Not For Sale: First Lady Marty Kemp Convenes GRACE Commission

EDITOR'S NOTE: As Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta approached, Patch devoted exclusive coverage to the issue of human trafficking as it related to one of the world's biggest sporting events. Now that the game is over, Patch remains committed to covering this international plague with our continuing focus on local efforts to combat the crime.

ATLANTA -- Georgia First Lady Marty Kemp on Wednesday convened the inaugural meeting of a new statewide commission designed to fight human trafficking. The Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education (GRACE) Commission is made up of public officials, law enforcement, for-profit and non-profit organizations, faith-based institutions, and subject matter experts to tackle human trafficking, seek justice for victims, hold bad actors accountable, and end human trafficking.

According to the commission, there are 1.5 million human trafficking victims in the U.S., most of which are children. The Federal Bureau of Investigation recently named Atlanta as one of the 14 cities with abnormally high rates of human trafficking.

The issue of human trafficking gained more attention in Atlanta with the approach of Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is "modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act." Human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling, which involves illegal transportation of a person across a border.

The different kinds of human trafficking include sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking victims may be forced, threatened, or manipulated by promises of love or affection to engage in sex acts for money. Any person under the age of 18 involved in a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking.

According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, one in seven endangered runaways in 2017 were likely child sex trafficking victims, and 88 percent of those children were in the care of social services or foster care when they went missing.

Kemp, House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones and GBI Director Vic Reynolds are the GRACE Commission's co chairs. Here are the members:

• Allison Ausband, Senior Vice President of In-Flight Services, Delta Air Lines
• Stephanie Blank, Board Chair, Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students and President, Naserian Foundation
• Sherry Boston, DeKalb County District Attorney
• Mary Frances Bowley, Executive Director, Wellspring Living
• Chris Carr, Georgia Attorney General
• Dr. Meria Carstarphen, Superintendent, Atlanta Public Schools
• Geoff Duncan, Georgia Lieutenant Governor
• Evia Golde, Community Advocate, United Way of Greater Atlanta
• Donna Hyland, CEO, Children's Healthcare of Atlanta
• Katie Kirkpatrick, Chief Policy Officer, Metro Atlanta Chamber
• Dave McCleary, Vice Chair Rotary Action Group Against Slavery, Rotary International and Founder/CEO, End Human Trafficking Now
• Danelle McCusker Rees, President of Human Resources US Domestic Operations, UPS
• Jay Neal, Director, Criminal Justice Coordinating Council
• B.J. Pak, United States Attorney
• Gene Rackley, Director of Government Relations, Coca-Cola Company
• Tom Rawlings, Director, Division of Family and Children Services
• Heather Stockdale, CEO, Georgia Cares
• Michelle Wallace, Senior Vice President Clinical Operations, Grady Health System
• Camila Zolfaghari, Vice President of Policy, Street Grace

Not For Sale: Exclusive Coverage From Patch

• Not For Sale: Atlanta Sex Trafficker Sentenced To 21 Years
• Minor Sex Trafficking: How Well Georgia Protects Children
  
• Not For Sale: 21 Arrested In DeKalb Child Sex Trafficking Op
• Not For Sale: 33 Arrested In Super Bowl Human Trafficking Sting
• Not For Sale: Trafficking Survivor Brings Message Of Hope To ATL
• Fighting Sex Trafficking As Super Bowl Nears
• Removing The Physical Scars Of Human Trafficking
• Suit Against Cobb Hotel Targets Sex Trafficking
• Buses In Midtown Raise Sex Trafficking Awareness