Human Trafficking Survivor Shares a Story

A human trafficking survivor shared her powerful story today at the Mississippi Nurses Association Convention.
Lexie Smith, at ten years old, met a teenage boy living in her grandparents’ neighborhood. He began sexually assaulting her and selling her to his friends at $100.
She addressed the crowd of nurses on how they can tell when victims in the hospitals are potentially being trafficked and to properly handle helping them.
Some were shocked of the high statistics of human trafficking here in Mississippi. Jennifer Hurlbert with Memorial Hospital said, “You’re aware that they do defend those people because they feel safe from another situation that they’re running from, but you don’t really understand that it could be someone sitting next to you and they’re that good at hiding or they’re that fearful and they have to hide this fact.”
This was the 105th annual convention where nurses from across the state attend.