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Awareness Event for Human Trafficking Held in Mobile

53 views · Published 16 February 2014 · 2:45 · Indexed 27 September 2026

Channel: NBC 15 · 2014 · News & Politics

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MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) When you think about human trafficking, you might picture women and children somewhere on the other side of the world being sold and trafficked for money. One group's mission is to promote public awareness in the area and to educate the community about human trafficking. There have been cases right here in Mobile, the latest arrest in 2011. Other cases have been reported in Birmingham just last year where three minors were being trafficked for sex and were rescued. Around the same time, a young girl who had been forced to engage in drugs and sex for money was also rescued in Dothan. A candlelight vigil at Cathedral Square was meant to shine a light making more us aware of the reality of human trafficking. Maybe its that child that's run away from home. That child is then vulnerable to be snatched and grabbed and brought into this industry. Sometime it happens when a person is lured maybe its an advertisement for modeling, said Bryan Rodgers with Advocates For Freedom. According to the FBI, South Alabama's interstate corridor has been the  pipeline for years. So who are the bad guys and where do they come from? You can have people in the business community perpetuating this. It transcends all socio-economic levels and what a pimp looks like is completely different that what the stereotypes would dictate. It could be a person next door who you would never in a million years think would be doing that type of activity and behavior, said Rodgers. This group gathered Saturday night in downtown Mobile. It may be surprising to learn that trafficking sex slavery and labor slavery is a reality. Susie Harvill volunteers for the AFF. She tells of a recent case where a man from the Middle East held, what he called his wives, prisoner. One of them was able to escape. Their homes were out on Cottage Hill. Her mother had sold her when she was 10 years old and all of her life had been in labor trafficking servitude. One day a neighbor saw her and told her to realize it wasn't right and that she needed to leave, said Harvill. The AFF works closely with local authorities and with the FBI. Organizers say many of the cases along the Gulf Coast involve teenagers who are forced into prostitution and pornography; cases that never make the news because of their juvenile status. Click HERE for more information on how you can stop human trafficking

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