Child Sex Slavery in Atlanta, GA

Leaving on a jet plane. We discussed the defining moments,...

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 14:45:00 -0400

Leaving on a jet plane. We discussed the defining moments, frustrations, and what we plan to take away from the trip.

“Even if you feel like you can’t do everything, it’s better to do something and do what you can than to do nothing.”

Goodbye Atlanta, we’ve got to go!

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 12:28:26 -0400

Goodbye Atlanta, we’ve got to go!

"Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good."

Sat, 24 Mar 2012 10:08:11 -0400

““Don’t make the perfect the enemy of the good.””

- The phrase that we’ve come back to again and again during this trip when looking at all the problems of creating the “best” program to help CSEC victims.

This is a video commercial promoting the faith-based non profit...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:14:00 -0400

This is a video commercial promoting the faith-based non profit that we volunteered at, Jars of Clay.

We’ve discussed the role of faith-based organizations in the fight against CSEC and poverty, and the benefits and limitations of these groups.

Surprise #3: The Watershow at the Fountain of the Olympic...

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 22:10:00 -0400

Surprise #3: The Watershow at the Fountain of the Olympic Centennial Park! Beautiful!

Dodgeball with the at-risk youth of Jars of Clay.

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 19:00:43 -0400

Dodgeball with the at-risk youth of Jars of Clay.

Letters to kids

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:54:05 -0400

Letters to kids

Writing letters to kids at jars of clay

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 12:51:26 -0400

Writing letters to kids at jars of clay

Jars of Clay

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 00:55:00 -0400

Today we visited a site called Jars of Clay. It is essentially a house that hosts girls who have been victimized by commercial sex trafficking and have a desire to get off the streets. As we drove down to the site, I noticed how desolate and impoverished the neighborhood was in comparison to the flashy side of Atlanta we have encountered so far. Jars of Clay was set right in the midst of it all. The lady who runs the place, Catina, had so much passion for the work the organization carried out. It is not funded by the government, there is absolutely no external financial support, but it runs on faith, as she put it (Jars of Clay was founded by a preacher who hosts a congregation on the site. Food and money donations are provided by the congregation members). Our work at the site was to clean the kitchen—which needed a lot of work, mind you—as well as the bathroom and dorm rooms in which the children resided. Another interesting thing to note is that due to the sheer number of children in need of a place like JC, the organization no longer caters to just sex trafficked girls but also homeless and neighborhood kids who need a safe haven in the given surroundings. It is a very brave task, I think. If only there were a hundred thousand more of places like that in the state of Georgia or even beyond. Princeton students definitely proved that they took everything as a challenge, including domestic work. We left the place spotless and even cooked a wonderful dinner for the kids . Afterwards we played with them outside, danced, laughed. It was great but it left a sadness in my heart concerning how much our efforts for the day had counted. But I guess that the kids knowing that there are people who care is good enough.

Vivienne and Rafael ballroom dancing in the Centennial Olympic...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 21:07:00 -0400

Vivienne and Rafael ballroom dancing in the Centennial Olympic Park after a long day of volunteering at Jars of Clay and dinner with Stephanie Davis!

That’s how you say Natasha!

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:47:00 -0400

That’s how you say Natasha!

Masterpiece.

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:29:24 -0400

Masterpiece.

Our hostel was once a brothel. Ironic.

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 19:06:12 -0400

Our hostel was once a brothel. Ironic.

Jars of clay, playing with the kids. Dance contest.

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:05:09 -0400

Jars of clay, playing with the kids. Dance contest.

Breakout atlanta highsteppers

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:42:44 -0400

Breakout atlanta highsteppers

HEY PRINCETON: It’s not too often that we see a D grade on...

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 01:05:00 -0400

HEY PRINCETON: It’s not too often that we see a D grade on something of ours, is it? Especially when it’s our state’s child sex trafficking laws. In fact, Georgia, our case study, has a C, and is ranked 6th best out of the nation. But rest assured that while New Jersey is not the worst, it is pretty dismal.

The following ratings were based on the stated methodology of Shared Hope International. We got copies of our home states’ grades from Kaffie McCullough of A Future, Not a Past. The ratings system involves looking at loopholes in legal statutes, the wording of criminal charges, punitive damages for the perpetrators and the buyers, as well as services for the victims.

The states with the worst comprehensive sex trafficking laws and programs are:

Wyoming
West Virginia
Hawaii
California (shame on you, home state!)
Virginia

States with the best child sex trafficking response laws and programs:

Texas
Missouri
Illinois
Washington
Minnesota

Much debate and food for thought on this initiative’s ratings.

The Cobb County Story: How the Police See the Issue of Child Sex Trafficking

Thu, 22 Mar 2012 00:30:00 -0400

On Tuesday, we met the Cobb County Police Department’s Special Victims Unit, including Detective Largeant (although it’s really too fun to call her Sergeant Largeant) and her coworkers on the team. SVU investigates all crimes against children (abuse, runaways, etc.), but with the passage of legislation against child sex trafficking in Georgia, Largeant and her team now take on larger cases involving bank statements, federal punishments, and complicated relationships with the victims that they rescue.

The group found some things new about the police officers’ perspective. Perhaps best captured in this jarring quote from the detectives:

When people like you raise awareness about child sex trafficking, that increases our case load.

And without the proper funding, they said, the police department faces the constant struggle of manpower. They simply can’t take all the cases that they get, and some of these girls and boys never see justice. Other things we learned the police department struggled with:

Trying to keep victims (who have trauma bonded with their exploiter) from running away without angering advocates against incarcerations. The “locked-down” debate has been a constant theme in our trip.
Gathering evidence and getting victims to testify against their perpetrators.
Having the resources to conduct stings without taking priority away from other children (for instance, those in domestic abuse cases).
Getting the victims to believe they have been victimized. Many girls feel a naturally antagonistic relationship with the police (as does a large sector of the urban community) or refuse to cooperate out of fear of retribution from traffickers.
Combatting distrust of authority and lack of funding; feeling undervalued.
Bitter jadedness. :P (But actually. The “Bitter, Jaded Old Sergeant Who’s About to Retire Secretly Has a Heart of Gold and Does What He Does Because He Still Cares” was totally a character at Cobb County.)

Overall, many of us feel this was a powerful turning point in our trip— seeing a completely different interpretation of the issue and gaining a new perspective.

Lobby day at the Georgia State Capitol!

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:39:20 -0400

Lobby day at the Georgia State Capitol!

In front of the CNN Center, looking at the media’s role in...

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 06:58:00 -0400

In front of the CNN Center, looking at the media’s role in promoting, combatting, and educating/raising awareness about sex trafficking.

PO PO

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 19:29:29 -0400

Talking to the Cobb County Special Victims Unit was jarring, refreshing, and sparked lots of debate. more on this soon.