Courtney Litvak, a Texas swimming champion, was kidnapped at age 17 and for three years she was trafficked for sex across the country.

“It started at my own high school in my junior year I was on the swim team, and I was supposed to go to a school. sleepover, but sadly the assailant took my phone, took me to the other side of town, drugged me, and assaulted me for the first time. of trafficking cases have resulted in convictions.

Litvak, who was a member of the Advisory Council on Combating Human Trafficking in the United States and has supported survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, said that during the investigation of her case, she was treated like a criminal, and they tried to silence her.

“All my traffickers were also drug traffickers, and it all started with sex traffickers who were adept at evading detection and the police, and terrorizing their victims.”

She said, however, that there are law enforcement agencies that take these crimes seriously and are more informed about trauma.

“Unfortunately, during my experience, that of my family, and countless other survivors and victims, including those of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, we are faced with law enforcement failing to follow up on evidence presented to them.”

She said her parents turned over prepaid and cell phones, and there was evidence of recruitment, enticement, and trafficking.

“My traffickers kidnapped me days after I turned 18. They physically took me from my home and trafficked me across the state, including other states like California. The traffickers and recruiters tried to befriend me,and they made me believe that they had my back and that they would be there for me and protect me.

She revealed that she was sold to different sex trafficking networks in the United States, involved in organized crime, drug trafficking, arms trafficking and money laundering.

“There are many forms of human trafficking, from family gang trafficking to corporate CEO trafficking. My trafficking started with gang trafficking and street trafficking in my high school, peer exploitation, but it went across the country to corporate CEOs laundering money through US companies, hidden businesses in plain sight.”

Last week, the Justice Department released 3.5 million documents in the case of Jeffrey Epstein, a convicted sex offender, but much of the coverage news stemming from the release of the files has focused on the rich and powerful men in his circle, while his victims have been largely sidelined.

Power and Silencing

Dr. Michele Goodwin, a professor of constitutional law and global health policy at Georgetown University, said there is a connection between the violence of power and the silencing of people who have been sexually assaulted.

“This has been a long road to justice. Just for historical context, in the United States, kidnapping or rape were legal. The courts relied on treaties that said women did not have an independent identity apart from their husbands.”

She stated that for centuries, until recently, husbands could kidnap. and rape the women they were married to, even if they were separated and divorce papers had been filed, as long as the divorce had not been granted.

“Parental immunity meant that men could rape their wives, beat their wives, rape their daughters, and still not be held accountable in court with a civil sentence, because the courts came to view the marital home as places that needed harmony, but what they focused on was only male harmony.”

She emphasized that in cases where daughters have attempted to sue their fathers after sexual assault and violence, courts in the United States have ruled over the years that it would be disruptive to the harmony of the home if the girls were allowed to prevail.

“In the context of the Epstein files, only a fraction has been made public, revealing the names of people who have been raped and sexually assaulted. Even their images have been released.This is absolutely shocking and incompatible with the rule of law and what we would expect in terms of dignity and integrity before the law.”

She noted that what we have seen is a cover-up and protection of individuals found in files around the world.

“The President of the United States and his numerous mentions in the Epstein files, with allegations that he also sexually assaulted a child,have not been taken into account.”

Immigrant Women

Carmen McDonald, former executive director of the Survivor Justice Center in Los Angeles, said that human trafficking has always been present in the community.

“While the Epstein case focuses on the rich and powerful, many ordinary people are victims of trafficking. When a trafficker has power and social capital, they can use the legal system against a survivor and victims of trafficking.”

She argued that immigrant survivors face even more intense barriers.

“If English isn't their first language, they may not have access to a suitable interpreter. And because of their immigration status, many are afraid to report crimes against them and deal with the police.

“They're afraid to be on the street, to leave their homes, and we don't blame them. It's a real problem that many undocumented survivors are unaware of their rights and the resources available.”

She pointed out that there are myths surrounding human trafficking, and many aren't even aware of what they're going through.

“Someone might consent and then reach a point where they say, 'I want this to stop.'”

She explained that coercion keeps them there, often with an even greater level of pressure, so those who are forced to continue after wanting to stop are also survivors of trafficking. "The decision not to leave is more complex than if someone is being physically held against their will. Some people lack the basic necessities to leave, such as transportation or a place to live. Some fear for their safety or that of their families. Sometimes, families are threatened, and some are so manipulated that they don't even recognize that they are survivors of trafficking." She said that often things like their identity documents are hidden from them.

“That's why it's crucial to carefully evaluate survivors' issues and accounts, and to make sure we believe them and don't blame them for their experience.

No Trafficking Zones

Jacquelyn Aluotto, co-founder and president of No Trafficking Zone, said that human trafficking is a $245 billion industry, which indicates how many people are profiting from and participating in this illicit business.

“Jeffrey Epstein's network was very large. It was involved in international trafficking, which consisted of modeling visas, but also in the domestic sex trafficking of minors. He went to the poorest communities and recruited girls, and they practiced peer exploitation in Florida schools.”

She specified that more than 82 cases were brought to the police in Florida, and it was revealed that they were being trafficked through their schools.

“In Texas, on any given day, more than 79,000 young people are victims of trafficking,and through a study, 55% stated that they were first lured, recruited, trafficked, and exploited at an intersection in their schools, which means it could be a former student, a teacher, a coach, an introduction to a game, a chat room, a chat room.”