11 months ago
Hundreds gathered at Mercer University Thursday night to learn more about human trafficking, and hear from a former victim.
The conference is titled, Stop Sex Trafficking: The Call to End 21st Century Slavery.
Student members of the Sex Trafficking Opposition Project, or STOP, organized the conference to raise awareness about the issue.
They say they were inspired by a series of arrests at Macon massage parlors last summer, although none of the people arrested face human trafficking charges.
Telling her story through a translator and concealing her identity, a woman going by the name Joana Santos, shared her experience as a sex trafficking victim.
Her translator, Marina Spears, told the audience Joana Santos thought she would be selling clothes and working in retail in Atlanta, and remembers when she found out it was really a massage parlor.
Santos says she knew from the beginning that she would not accept the activity taking place in the parlor.
Translator Marina Spears conveyed the story to an audience of hundreds, telling them how Joana Santos was manipulated and how she eventually go away from the dangerous situation.
She said Joana Santos has higher aspirations now, and wants to study.
Shae Hinson and his wife attended the conference to learn more about an unfamiliar topic, and knowing they would hear from a survivor sparked their interest.
Hinson says he wants to know how he can get involved on a local level and thinks awareness is very important.
Event organizer and treasurer of STOP, Don Hatton, says he wants to reach people like the Hinsons who are eager to learn more.
He says one of the major problems in Macon is people who are blind to the issue and that's why they want to get the information out there and show what trafficking looks like.
Hatton hopes the survival story will motivate people to keep an eye out for possible sex trafficking situations.
He says if you don't know what to look for, you'll never see it.
The conference continues all day Friday.
Hatton says there are more than 800 people registered to attend so far.
