As a child victim of sex trafficking, it was difficult for me to connect with the social workers and police detectives involved in my case.  Truly, it wasn’t until nearly twenty years later, after I met and spoke with another survivor of child sex trafficking, that I was finally able to understand my victimization.

That survivor was Tina Frundt.

Tina Frundt is the founder of Courtney’s House, a program which provides services to boys and girls in and around the Washington D.C. area who have been trafficked and exploited for purposes of prostitution.  Courtney’s House is one of the few survivor-led organizations within the country that works directly with child victims, and I believe such organizations are vital.  I believe my healing process would have been a much easier transition had I been connected with a survivor mentor.

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

RICHMOND, VA, February 26, 2013 — Early one bright, hot August morning, during the first week of second grade, my stepfather picked me up and tossed me out the front door.  I hit the ground hard, instinctively protecting my face, breaking my fall with my hand.

As I struggled to catch my breath, I realized two things: I was hurt, and the kids on the school bus out in front of my house were watching me.  All those eyes were aimed right at me.

I looked at my mother, standing slightly behind my stepfather.  She just stared calmly, her arms crossed over her pregnant belly.  She said nothing, did not move, acting as though nothing had happened.

“Mom?” I said, waiting for the comfort and dust-me-off that didn’t come.

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By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

Photo: www.StacyJewellLewis.com

WASHINGTON, D.C., February 17, 2013 – Playwright, poet, and human trafficking survivor-activist, Stacy Jewell Lewis, is offering a brand-new performance entitled “7 Layers Captive” this week in Washington, D.C.

According to Stacy’s website, 7 Layers Captive is a “descriptive real life story about Stacy’s horrific experience in what she and other experts call ‘The Life.’ Through poetry, music and powerful storytelling, Stacy describes the fear, shame and eventual acceptance that plagued and kept her locked in the chains of her [captor’s] manipulative seduction.”

“7 Layers Captive offers explanation to those hard-to-explain questions,” Stacy stated, “Questions like ‘Why didn’t you run?’ and ‘Didn’t you have a choice?’”

Survivors like Stacy and I know all too well how difficult these questions are to answer in just a few statements.

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

RICHMOND, VA, February 10, 2013 – Last October, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, and Amtrak President and CEO Joseph Boardman announced a partnership among the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Department of Transportation (DOT), and Amtrak to combat human trafficking. Under this partnership, DHS and DOT would work with Amtrak to train over 8,000 frontline transportation employees and Amtrak Police Department officers to identify and recognize indicators of human trafficking, as well as how to report suspected cases of human trafficking.

DOT announced that this partnership is also part of their efforts to raise awareness about the issue and to ensure that the U.S. transportation system is not being exploited for human trafficking. The DOT has stated that, under the leadership of Secretary Ray LaHood, nearly all Department of Transportation employees have completed an anti-human trafficking training that covers common signs of trafficking and how to report it. DOT contractor employees are expected to begin the training soon.

“We cannot let the American transportation system be an enabler in these criminal acts,” stated Secretary LaHood. “In addition to…partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and Amtrak, we are working with all modes of transportation to help stop the flow of human trafficking. Raising awareness can save lives, and we all have a responsibility to keep an eye out for these activities.”

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

RICHMOND, VA, January 30, 2013 – Several advocates have emailed me recently asking for advice on how service providers can best serve foreign-born victims who were trafficked within the United States. This is a great question, I thought. As a domestic-born survivor of child sex trafficking within the U.S., I recently wrote an article offering advice to service providers working with domestic children who endured similar exploitation. In order to approach this particular question, though, I thought it best to hear directly from foreign-born survivors themselves.

I’m pleased to present advice from two empowered survivor activists: Ima Matul and Shandra Woworuntu.

Ima Matul, Survivor Coordinator for the National Survivor Network, was lured from her home in Indonesia to work in America as a nanny. Upon arrival, however, Ima was separated from her cousin and forced into domestic servitude for several years. Ima offered the following advice to service providers working with foreigners:

• Shelter is always first priority, but it has to be a shelter specific for victims of human trafficking, not for victims of domestic violence or homelessness. “My experience was in [a domestic violence] shelter,” Ima explained, “And it was hard for me to relate with the other residents.”

• Offer shelter services to male victims as well as female.

• Inform victims about their rights within this country.

• Offer education to victims, including English as a Second Language (ESL), General Educational Development (GED) classes, and computer skills.

Read the article on the Washington Times website

By Holly Austin Smith — From her column Speaking Out in the Washington Times Communities

RICHMOND, VA, January 23, 2013-  Meet Ateba Crocker.  Ateba created an organization in 2010 called Shoe Revolt, a registered 501 (c)(3) nonprofit which she started in order to raise funds for programs that serve victims of sex trafficking.  As a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation, Ateba said she “desired to see others free from the trappings of the sex industry.”

In an emotional interview with the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Ateba described how she overcame early childhood sexual abuse and commercial sexual exploitation.  Through her faith and family, Ateba found the strength to return to school, to graduate college with a Master’s Degree, and to publish her first book, Rescued: A Testimony of God’s Saving Power.

Ateba used her love for fashion to help other victims of sexual exploitation.  The mission of Shoe Revolt was to donate portions of proceeds gained by selling new and gently-used shoes. As Ateba built Shoe Revolt; however, she said she quickly realized that what was missing was an education program for teens.

“I decided to change Shoe Revolt’s fundraising focus to creating and funding a teen preventive program,” Ateba stated, “[Teens must be] empower[ed] to fight against predators [who] seek to take away a human being’s right to freedom.”

Read the article on the Washington Times website

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