A victim’s story: The reality of being trafficked

Reporter: Lois Thome Writer: Jackie Winchester
Published: Updated:
Savannah Parvu as a child (Courtesy of Savannah Parvu)

Florida is a hotbed for human trafficking. We’re in the top three in the country for the number of cases, yet most people wouldn’t know it if they walked right by it.

In just days, a new human trafficking law takes full effect. Its goal: to spot human trafficking and rescue victims.

Savannah Parvu had a painful, unimaginable childhood.

“I started being sexually abused by a neighbor around the age of five,” she said.

“My dad had a stroke that left him disabled when I was nine, and after that, my mom got involved in more drugs.”

Then her mom started selling her body for drugs, Parvu said, and eventually, “there was a time when I was 11 that her drug dealer offered a $10 piece of crack for me instead of for her.”

That’s when the human trafficking started.

“Sometimes they would take me to hotels. We went to one hotel a lot, and at that hotel, the staff there were friends with my trafficker, and so he would take me and leave me there and the staff would open up the door and let people in.”


See the full interview with Savannah Parvu:

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