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atlanta_women_05_girls_0109

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Williams also reports that students will recruit in their schools. “You will actually get a student that is alreadyinto it and supposed to be the pimp’s girlfriend who goes out and recruits them for the pimp.” Girls arerecruited out of detention centers, shelters, and the Greyhound bus station. Williams even knew of a shelterwhere <strong>girls</strong> had been picked up by limousine.Trafficking of <strong>girls</strong> across international and state bordersCSEC is both a homegrown and an international business. Girls are moved from country to country andstate to state.In 2003, Juan Reyes Rojas, a Mexican national, pled guilty to two counts of human trafficking for smugglingtwo <strong>women</strong> (one of them a 16-year-old) from Mexico into Atlanta. Reyes forced the <strong>women</strong> to have sex withten to twenty-five men a night. Reyes’ two brothers were charged with running a smuggling and prostitutionring. Metro Atlanta is an ideal location for international trafficking due in part to the large and growingimmigrant communities, but also due to the city’s frequent business conventions and large sporting events.It is impossible to estimate the number of persons trafficked into the Atlanta area, but the Department ofJustice estimates that 17,500 to 18,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year. The federalTrafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) seeks to combat human trafficking by punishing traffickers,protecting victims, and mobilizing U.S. government agencies to wage a global anti-trafficking campaign.As part of this initiative, the City of Atlanta and Cobb County have received Law Enforcement & ServiceProvider Anti-Trafficking Task Force Grants.The Immigrant and Refugee Coalition Challenging Gender Based Oppression, known as “Tapestri,” advocateson behalf of immigrant and refugee families in the Atlanta area that have been affected by domestic violence,sexual assault and exploitation. Women and <strong>girls</strong> who have been trafficked into Atlanta can receive directservices though Tapestri’s Anti-Trafficking Programs: crisis counseling, emergency food and shelter, housing,transportation, medical and mental health services, immigration assistance, and legal referral and advocacy.Women and <strong>girls</strong> are trafficked for several reasons; some are brought to this country to be prostitutes ordomestic servants, others are mail-order brides.Domestically trafficked <strong>girls</strong> are moved in and out of Atlanta on well-worn paths from Maine to Miami.Interstate victims have few resources available to them. They are often sent back to their place of residence,frequently placing them back in dangerous situations with little or no follow up.In February 2004, two men from Mississippi were found guilty of kidnapping, enticing a minor to engagein commercial sex, transporting a minor across state lines for purposes of prostitution, and inducing andtransporting an individual to travel in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution. The two men hadkidnapped a minor female from Arkansas and forced her to engage in street prostitution and then return totheir motel room every day in the Fulton Industrial Boulevard area. This was a clear case of domestic trafficking,but the situations are not always so clear. Consider the case of Tammy.Tammy lives in North Carolina with her father. Her mother lives in Chatham County. Last year, Tammy, thena 16-year-old, was brought to Atlanta by her father’s girlfriend. Shortly after, she was arrested for offering sex toan undercover police officer. Tammy’s father drove from North Carolina to get his daughter. Because Tammylives out of state, there is no way to know if this was an isolated incident of survival sex or if she was traffickedto Atlanta for the purpose of sexual exploitation. To date, Tammy has not shown up in Atlanta.20

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