Wednesday is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day.
People are being encouraged to wear blue for #WearBlueDay as a way to shine a light on a dark reality that so many victims are experiencing, and to promote and protect their rights.
If you think it's not a problem in North Texas, think again. Texas ranks second in the nation for human trafficking.
In fact, two North Texans were just arrested this week for recruiting a young girl in Dallas for sex work.
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Miami-Dade Police arrested 32-year old Xavier Smith and 21-year old Jayla Welch. A press release said the couple was caught when they drove a 17 year old they met in Dallas all the way to Florida to meet with customers. Police said the duo stopped in cities along the way to sell the girl for commercial sex.
Another incident last April involved a 15-year old who was trafficked at a Mavericks game in Dallas. She was found days later with her traffickers in Oklahoma.
The two girls were one of the 100,000 children trafficked every year in the United States.
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'I WAS SO BROKEN'
It's a reality that hits too close to home for Sheniquia “Nikki” Lockett of Dallas.
Just five years ago, she says she was living in a cycle sex trafficking, domestic violence and abuse – one said she had been stuck in for 20 plus years.
"It was basically it got to a point to where it was about survival,” she said. "Growing up, I had experienced some traumatic events and was looking for love and acceptance in the wrong places -- which led me into the trafficking lifestyle."
Lockett was one of the more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking counted in recent years in Texas.
"I had created created such a challenge for myself until it was just complicated to leave. It was easier to just stay in a lifestyle than to get the rejection from society, because I wanted to change," she recalled. "I was so broken, broken until I just I didn't have the energy anymore. Like I was just totally fed up of the lifestyle. I really didn't know what to do about it. And I reached out to an organization that came to rescue me from the streets,” she said.
It was in those moments that she was introduced to a group that would bring hope to her future – New Friends New Life.
By providing access to education, job training, interim financial assistance, mental health, and spiritual support, New Friends New Life helps women and children overcome backgrounds of abuse, addiction, poverty, and limited opportunities.
For Lockett, they provided life-changing therapy, clothes, food and other necessities to help her turn a page and close that chapter of the her life.
"I experienced love, acceptance, a positive support network of people that honestly cared about me and they really didn't care about my story -- they cared about what was I willing to do to move forward," she said.
Nowadays, Lockett said she can’t believe how far she's come.
This week, she's doing some important work at the state capital as a committee member on the human trafficking survivor leadership council.
She works as a case manager at a domestic violence shelter and is a mentor for abuse and trafficking victims. She also started her own nonprofit called Lost Lilies, turning what was her trauma into something with purpose to help others.
She has collected food, coats and other needs for women -- things she remembered needing when she was transitioning into her new life.
“Just having a compassion and understanding what they're feeling and going through because I've overcome that,” she said. "I think society judges the women that's being trafficked when they don't have a choice. You know, they’re most of the time doing something against their will."
If you would like to get in touch with Lockett to support Lost Lilies, email lostlilies.today@outlook.com.
In 2021, Texas lawmakers made purchasing sex from an adult a felony offense, making it the first state in the country to do so. Since then, law enforcement has made over 950 arrests.
While Lockett is pushing for more change in Austin, her new family at New Friends New Life are being recognized this week by Dallas County commissioners for their work.
New Friends New Life addresses the problem of sex trafficking in Dallas by stepping in to ensure survivors of trafficking and exploitation have the mental, tangible, and economic tools necessary to escape the sex trade for good, as well as advocating for policy change and education to bring awareness to trafficking and aid prevention efforts.
To learn more about the program and how to seek help, click here
IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE
In 2021, 58% of NFNL program members reported histories of childhood sexual abuse and 64% reported experiencing domestic violence, on top of their experiences being trafficked and exploited.
Additionally, 75% of women screened at intake qualified for significant symptoms of PTSD, and 70% of expressed having experienced suicidal thinking.
Dallas Children's Advocacy Center (DCAC) sees these statistics in real time, handling cases for high risk youth and child sex trafficking cases in Dallas County.
Last year, they provided services for nearly 350 children who fell into that category. Cases workers coordinate with law enforcement and other agencies such as New Friends New Life and Traffic 911 to make sure victims are getting the help they need.
The nonprofit mostly handles cases of just child abuse but that's what can often make victims even more vulnerable to being trafficked.
"So we want to make sure that whether it was sexual abuse or physical abuse, that they are having that forensic interview here and then they are getting those services," said Lana Ahrens, Director of Training and Community Outreach for DCAC. "We have the mental health services here, that therapy, all trauma focused and evidence based therapy provided here for victims of child sexual abuse."
"And because we know child sex trafficking is so complex, that's why we rely on our partners in this fight such as New Friends New Life. And we can refer to them for additional services," she added.
However, DCAC is also warning parents that anyone is at risk.
"I think it's so important to realize that every child can be vulnerable to trafficking,” said Ahrens.
She said families need to have a conversation with their children and teens about the risks of engaging with strangers or seeking attention online.
"Pay attention to who the child is engaging with on social media. We know a lot of recruitment happens online, it happens through their social media platforms. So pay attention to who your kids are private messaging with, who your kids talking to online,” said Ahrens.
Furthermore, there are warning signs people can look for in potential cases of trafficking or a youth at risk of getting trafficked.
"We know that traffickers want to isolate the victims, right? They want that that victim to be solely reliant on them. So they isolate them from their friends, from their family. Pay attention if a child or teenager is becoming more isolated from their regular peer group or from their family members," said Ahrens. "Pay attention to any kind of change and school attendance, maybe in grades and school participation."
To get in touch with DCAC, click here for more information. You can also request training on recognizing child abuse, which includes an educational component on human trafficking.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 1-888-373-7888 National Human Trafficking Hotline. You can also text BE FREE (233-733).
To report suspected human trafficking to Federal law enforcement, you can anonymously call 1-866-347-2423.
