Not For Sale: Removing The Physical Scars Of Human Trafficking

EDITOR'S NOTE: As Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta approaches, more attention is being focused on the issue of human trafficking. Patch is committed to covering this international plague with a focus on local efforts to combat the crime. This is the latest in a series of articles on human trafficking as it relates to one of the world's biggest sporting events, which will happen on Feb. 3, 2019, in Atlanta.

ATLANTA, GA -- Nikky* remembers the exact day and time — and the drugs and alcohol involved — when she got her gang tattoo, a black pitchfork on her ankle that was embedded into her skin with a needle and thread. Then she became a victim of human trafficking.

"I had kept the tattoo hidden for years and then when I was trafficked I had to keep it hidden because they were gang members and if they noticed, I knew I would be in big trouble," Nikky says today. "And when I escaped my trafficker and going through my recovery program, I had to keep it covered up, because this was a well-known gang and had gained a lot of rivals. Even though I had been clean for more than a year and had gotten out of that lifestyle, I knew every day I was alive could be my last.

"I couldn't wear shorts or sandals in the summer. Riding MARTA, I always had to shift my legs a certain way to make sure no one saw it. Even in my program, I always wore socks to my meetings because I was never sure if anyone would recognize it. Marks like that are a constant reminder to your mental health of the ordeal you've been through."

A friend referred Nikky to Jessica Lamb, who had just started a nonprofit called Atlanta Redemption Ink. Lamb is herself a survivor of sexual and drug abuse, and she started the organization to help survivors of human trafficking, along with former gang members, domestic violence survivors, recovered addicts and other trauma survivors remove their tattoos and other marks of self-harm.

Nikky went to Jesse Rollins of Iron Clad Ink in Covington to have the tattoo replaced, all at the expense of Atlanta Redemption Ink. "I picked an anchor — Christ anchors the soul — and Jesse and Jessica were right there with me, every step of the way. It was like a whole new mark of hope and of peace. There are no words to describe how it felt, just a sense of renewal and restoration that I never had before. I bawled my eyes out for an hour after it was done."

Image Atlanta Redemption Ink

The problem of child sex trafficking is gaining more attention in Atlanta with the approach of Super Bowl LIII on Feb. 3 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. According to the Department of Homeland Security, human trafficking is "modern-day slavery and involves the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act." Human trafficking is not the same as human smuggling, which involves illegal transportation of a person across a border.

The different kinds of human trafficking include sex trafficking, forced labor, and domestic servitude. Sex trafficking victims may be forced, threatened, or manipulated by promises of love or affection to engage in sex acts for money. Any person under the age of 18 involved in a commercial sex act is considered a victim of human trafficking.

More In Our Exclusive "Not For Sale" Series

• Not For Sale: Suit Against Cobb Hotel Targets Sex Trafficking
  
• Not For Sale: Buses In Midtown Raise Sex Trafficking Awareness
  
• Not For Sale: Fighting Sex Trafficking As Super Bowl Nears
  

Lamb says she was branded as a teen and was held and trafficked in Atlanta for six months. She's now been free from her captor, whose serving a life sentence in jail for murder, for 15 years, free from self-harm for 12 years, and drug-free for 11.

"The Super Bowl doesn't cause human trafficking, but just like any event that comes to Atlanta, there is an influx of people who could be interested in exploiting women and children," Lamb says. Her organization has been around for two years and has partnered with 27 tattoo artists and removal specialists throughout Georgia.

Image Atlanta Redemption Ink

"Our biggest obstacle now is getting people educated," Lamb said. "During the week of the Super Bowl, we plan to have removal specialists on standby to help people who have these marks on their bodies, and making sure we have trafficking posters in all of the tattoo shops that will accept them. Removing the marks of these kinds of abuse is an important part of a survivor's recovery."

Click here for more information about Atlanta Redemption Ink.

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Georgia lawmakers are looking at strengthening the state's trafficking laws during the 2019 General Assembly, which convenes Jan. 14.

* Name concealed for privacy reasons

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Main image courtesy Atlanta Redemption Link. Nicky hugging Jesse Rollins of Iron Clad Ink