Experts unite against human trafficking at Atlanta summit

ATLANTA — About 100 teenage girls are sexually exploited every night across the state, according to Covenant House Georgia. One of those victims-turned-survivors is Jessica Lamb. She began treatment at age 14 and was trafficked in the Atlanta metro area at age 16.

“They see me now, and they tell me you can’t be a survivor, but I’ve been through so much hell,” Lamb said.

She escaped with the help of the Salvation Army and her grandmother. Nearly 17 years later, Lamb is nationally recognized for founding Atlanta Redemption Ink (ARI). ARI's website states that it has built a national network of tattoo artists and removal specialists who provide services to survivors of commercial sexual exploitation, former gang members, and survivors of self-harm and addiction. Lamb also founded the Rise Summit.

The inaugural summit will be held Thursday and Friday at the Crowne Plaza in Peachtree City, bringing together renowned speakers, survivor experts and influential figures to effectively tackle these pressing issues.

Dr. Francine Bono-Neri, co-founder of Nurses United Against Human Trafficking, is among the experts present. She became involved in anti-human trafficking efforts after realizing she had failed as a mandated reporter of a trafficked 16-year-old due to a lack of education.

A recent study found that human trafficking content is taught very little in pre-licensing curricula, with only eight states requiring continuing education on the subject for nursing professionals. health.

“Human trafficking content is taught in minimal to no amount in RN pre-licensure curricula. Only eight states require continuing education on human trafficking for Once licensed, nurses who live in nonmandated states continue to be inconsistently or insufficiently trained. Data suggests that human trafficking content is not present in most curricula. of prelicensure nursing studies The implications of this study strongly suggest that human trafficking content be taught in all undergraduate registered nursing programs, with continuing education required in. all U.S. states and U.S. territories.

Joseph Scaramucci of Skull Games Inc., a nonprofit organization fighting sex trafficking, came from Waco, Texas, to attend the “Rise” summit. As director of law enforcement engagement, he trains law enforcement officers on how to get traffickers off the streets and rescue survivors.

“I can go out and try to pick up ten victims today, and that's great, but if I can train 10 law enforcement officers to go pick up 10 victims each, that spreads tremendously,” Scaramucci said. .

He added that one of the main takeaways he hopes for those attending the summit will be recognition of real crime and real criminals.

“There is a widespread misconception that prostitution is human trafficking and that human trafficking is prostitution, and what is happening throughout law enforcement is criminalizing it very much. respect victims of human trafficking by arresting them for their victimization,” Scaramucci said.

If you suspect human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at (888) 373-7888. To report suspected human trafficking in Georgia, call the 24-hour Human Trafficking Hotline at (866) 363-4842.