Dr. Rondy Smith of Rest Stop Ministries discusses the heart breaking tragedy of Human Trafficking. The mission of Rest Stop Ministries is to comprehensively restore survivors and stop the oppression of human trafficking. http://www.reststopministries.org/ You can donate here. https://reststop.kindful.com

There are 27 million people enslaved in the world today…more than any time in history

80% are female and 50% of those are children trafficked for sexual exploitation

Sex Trafficking is a 34 billion dollar business – it is the 2nd largest criminal enterprise and fastest growing crime in the world. The average age of entry into prostitution is 13

There are girls as young as 5 and 6 years old in the U.S. that are forced to do sexual acts for economic gain by their pimp (U.S. Department of Justice)

A 2011 TBI report concluded that no county in Tennessee was immune to the crime of sex trafficking, with 85% of all counties having documented cases

“The results of the study are shocking. Human trafficking and sex slavery in Tennessee is more common than previously believed possible,” said TBI Director, Mark Gwyn
Some sex traffickers kidnap their victims, but more prey on vulnerable runaways and throwaways. Many children are funneled into the system by their own families due to extreme poverty and often to support drug habits.
The Grace Empowered Project, led by the Attorney General’s office, (formerly called the Hannah Project led by Assistant District Attorney Antoinette Welch) gives first offenders arrested for prostitution an opportunity to seek exit strategies and survivor services…however, there are few shelters and long-term rehabilitation programs in TN

Beginning February 9, 2016 Nashville instituted the first-in-state Human Trafficking Intervention Court dedicated solely to human trafficking cases in order to expedite and be more “victim services” oriented.