Survivor Perspectives: Interview with Autumn Burris

Over these next weeks leading up to July 30’s World Day Against Human Trafficking, ECPAT-USA will be amplifying the voices of our Survivors’ Council on how the color of their skin has impacted their experiences as trafficking survivors. This interview is with Autumn Burris, Founding CEO, Survivors for Solutions, who was first trafficked in central Texas. 

(Responses have been condensed for space.)

How have you been feeling since the death of George Floyd?

First and foremost, my condolences to all the families, friends and communities of George Floyd and so many other Black and Brown bodies that died at the hands of police officers, who are charged with protecting and serving the public. The most recent cases of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and others raised this issue to the forefront in America. Let us remember, they lost their lives in the process. Police use of excessive force, misuse of power, violence and brutality is not a new thing; these atrocities have been going on for centuries. In the U.S., my hope is some of the police brutality and accountability policies are changing or will change as a result of recent awareness, citizen action and protests...As a society, we must move towards a culture whereby racial profiling, racist police policies and lack of police accountability and mass incarceration of Black and Brown bodies is absolutely unacceptable and non-exisent. 

The manner in which the media attempts to demonize and discredit the victim, perhaps by saying he/she was on drugs, had a criminal record or was involved in prostitution, adds a layer of mistrust of the powers at play...As a society, you can’t make this senseless killing right in this case or any other case. Cases over the past decade have elevated the abuses that police have committed. Thankfully, we are moving in the direction of change; yet many dead bodies too late. Police corruption is a real thing.

A personal example as a survivor of many counts of police brutality in my lifetime, I still hesitate to call the local police. Over two days and four separate times, a man was attempting to open my front door with a key that worked. I changed the locks; the attempts happened two more times prior to a survivor sister encouraging me to call the police stating, “This is how people get killed.” The trauma of calling the police department was excruciating even after years of therapy. The officer’s first question was, “are you armed?” and a reminder that if I shot someone outside the threshold of my front door, that is illegal. I thought it was odd since I was the “victim.” My suspicion was validated when the officer returned to my front door asking for my identification because he couldn’t find me in the system. The officer made it clear he was aware of my previous criminal records from over two decades ago. This is exactly why people in my community rarely call the police. Let me remind you, I am a White woman in my 50s. This is troublesome for individuals in communities of color. I can only imagine what that feeling must be like-unjust, unfair and traumatizing. I am connected to communities of color and will remain a strong activist alongside, behind and beside you all for fair, just and equal policing policies. 

There is a way in which police misconduct needs to be reformed, from small towns to big cities. I stand firmly by communities of color and always will.

Have you had interactions with law enforcement?

I’ve worked with officers over the years who live by the standard to protect and serve. In my professional career, I’ve had positive experiences. In terms of prostitution and sex trafficking, I still see too much victim-blaming couched by law enforcement that prostitution is a choice. The notion that prostitution is a choice is invalid. A myriad of vulnerabilities typically precedes entering systems of prostitution/sex trafficking. 

Personally, I’ve had terrible experiences with police, from them gang-raping me, throwing me down, beating and abusing me. In working with the late Norma Hotaling, SAGE/San Francisco, I learned when you are violated by a person of authority that is supposed to be trustworthy (i.e. protect and serve), that is a very deep violation and a horrific traumatic experience. It’s another layer that has a thicker coat that has to be broken through in order to heal. It’s hard and it’s possible to heal the triggers; bodily responses get less shaky and less often. I wonder if the trauma responses will ever completely disappear. 

When you are a person of color, how do you call the police, under what conditions or circumstances, what are your expectations when you call? 

I can only imagine if you are a person of color and/or live in a particular zip code that fears and concerns of police brutality, violence and arrest are traumatic responses on steroids. This must stop! All citizens deserve to be treated equally.

What would you want law enforcement to know about victims of sex trafficking?

I would like them to know that victims of sex trafficking are, by and large, not involved by choice but a myriad of vulnerabilities. Law enforcement should treat sex trafficking victims with the same civil and human rights as any other citizen. Regardless of race, class, gender and stigma and other factors individuals need to be offered services, not incarceration, treated with respect and never violated by a person in authority.  

I am not the only one. I’m just one person. One White woman who has between 5-10 bona fide police brutality incidents who never reported because I was seen as a “prostitute.” Class, gender, race all intersect and create the perfect storm for someone charged with protecting and serving, providing an almost guarantee that we would never report. That happens because prostituted individuals are seen as criminals; not victims/survivors or those in need of services. 

It has to come to George Floyd to be straight up killed to make these changes. These changes should have happened a long time ago, we are behind the curve.  

How have you experienced the connections between race and sex trafficking?

There are many jurisdictions that are predominantly White yet the most being exploited, arrested and children taken into custody are women of color. There is a big problem of Black and Brown bodies being treated differently from White bodies. It’s not that people of color do more drugs, are more engaged in criminal behavior, it’s that they are more vulnerable, more targeted by the police for prostitution and other crimes. There is a connection and a disparity from police profiling, arrest, incarceration rates, sentencing and recidivism.

When a White person goes missing, you hear about it every five minutes. In contrast, when Black and Brown bodies go missing you don’t hear about their disappearance anywhere near as often, if at all. This lack of concern and action is not human or civil rights for all- that’s an injustice and unequal treatment. 

What do you want people to know about your experiences and this current moment?

In decades of lived and professional experience, I found this law enforcement situation to be a delicate thing. How do you dance that thin line with law enforcement so that you as a trainer can send a clear yet inoffensive message? How do you walk that fine line between unlearning and relearning in policing?

Keep advocating Friends! Let not one more person die at the hands of a police officer-no more candles, flowers and memorials in our communities and certainly not memorials destroyed and left with a single bullet - that’s the highest form of oppression. We demand justice, fairness and police accountability. The racial profiling, arrests, mass incarcerations of people of color and most importantly, the deaths by police departments have to be halted in their tracks! I stand with you for positive change - you lead, I learn. In 2020, let’s lock arms together in the spirit of change! 

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