Amidst stormy weather on Saturday, March 26, more than 200 people gathered at the First Covenant Church in Ranch Cordova to attend the “Stop Trafficking” Symposium.

The three-hour session was organized to increase public awareness of human trafficking in the Sacramento region, rated second in the country as a city with a trafficking problem, according to Congressman Dan Lungren, who made a brief appearance.

Lungren recalled his days as state attorney general, when the introduction of Megan’s Law was met with resistance by prisoners’ rights advocates. He said the climate has changed with widespread acceptance of both Megan’s Law and Jessica’s Law to protect children. However, remaining deeply hidden in the community is sex slavery and trafficking of children, including runaways and locally raised youth.

The idea that sex trafficking occurs only in faraway places is a myth, according to symposium speakers. Young girls and women, and some males, are being sexually exploited here in our region.

Throughout the morning, grim details of individual girls who had been lured into prostitution were interspersed with messages of hope that local agencies are working on this problem. The public was encouraged to become involved in efforts to stop trafficking by volunteering, increasing awareness or donating funds.

Truckee Police Chief Nicholas Sensley was the keynote speaker and facilitator of the symposium. He has worked to stop trafficking both domestically and internationally.

Sensley considers “human trafficking” to be a soft term for what is actually “modern-day slavery,” in which one human being uses another as a commodity: a tool for economic gain.

He cited the federal definition of human trafficking found in the U.S. Code (22.USC.7102). In sum, it refers to activity that recruits, harbors, transports, provides or obtains another by force, fraud or coercion for either sex or labor. In the case of minors, it is considered trafficking even if force, fraud or coercion are not present.

Among female teenage runaways, according to Sensley, by the second time they’ve run away, they will be sexually exploited. By the third time, 85 percent will be victims of human trafficking.

As Sensley put it, the most powerful method used by perpetrators to control vulnerable girls is to “cage the mind.” Threats to harm family members and other fear tactics are used to control behavior and prevent victims from escaping or contacting police.

A task force among the FBI, Sacramento Police Department and Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department was created to train law enforcement to identify signs of human trafficking and to recover minors, specifically girls, who are being prostituted or otherwise sexually exploited.

According to FBI Special Agent Minerva Shelton, the interagency task force is necessary because no single agency has the resources it takes to deal with this issue comprehensively. One reason for this is that trafficking operations often cross city, county and even state jurisdictions. It is not uncommon for victims to be taken cross country.

The use of the internet has aided pimps because "dates" are setup online, not on street corners. Prostitution can occur in different places, with girls being moved around to multiple locations. There are websites soliciting escort services, falsely representing minors as adults. Even a popular Sacramento weekly newspaper contains ads, which have facilitated the sexual exploitation of minors, according to Shelton.

Girls as young as 11 have been recovered through task force efforts. Many of these girls come from disadvantaged backgrounds, and 90-95 percent have been physically and sexually abused at home. They are lured or tricked into prostitution and are under the tight control of the perpetrators.

An audience member asked Shelton what one thing would best help task force efforts. Shelton responded that more staff in the field is needed. Budget cuts to law enforcement departments have posed a limiting factor.

A panel of representatives from six local organizations serving victims of trafficking described their efforts to provide safe havens, shelter, advocacy, and emotional and other forms of support. These included Ellyne Bell from Wind Youth Services, Angela Dixon from Courage To Be You, Inc., Rosario Dowling from California Against Slavery in Sacramento, Margaux Rooney from WEAVE, and Nilda Valmores from My Sister’s House.

Common signs of human trafficking include: heavy surveillance equipment at a dwelling, frequent visitors, several persons living together who do not appear related, individuals who do not have identification or are never seen alone, domestic helpers who appear fearful of others, and female minors not in school who may be runaways.

The symposium was sponsored by Soroptimist International of the Americas and the Sierra Nevada Region District 4 Clubs, in partnership with My Sister’s House. For more information about human trafficking, visit http://www.soroptimist.org/stoptrafficking.html. For more information about local efforts to stop trafficking, go to sacramentorescueandrestore.net or call (916) 920-2952.