Satara Stratton talks about how she was held against her will and given drugs to keep her disoriented.TRAFFICKING HOTLINEThe TBI opened a sex trafficking hotline in October last year to address the issue statewide and provide resources for victims. To reach the hotline, call 855-558-6484.
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Even after nearly a year of a statewide awareness campaign about human sex trafficking, there aren’t resources in Chattanooga to help victims of the crime.
During a news conference in Chattanooga in October, state officials, including Tennessee Bureau of Investigation Director Mark Gwyn, called for action after a joint study with Vanderbilt University revealed that 85 percent of Tennessee counties had reported a human trafficking case. Chattanooga had as many as 100 cases, according to figures released at the news conference.
“We haven’t really caught up with the issue of trafficking the way we have with domestic violence or even sexual assault,” said Regina McDevitt, senior director for crisis services at Partnership for Families, Children and Adults. “With human trafficking, we are probably where we were 25 to 30 years ago with domestic violence.”