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MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Behind the sandy seashores and numerous days of sunshine in Florida, lies a darkish crime that always goes unnoticed.
According to the Human Tracking Hotline, Florida continues to rank third in the U.S. for human trafficking cases behind California and Texas. In 2021, the state had 781 cases, which is 7.54% of the U.S. whole.
Jan. 11 is acknowledged as Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the U.S.
It’s a darkish and grim actuality for Savanah Parvu, a survivor of kid intercourse trafficking.
“I started being trafficked when I was 11,” Parvu stated throughout an internet Zoom interview with WPTV.
Trafficking turned a lifestyle for the Orlando native after she was offered for intercourse by her personal mom.
“And there came a time when her drug dealer offered her a $10 piece of crack for me instead of her, and so that’s when I began being trafficked,” Parvu stated.
Over the course of 15 years, Parvu lived in a relentless cycle of abuse,
In and out of lodge rooms all all through central Florida with nowhere or nobody to show to, she was damaged.
“I would disassociate, so that emotionally it was like it was happening to me, but not really,” Parvu stated. “So it took a long time, like in counseling and stuff to realize how young and innocent I really was, and that it was a horrible thing. And that my mom would never be the mother I needed her to be.”
At 13, Parvu was positioned in foster care, the place she says the abuse continued.
“It was hard for me to know or see that there was a way out because I was put in a system that’s supposed to protect me, where I was ultimately, trafficked again.
In 2013, Parvu started to receive counseling after ending the relationship with her mother.
After surviving more than a decade of sexual abuse, she turned her trauma into triumph and is now dedicating her life to helping others find their voice and bring awareness to human trafficking.
“There’s hope, you possibly can have a greater life, you might be profitable, it doesn’t matter what’s occurred to you. And when you see one thing that you simply simply have a nasty feeling about, do not be afraid to talk up,” Parvu said.
To help combat human trafficking cases, local advocates stressed the importance of recognizing the signs.
Catch The Wave of Hope is a nonprofit in Martin County that focuses on prevention, education and bringing awareness to child sex trafficking. The group says they are seeing more cases of predators targeting and luring children online, and it’s important for parents to monitor their child’s internet activity and relationships.
“Now the indicators are, is your youngster on-line so much, have they determined to surrender a number of the different actions they’re doing, are they speaking to individuals that you simply don’t know on-line,” said Kelly Laurine, who serves as the board chairwoman. “That’s an enormous factor. Is there new folks that have entered their life that you simply don’t learn about.”
Laurine said it’s also important to teach children to be confident to avoid becoming a target for traffickers.
To report cases of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 888-373-7888. You can remain anonymous.
For more information on Catch the Wave of Hope and local resources click on right here.
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