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New Hampshire is a beautiful place to live and work with many different activities and styles of living to offer; however this doesn’t exclude us from the challenges of life. Human trafficking may sound like something that happens abroad or in big cities, something foreign, something we wouldn’t see in New Hampshire. But we are seeing it! We’re identifying people who are being exploited and used – against their will. They are not just one type of person either - men and women, irrespective of ages, from around the state who are experiencing forced sex and forced labor. It takes us all – we’ll only find what we’re looking for. We all have to do our part.
Rebecca Ayling
Consultant, At the Root
Project Director, 2017-2020
New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force
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Since joining the NH Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force in early 2020, we have received leads from social services and law enforcement agencies from all over the state. To date [as of September 2020] we have investigated 38 cases of labor and sex trafficking. Being from state and county law enforcement agencies, we can provide more resources for these investigations to aid our local, state, and federal partners. We continue to educate NH law enforcement and the general public, bringing more awareness to the state that human trafficking is occurring here.
David McCormack, New Hampshire State Police
Task Force Officer
New Hampshire Human Trafficking Collaborative Task Force
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As a survivor of domestic sex trafficking, I can undoubtedly tell you that it happens everywhere in this country. No community is exempt from this form of modern-day slavery. I was trafficked for 5 years in Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Connecticut by a pimp and then sold myself for 3 years to support my growing drug addiction. I wanted to be a productive member of society and I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing what I was, but I couldn't find any way out. The trauma I experienced while being trafficked had made me suicidal and hopeless. Until I got sober, I wasn't able to change my life. In 2007 I finally found freedom from "The Life" of prostitution and drug addiction. To find out more about my story you can read my book titled, The Diary of Jasmine Grace. Trafficked, Recovered. Redeemed.
Jasmine Grace
Survivor Leader, Author
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It has taken some years to recognize that women who have been reporting interpersonal violence may also have been trafficked by the person whom they identify as their husband or boyfriend. If they have been engaging in trading sexual acts for drugs or money they may have internalized the shame and the blame, rather than recognizing the coercive control that their partner used to gain her compliance. When a woman is in a relationship with her trafficker and/or abuser she has been conditioned to protect that person at all costs, even to the detriment of her own well-being. She may see her own safety as dependent upon the protection of the person and the relationship. An abusive person’s use of power and control of another for their own gain is the root of both domestic violence and human trafficking.
Linda Douglas, M.Ed., CTSS
Former Trauma Informed Services Specialist
NH Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence
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I started learning about human trafficking at a time (2007) when most people (including me) were skeptical it was real, especially here. As cases started emerging at an alarming pace, we had to face an uncomfortable truth: that human trafficking was happening in the cities, suburbs and rural areas of every New England state. The question shifted from “Is this really happening here?” to “How could it possibly be happening SO MUCH?” We had to look at systemic issues like rampant vulnerability in our communities and the jaw-dropping level of demand for purchasing sex. We had to “own” the urgent need for developing things like prevention education, better legislation and targeted supports for survivors. And as robust as the anti-trafficking movement now is, we’ve only begun to scratch the surface.
Bob Atherton
Former Vice President, Vision New England
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Human Trafficking is occurring here in New Hampshire, virtually in plain sight. Nashua, along with other border towns and cities are especially susceptible to this activity. These crimes are difficult for local and state law enforcement agencies to effectively investigate alone. These incidents need a collaborative effort from the public, as well as other service providers, to help identify potential victim’s and ensure they receive the treatment and services needed.
Detective Sergeant Peter Urban
Special Investigations Division
Nashua, NH Police Department
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I grew up here in NH in a very dysfunctional family. My biological father was a rapist and the sexual abuse I suffered at his hands as a young child set me up to feel worth less than others. I was easy prey for pimps who targeted me at 13. I was sold for sex for four years here in New Hampshire and also in Massachusetts and Maine. When I was 18 and pregnant, I convinced my buyer that I’d had an abortion so he’d let me go.
Darlene Pawlik
Survivor Leader
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I often am asked "really, Human Trafficking happens in NH?" Yes, it happens here. We've encountered parents using their kids as bartering tools or selling their kids for money, we've had boyfriends selling their girlfriends for drugs and we've heard the reports of girls forced into sex trafficking - here - in New Hampshire. What we have to do now is actually see those victims, identify them as what they are, and work with our community professionals to provide safe places for them to disclose, find justice and then find their ultimate journey to healing.