Southwest Florida must continue to fight against slavery and human trafficking: Nori Ann Reed

Nori Ann Reed • Special to news-press.com. January 11, 2011

 It was 2004 when the Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva really learned about human trafficking. Discovering that Florida had one of the highest rates of trafficking in the country, it contacted the then newly elected sheriff, Mike Scott, and he agreed to study the issue and to sponsor an initial meeting of law enforcement, human service providers and community leaders.

At that meeting, experts in the field, including Asst. U.S. Attorney Douglas Molloy, an internationally recognized expert in human trafficking, spoke to the crowd of over 80 participants. Information given by one of those participants led to the rescue of a 13-year-old Guatemalan victim and the arrest of four traffickers.

Since that first meeting, law enforcement, human service providers, and community leaders have worked together in the Southwest Florida Regional Human Trafficking Coalition. The coalition has undergone changes in membership and understanding of the issues.

We have learned that it is rare for a tip to lead to such a dramatic rescue and coordination of efforts as we experienced at our first meeting. Rather it takes persistence and dedication and the wherewithal to keep going. Victims of human trafficking desperately need our help to break free from their enslavement and to achieve a “normal” life. Traffickers need to be prosecuted to the greatest extent possible.

And despite The News-Press continuously shining a light on this terrible issue, recent articles have shown that prosecution is difficult, and helping victims can be incredibly complex. Knowing that both victims and traffickers continue to live amongst us keeps us involved in this issue.

January has been declared “National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month” and it is important that we focus on both awareness and prevention locally because right now, the number of victims and cases is dramatically increasing in Lee County for many reasons.

First, trafficking is a high-profit, low-risk crime and in this economy, a gold mine for criminals. Unfortunately, the demand for sex trafficking is unabated. We now know that the most targeted individuals by traffickers are U.S. girls between the ages of 11 and 15.

Second, a group of dedicated sheriff’s officers has taken a proactive approach to investigating cases and coordinating law enforcement resources. From late 2008 through 2010, federal funding was used to do extensive community outreach and training of professionals in law enforcement and health and human services. The dramatic rise in cases and rescued victims can be attributed to these factors.

You don’t have to be in law enforcement or human services to make a difference. Just as Zonta Club members realized in 2004, there is a role for you. For example, because Zonta is particularly interested in prevention programs, we support Nola Theiss, an early leader in the Coalition and now Executive Director of Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships (HTAP), in her ARTREACH program that works with local students to educate them about the dangers of human trafficking, guiding them to produce art that is exhibited or performed to educate more students.

The GRACE Project led by Dr. Genelle Grant, another early organizer of the Coalition, educates local Guatemalan women about the dangers of trafficking to discourage family members from being lured to the U.S. under false promises.

Ultimately, we believe that everyone needs to be involved. Whatever your interest, to find out where you can best serve, contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or zontasancap.com.

Finally, if you see something that you think might be human trafficking, do not ignore it. Call CrimeStoppers at 800-780-TIPS.

Join us in making a difference!

— Nori Ann Reed is co-chair of the Human Trafficking Awareness Team, Zonta Club of Sanibel-Captiva. She graduated from Cypress Lake Senior High and Florida Atlantic University before joining the Navy. She was the first woman to be captain of three ships. Upon retirement from the Navy, Nori Ann returned to Sanibel and joined Zonta, where she became involved in the fight against human trafficking