At just 15 years old, Tajuan McCarty was homeless and forced into prostitution by a man in his 30s. More than a decade later, she finally escaped the sex trade and since then established two safe houses that have provided security for more than 200 trafficking victims.
McCarty will tell her story of escape and survival at an upcoming community forum on domestic human trafficking at 7 p.m. Sept. 12 at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 2140 Beaver Ruin Rd. in Norcross. The forum, sponsored by the Gwinnett County Human Relations Commission and St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, will feature McCarty, who is the founder of The Wellhouse, a Birmingham-based rescue and rehabilitation organization for victims of sexual exploitation, and other experts on human trafficking.
“The problem is real,” said Gwinnett County Police Department Vice Unit Sgt. Austin Godfrey. ”People don’t want to think that it’s happening but it is, and it’s happening right here in Gwinnett County. The more we can educate the public, the better prepared we are as a community to keep people safe, especially those of us who are most vulnerable.”
An estimated 374 girls between the ages of 12 and 14 are commercially sexually exploited monthly in Georgia, according to the Center for Public Policy Studies. On April 24, Gwinnett authorities conducted a sting that netted 23 men on charges related to underage sex trafficking.
Established by the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners in 1990, the Human Relations Commission is composed of 13 people of different ethnicities and backgrounds, and is charged with the mission to encourage, promote and develop fair and equal treatment and opportunity for all persons.
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