Holly Austin Smith

Holly is a survivor of child trafficking and an advocate against all forms of human trafficking.

In November 2011, Holly appeared on the Dr. Oz show show to raise awareness for the issue of domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST), along with Tina Frundt (founder of Courtneys House), Lisa Ling (American journalist and advocate), and Kevin Perkins (Director of the FBIs Innocence Lost project). Holly was also featured in the August 2011 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine, along with survivors, Carissa Phelps and Minh Dang.

Holly submitted joint testimony to Congress in September 2011 with labor trafficking survivor, Ima Matul (CAST Advisory Caucus member), in support of the reauthorization of the Trafficked Victims Protection Act (TVPRA). She also addressed the Virginia General Assembly in February 2012 in support of Senator Adam Ebbins bill SB 259, which will require the Board of Education to provide awareness and training materials for local school divisions on human trafficking, including strategies for the prevention of trafficking children.

Holly has provided testimony to several colleges, including the University of Pennsylvania, Howard University, and the University of Richmond; and she has been invited to press conferences with Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli and New Jersey A.G. Jeffrey S. Chiesa. In addition to working as a training consultant for the AMBER Alert Program, Holly is requested on a regular basis to provide testimony and input to law enforcement officials, social service providers, human trafficking task forces, and journalists. Most recently, Holly was invited to be the keynote speaker at the Trafficking in Persons Symposium in Salt Lake City, UT, an event hosted by the United States Department of Justice.

Holly works with survivors and anti-human trafficking organizations across the country. The recently-released film, Finding Faith, is based on portions of Hollys story. When she isnt speaking, Holly is writing for her weekly column, Speaking Out, with the Washington Times Communities and working on a book about human trafficking in America. Holly earned a B.A. in Biology with a Minor in Writing from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey. She currently lives in Richmond, VA with her husband and their Miniature Schnauzer.

For additional information or to follow Hollys progress, please visit:

www.facebook.com/HollyAustinSmith

Twitter / @Holly_A_Smith

My name is Holly Austin Smith, and I am a survivor of child trafficking.

When I was fourteen years old, I was lured into running away from home with a man I had met at a shopping mall in Atlantic County, New Jersey. After exchanging numbers, this man called at night while my unknowing parents watched television in the living room.

We talked more than once.

Convincing me to run away with him was not an overnight accomplishment. He took his time. He got to know me. He analyzed my troubles, and he asked me my dreams. I wanted to be a songwriter. I wanted to meet Julia Roberts. I wanted to see Jim Morrisons grave in Paris, France.

The year was 1992.

I was on summer break from eighth grade middle school, and my freshmen year of high school loomed in the distance.

I was severely depressed.

And as the pressures of my fourteen-year-old-world boiled to the surface, I fled. I laced up my size-five sneakers, and I ran toward opportunity, toward possibility, and toward freedom.

In reality, I ran right into the inexorable clutches of a sex trafficking ring. Within hours of running away with a man who turned out to be a manipulative and menacing pimp, I was forced and coerced into working in Atlantic City, NJ until dawn the next day.

The following night an officer on the street recognized me as being underage and arrested me. Although I was soon recognized to be a victim, the specialized aftercare needed for a trafficking victim did not yet exist. The journey toward healing was a long and bumpy road, indeed.

Twenty years ago, there were no anti-trafficking laws in place. This pimp, who raped and lured a child into prostitution, served only 365 days in jail. Two additional traffickers were arrested; however, one (a woman) posted bail and fled. She is still considered a fugitive in the state of New Jersey.

I am now breaking my silence.

Today, I advocate for stronger anti-trafficking laws and greater protection for survivors of all forms of human trafficking.

To learn more and to help me break the silence of human trafficking, please visit My Blog or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.