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so much for being on the show we really appreciate you being here
arm and so tell us what is to look what's the work the Ahmar center does
short so we are located in the DC metro area
in our organization is dedicated to providing direct legal services to
domestic
eight times as sex trafficking so a lot of times when we talk about sex
trafficking rethinking about
international Big Ten's she and that is a huge issue
I'm but at the same time this is also happening in our own backyard she mean
that
I'm primarily young women are being bought and sold for sex on the internet
and controlled by pants right here in DC and actually in every city in the United
States as well
she state our goal its just a few Tommy arm
before you go into the goals of the program with what type of numbers are we
talking about here we talking about
110 15-20 hundred thousand in the district and
in the metropolitan area across the country that's a great question so I
have been
I don't work for that organization up in Baltimore in 2012 they serve 225
individual clients and Baltimore City allowing
sheesh and I'm a loss been in contact with organizations here in DC you wanted
the bigger ones as serbs 300 clients and she doesn't well
sheesh and so I'm estimating that there's about five hundred clients
served a year
in the DC metro area Wow 505 certainties in those are the ones
that have been able to sort a break free a break from the bondage ove
you know sex trafficking in breaking free from their *** arm
so these are just the ones I've been able to get out she yes those are the
ones that have been identified in the way to identify usually is there
arrested sheesh I'm or they become pregnant and they are are referred to
social services but
but primarily all day I'm in there primarily girls 97 ninety-five percent
girls
sheesh have been referred to the social services agencies because they are
arrested for either prostitution
or a prostitution-related offenses such as China and seek
church Riley change loitering for the miners
okay so i mean clearly
you know Obama at these live in a sort of dealing with transition you as a part
of the process is love
you borrow the helping them get to the legality and what are some of those
day and maybe what do you what are some of the functions of how do you help your
views
domestic domestic sex trafficking women and men and transgender folk
on get through this the you know get you know get through this
yes yeah and I do want to point out that it is a huge problem in a change in your
community
I'm is well as with many employees it's not just a women's issue however it then
and the survivors are primarily women she answer right now is we're starting
our we're gonna focus on
for legal services verses expand many records
and almost every kind they work it has had an arrest record
sheesh a lot of them after they turn 18 yr charges prostitution
but they also have other related charges such as drug possession
I'm and later insurance either one they mentioned earlier
a lot of these are not convictions inside actually somewhat easy to do an
expungement of records so that they don't show up
it doesn't shock on-the-record anymore sheesh but they need a lawyer's helped
actually
out the paperwork turn into the judge and
and also an advocate to make sure that this process happens
he is it takes about 90 days Wow an hour
she yeah and then I'm Inc and when you do get the expense records that means
that this is a shop on their
I'm criminal history anymore and it makes it a lot easier for them to apply
for jobs
and basically move on with their life gotcha now
what what others legal services do you guys provided shores for the next one is
public benefits a lot everything else relates to the arrest and the survivors
so
a lotta times at public benefits Elise housing
the lease medical care sheesh I'm and because they do have a criminal record
and so there's some benefits that they're not able to receive in so we
went to work with them
on getting those benefits back advocating for them
is a big town and I'm arguing that they should have never lost his benefits in
the first place
now how can I i mean i think is with those issues where
a lot are usually those books on for got an issue that's not the sexiest issue
in politics it's not the issue that you know all the news networks were covering
it just sorta is an issue that's happening and it's alarming an alarming
one
she what you're talking about actually
sheesh yes I don't know what he's talking about it right now people have
heard about the International
I'll chaffee keaton's sheesh which happen a lot
and she Southeast Asia Eastern Europe there chap it throughout the world a lot
of them
are here in our DC area she and I can actually tell you that
no one's talking about it we just have to stop modern slavery work this last
weekend with
a lot of people showing up to support the movement here in DC
I'm and there are Moscow organizations in the DC area and focusing on
domestic work sheesh the thing that's different about the MRI legal sector is
where the only organization in DC providing direct
legal services for Big Ten's sheesh better simply related
so mean that on at this point in time we're not representing them in criminal
cases
but we are looking at other ways to help into the civil legal system
and so we're absolutely unique in DC for the first organization of its kind
at the powerful stuff because you i think a lot of people out there in in
the listening audience to understand that this is it's beyond just
okay so you been arrested for prostitution
are added you to go to court but it's also about other things like you know
shop Carlo costly if your child from you know
the children Family Services getting a protection order
from your all you know for your it better and so on and so forth
yeah exactly I was working with some clients yesterday
I'm one and the claims absolutely needs a protection order from her pen
and I would like to help her do that sheesh I'm however its marching even
just going to Korean getting a protection order restraining order
because he has a large network and people that he's working which
and he could definitely retaliating answer he knows where she lands
she and she's not pretty the witness protection program to the FBI this is
not the state level
sheesh is so I'm that's why we really need such workers involved in our work
to help us TT training
she and then taking the legal actions that we can take to ensure that she say
fish
I'm but at the same time make sure they we're not actually
and putting her in danger retaliation from the 10
and it also cast a you brought up is another issue and I had a client who
has a couple children but the pimps mother
actually is custody at the child's not herself
and I am this this is not I'm comin
I've run into other situations like this where the people at the kids
and then depends mom watches the kids in she's actually not allowed to see your
kids because she has an arrest for prostitution on a record
so let's reverse intersect thats that was so the
I mind-blowing note that with mine once your say
their situations where I'll sex trafficked
female have a child right
and she has an arrest record so the child look at this stage give
because the %uh the child to the victim's mother
I may not be an actual state custody order it might be a formal wear is
I mean the kids are taken away from her
and then its possibly a temporary custody agreement with
this person that she knows happens to be the pen smother
sheesh I'm in my the thing that we want to do is go in and you
and permanent custody agreement show arguing that this person is a victim a
choppy keen
is a fit mother proving herself in that manner she so
and so as far as a long term has the agreement where she's not allowed to see
the kids ever again and never heard a blanket stitch
but I definitely her *** emergency temporary per CD
its so stay here where we find out more information about the Marley goes under
in pure luxury fashion blog for a break all okay I'm are a legal doc or
a.m. a are 8 leeg et al
org and if you go there were gonna happen fundraiser on October 22nd at
Penn social sweet love for you guys to cap you can find the link there for
tickets
great thank you so much rather than four hours after this break there well
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