This story was updated Feb. 12.
A seemingly casual and safe encounter with a young man at the
mall turned into a life-changing experience for Susan Young’s 15-year-old
daughter who became a victim of human trafficking in Springfield six years ago.
Her daughter was going to be sold to an out-of-state gang for $2,000.
If her daughter had been arrested, she would have been charged
with a crime. “Trafficking laws were not passed in Virginia until 2015,” said
Young.
Young shared her story and the impact it had on her family with
members of the quarterly Parish Liaison Network meeting at St. Mark Church in
Vienna Feb. 8.
The meeting fell on the World Day of Prayer against Human
Trafficking. Bishop Michael F. Burbidge released a statement that read, “There
are millions of people around the globe who are the victims of sex or labor
trafficking, and we know that sadly, these evils exist even within our own
diocese.”
“Today we pray for an end to this grave offense to human life and
dignity. In union with Our Lady and St. Josephine Bakhita, we pray for the
healing of victims, for the perseverance of those who dedicate their lives to
eradicating these evils in our world, and for the conversion of those who
perpetrate the evil of human trafficking.”
Other speakers included Deacon Marques Silva, director of the
Office of Child Protection and Safety; Kay Duffield, executive director of NOVA
Human Trafficking Initiative; Bill Woolf, executive director of Just Ask
Prevention; and members of St. Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle.
Virginia ranks seventh in the country in calls to the National
Human Trafficking Hotline, most from Northern Virginia, Norfolk and Richmond,
according to Woolf.
The Department of Justice estimates that by the year 2020, human
trafficking will surpass both the drug and arms trade, said Woolf.
Woolf, a former Fairfax County Police detective, said this issue
of human trafficking is “something that is somewhat foreign to us. I thought it
was something that happened overseas, affected only foreign populations.” He
didn’t realize it was a problem in Northern Virginia until he was working with
the gang unit on an MS-13 case.
“It can affect our communities, neighborhoods, schools and
parishes,” he said. “Until we’re educated to eradicate this, it is going to
keep happening.”
Woolf said human trafficking is defined as compelling a person to
engage in paid sex or forced labor. “A lot of what we see is a specific
grooming process targeting youths,” he said. “They are slowly manipulating
them.”
Parishes can become a safe zone, according to Woolf, if the staff
is trained to react appropriately. “Victims can stay stuck because they don’t
know who they can go to,” he said.
Deacon Silva said 59 percent of Arlington high school seniors
have had training in human trafficking. “The real response needs to be at the
parish level,” he said.
Chrissy Turgeon, a parishioner of St. Joseph Church in Herndon,
said she worries if she is doing enough to keep her daughter safe. “I have a
14-year-old daughter and I want to make sure that I know what to look for, what
is going on,” she said. “Am I monitoring her phone enough?”
Judith Branagan, a parishioner of Holy Spirit Church in
Annandale, said it was good that the Christian community has a role to play.
“It’s not just law enforcement,” she said. “It’s the faith community. It’s so
powerful that we can all do our share.”
St. Francis of Assisi Church in Triangle is an example of a
Christian community working to help victims of human trafficking. As a SHEPHERD
(Stop Human Trafficking and Exploitation. Protect, Help, Empower and Restore
Dignity) parish, they educate lay and religious leaders about human trafficking
from a Catholic perspective.
St. Francis parishioners Gene Sellers and Mary Lou Koehl spoke to
the parish liaisons, highlighting some of the activities they’re involved in,
including offering presentations, raising money for teddy bears for the ACTS
SAVAS (Action in Community Through Service Sexual Assault Victim Assistance
Services), making rope bracelets with a prayer attached based on Isaiah 58:6-8:
“Is this not, rather, the fast that I choose: releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke; setting free the oppressed, breaking off every
yoke? Is it not sharing your bread with the hungry, bringing the afflicted and
the homeless into your house; clothing the naked when you see them, and not
turning your back on your own flesh? Then your light shall break forth like the dawn ... ”
Sellers talked about changes that need to be made to
the laws in Virginia, including adding lewd acts related to victim grooming and
indoctrination to criminal code; increasing tools for seizure and forfeiture of
proceeds; giving seized proceeds to funds for victim assistance and local
prosecutors and law enforcement; increasing focus on labor trafficking;
expunging victim criminal records and convictions; and changing data collection
by law enforcement and prosecutors.