Not For Sale: Decatur Human Trafficking Panel Set For Sunday

EDITOR'S NOTE: As Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta approached, Patch devoted exclusive and extensive 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.

DECATUR, GA -- A human trafficking panel discussion will be held Sunday in Decatur that will feature several law enforcement and judicial officials. The event will be held from 2-4 pm at the Shambhala Meditation Center of Atlanta at 1447 Church Street. The discussion will be sponsored by the Community Relations Committee of the Atlanta Shambhala Center in partnership with the Women’s Caucus for Art of Georgia (WCAGA).

Panel members include:

• Judge Shondeana Crews-Morris, DeKalb County State Court: moderator;
• Taketa Green, criminal investigator in the crimes against children and sexual exploitation unit in the DeKalb DA's office;
• Dr. Jordan Greenbaum, staff physician, Institute on Healthcare & Human Trafficking, Stephanie V. Blank Center for Safe & Healthy Children, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
• Shawn Smash-Jett, Wellspring Living; and
• Kasey McClure, founder of 4Sarah

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.

Not For Sale: Exclusive Coverage From Patch

• Not For Sale: Nonprofit Protects Metro Children From Predators
• More Than 160 Arrested In Super Bowl Human Trafficking Operation
• 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

(For more news like this, find your local Patch here. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

Shutterstock