Not For Sale: Street Grace Hoping To Change Sex Trafficking Laws

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 -- Street Grace, a faith-based organization with a mission to end domestic minor sex trafficking in metro Atlanta and throughout the U.S., and the Georgia Center for Opportunity will host a training program to teach citizens and organizations how to fight human trafficking by changing laws. The training will take place from 10:30 am to 1 pm on Thursday, Mar. 14, 2019, in the Georgia Department of Agriculture at 19 Martin Luther King Jr., Dr., in Atlanta.

Former state lawmaker Buzz Brockway and current vice president of public policy at the Georgia Center for Opportunity will lead the discussion on how a bill becomes a law. Camila Zolfaghari, vice president of policy for Street Grace and former chief human trafficking prosecutor for the Georgia Attorney General’s office, will lead the discussion on Georgia’s human trafficking laws and legislation that has been introduced to strengthen these laws. The session is open to anyone interested in learning how to go beyond protests and social media posts to affect real change when it comes to ending human trafficking.

Over Super Bowl week, 169 people were arrested during an 11-day, FBI-led human trafficking operation. The Violent Crimes Against Children/Human Trafficking Program and Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force announced it had also rescued 18 victims of human trafficking, including nine juveniles and nine adults. The effort leading up to Super Bowl Sunday included more than 25 local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and District Attorney's Offices, along with seven non-government organizations.

Read more: Not For Sale: Massage Parlors Flourish In Georgia

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.

Victims of human trafficking are of all genders, ages, races, countries, socioeconomic statuses, and so on. While human trafficking can happen to anyone, people who are already in vulnerable situations – such as people experiencing homelessness – may be more likely to be targeted.

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.

Seating is limited to the first 70 registrations. A $10 fee covers lunch that will be provided during the training. To sign up, visitstreetgrace.org/events.

Not For Sale: Exclusive Coverage From Patch

• 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

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