Walk For Freedom through downtown Carson City makes statement against human trafficking
Submitted by Brett Fisher on Sat, 10/20/2018 - 1:44pm
A single file line of people dressed in black silently made its way from the State Capitol grounds north along Carson Street Saturday morning to raise awareness of human trafficking in Nevada, nationwide and around the world.
Organized by Xquisite, a Carson City-based grass-roots empowerment movement and 501(c)3 registered non-profit, the fifth annual Walk For Freedom in the Nevada state capital was a microcosm of an international movement.
"We're actually one of 467 walks today across the globe," Xquisite Founder Brenda Sandquist said. "There are a lot of people speaking out today, bringing awareness to this issue."
One of the participants Saturday was Kimberly Mull, who led the walk through downtown Carson City.
Mull, a former sex trafficking victim as a minor child, knows personally what is at stake.
"It started out as child pornography and then went from trading my pictures to trading me," Mull said.
Now she works to free others from the world that once held her captive.
"I've worked with over 400 women and children around the country that are still actively in the lifestyle," Mull said. "Those are individuals who are either currently being trafficked or are actively being prostituted by someone."
Human trafficking, particularly in Nevada, often means sexual exploitation of some sort and to some degree, Mull said.
But the trafficking of people can also mean forced labor, she said.
"There's labor exploitation, especially in areas with a high demand for agricultural needs," Mull said. "It's also found in nail salons, massage parlors, and things to that extent."
Contrary to common belief, Mull said most victims of human trafficking in the United States are domestic rather than foreign.
"When people think of trafficking, they think of somebody from another country coming over here," she said. "But the reality in the United States is that the vast majority of victims are American citizens, specifically American women and children."
At least 5,016 individuals are sold for sex in an average month in Nevada, according to a Walk For Freedom press release, as part of a growing $150 billion global industry and the world's fastest-growing criminal activity.
The number of prostituted persons per capita in Nevada is 63 percent larger than the next largest state of New York, Walk For Freedom aid, and more than twice as many as in California.
Mull said the signs that someone is being trafficked for exploitation are similar to those of domestic violence.
The victims may be loyal to their captors out of fear, she said, owing to the power and control that trafficking is really all about.
"It looks like a domestic violence situation," Mull said. "But there's that commercial exploitation component taking things one step further, especially here in Nevada."
If an individual is required to give some or all of their money to another person, is required to keep in contact with someone else, and they are unable to move about freely, those may be signs of exploitation.
Mull said a number of sexual exploitation venues exist in Nevada, including strip clubs, massage parlors, brothels and street prostitution.
"It's about power and control, whether that comes in the form of labor or sexual exploitation," she said.
For more information about human trafficking or to make a donation toward efforts to end it, visit the Walk For Freedom web site at a21.org/walk.
Also visit Xquisite of Carson City at www.xquisite.org or on social media at www.facebook.com/xquisite.org.
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