“I met him at the mall … I met him at the park … He was amazing … He listened to me … He ‘got’ me … It’s kind of weird because part of me still loves him …”
These are phrases Love 146 Survivor Care Manager Williamson said she hears all too often from victims of sex trafficking. Running away from someone who showed an interest in them, who gave them a sense of purpose when no one else would, is not easy to do, she said. Teenagers everywhere want to feel loved, but in some communities — even here in the United States — “there is no safe place for youth to get those needs met.”
Teenagers “are really willing to string on to anyone,” Williamson said. “That’s what makes them so vulnerable.”
