DAYTON — A group of local organizations came together to spread awareness about sex trafficking at the 10th annual SOAP event.
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As reported on News Center 7 at 11, dozens of people gathered at the University of Dayton on Saturday to learn about the signs of sex trafficking.
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Every March, before the First Four, the SOAP Project claims that sex trafficking and other illegal activities increase when there are big events in a town.
Tony Talbott, an organizer of the event, explained why.
“Because we know when there’s an influx of unaccompanied men coming into an area, there’ll be an increase in demand for commercial sex,” said Talbott.
The project was started by a woman who was a victim of sex trafficking and prostitution.
After getting away from her situation, she thought of a way to help others who may be in danger.
Talbott said that the founder thought of an idea to distribute bars of soap to hotels with information on them.
“She thought of this idea of soap and distributing bars of soap with some questions and the National Human Trafficking hotline to hotels and those on those little hotel bars of soap,” said Talbott.
Other organizations wanted to join, and now it has turned into a big event.
The event was about teaching and what signs to look out for.
Several survivors also came to share their success stories.
In return, they want to increase awareness of the signs to look out for.
Each year, the event has a designated speaker who is a victim of sex trafficking who has turned their life around for the better.
This year’s speaker is Sarah Hibbard.
“I grew up in a very dysfunctional household, which I didn’t get shown the proper love. I also was a child of molestation,” She said.
Hibbard said that she started hanging out with the wrong crowd and made her search for love “in all of the wrong places.”
She knew she was being abused when “people would take me to their dope boy, and to get their fix, they would swap me out for the dope.”
Hibbard said she didn’t let her circumstances stop her. She became educated and is now a counselor for others.
“God’s glory, God’s mercy, is able to redeem anybody, and our past is not our future, and we’re able to be successful,” said Hibbard.
Michelle James, another survivor, said that their biggest goal is to be a voice for victims.
“We talk for them until they are ready,” she said.
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