State-Certified Shelters Raise Loud Voice Against Human Sexual Trafficking in Oklahoma

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and Oklahoma has taken strong measures to combat what's become a highly profitable and equally devastating criminal enterprise in the state and across the nation. Only three Oklahoma shelters have requested to become certified through the Oklahoma Attorney General's Office to provide adult trafficked women and their children with protective shelter, specialized services, and the opportunity to leave behind what only can be described as a unimaginable nightmare.

Until a few short years ago, the perception of human sexual trafficking in Oklahoma seemed limited to internationals smuggled across our nation's borders. Much like illegal firearms or drugs, the young girls and women forced into sexual slavery were thought to be part of foreign organized rings bent on selling their commerce in the shadows. Or so we thought.

Today, human sexual trafficking in Oklahoma is a growing enterprise that has expanded to include our own – both predator and victim alike. Kidnapped, coerced or cajoled with promises of money, clothes and travel, victims today hail from Oklahoma's bustling cities and quiet rural communities where they are imprisoned, tortured and routinely threatened with death should they try to escape or seek help.

Each of these certified shelters offers a different environment and a unique approach to help trafficked women reclaim their lives and transform themselves from victims to survivors. Behind these three shelters are the women who serve as directors, who made the courageous decision to take on a formidable foe and lead these women out of the darkness and into the light.

Wilma Lively, executive director of DaySpring Villa, has sheltered and provided services to approximately 86 trafficked women and their dependent children since the organization's certification in 2012. Just outside of Tulsa, the shelter offers accommodations and care for up to 23 trafficked women at any one time.

Founded in 1980 as Baptist Women's Center, DaySpring Villa is a faith-based domestic violence and human sexual trafficking shelter that integrates physical, emotional and spiritual healing with goals-based programs.

"When we first learned how pervasive and destructive sexual trafficking was becoming in Oklahoma, we knew we had to do something," Lively says. "Our mindset at the time was, if not us, then who?"

Lively adds that the services, care and support required by a trafficked woman are much different than those of a domestic violence survivor. "The trauma trafficked women experience is unlike anything we've ever encountered," she says. "These are women who are faced with the real possibility of death every day of their lives. They've watched other women be killed by their captors as a horrifying message that escape is not an option. Their recovery doesn't happen overnight because any concept of trust they might have had no longer exists."

Sonya Martinez, director of Beautiful Dream Society in Edmond, has received approximately 41 adult trafficked women and their dependent children since the shelter's certification in 2013. Founded in 2010, Beautiful Dream Society is the only faith-based, certified shelter in the Oklahoma City metro area for adult women, both domestic and international, who've been exploited in the commercial sex industry or forced labor.

"There is no one face of a trafficking victim," Martinez says. "The large majority of the women we work with are local. They're from towns like Duncan, Edmond, Norman, and Del City. The overwhelming majority who've participated in our program were exploited around the age of 12 and came from broken homes or foster care. They lacked healthy parental support and self-esteem."

Martinez adds that the most vulnerable prey for sexual traffickers are girls who often were the victims of sexual abuse as children and experienced a continuum of victimization.

"As Oklahomans, we must come together and take an interest in those being victimized. These are our sisters, daughters, students and friends. Never underestimate the value of mentoring and building the self-esteem of a young person or educating yourself and others about sexual trafficking."

Founded in 1976, DVIS/Call Rape has received approximately 15 adult trafficked women since its certification in 2013. The organization provides accommodations, counseling advocates and case managers who provide resources and referrals for adult victims of sexual trafficking.

"The women we see need many types of support, safety and help to realize they can live their lives differently," says Tracey Lyall, executive director. "They've been brainwashed into believing they can't live without the person who is forcing them into trafficking, that he is the only one who will ever take care of them, or they can't take care of themselves."

Lyall adds that none of the women DVIS/Call Rape has worked with entered a trafficking situation willingly. "None of them chose this as a way to live their lives," she says.

So what can Oklahomans do to make a powerful impact on sexual trafficking in their cities, towns and communities?

"Educate themselves," Lyall says. "Make yourself more aware of the realities of trafficking. It's understandable that we don't want to think there are elements of our society who treat people this way, but it is happening and it hides in plain sight."