Survivor Perspectives: Interview with Katrina Massey

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 Katrina Massey, who was trafficked in New York City, including on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan. 

(Responses have been condensed for space.)

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

It’s exhausting because what we’re now seeing on video and on record is something that has been known to the Black community for decades. This is known to us, and unfortunately in the past, we were not believed. When there was an interaction with the police officer when things went wrong, there was a question: “Well, what did you do?” [...] It’s exhausting as a parent.  This is a continual conversation that I must have with my children. It’s never-ending and it makes it difficult to give children hope when they see visuals of people doing everything right and still losing their lives. With the young women that I mentor, it’s like, “What’s the point? What’s the point if this can still happen to me?” That’s the hard part. This could be me. Like with Breonna Taylor, [who was killed in her home] this is traumatizing.

These events have put me in a space where I am more focused. I am still contributing my time to the soup kitchens and delivering food. It has refocused my energy on the micro-level. What more can I do at home? How can I educate my children, not only about where they come from, but what is the law? How does that translate to my neighbor, how does it translate to voting? What can I do from where I am?

What excites me about the protest is that it’s 50% non-black. If I protest, I am dismissed as the “angry black woman.” When someone comes from a privileged space, it is heard differently, and we need that message of support.

Have you had interactions with law enforcement?

[When I was in Atlanta with my son,] he went to a gas station to buy soda. There was an incident with a police officer, who chased him down and arrested him, and charged him with aggravated assault. Thank goodness was that there was a White guy in a Porsche who saw what was happening and threw a fit, so they arrested him, too. What they didn’t know was that he was a top 10 criminal defense attorney in Atlanta. He represented my son and the other boy for free, and when they got the police records, they found the officer had charged others with disorderly conduct...If it wasn’t for that attorney contacting me, getting the films, and representing us, I don’t know what I would have done.

I’ve trained GBI (Georgia Bureau of Investigations). I’ve trained the Atlanta police department.  Those were [my] positive experiences, but I was in a different role. They were there to learn something from me. I’ve had positive experiences when I was pulled over. I’ve been told, “You made a left where you shouldn’t.” I’ve been pulled over when one of the taillights was broken. My children have seen both sides of it, which is something I’ve needed them to see. It’s important, because when you only see the negative side, it causes you to distrust the police. We have officers in our family, so you know they aren’t all bad.

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

There are so many times that I’ve heard law enforcement say, “What’s the point? There are so many times that I’ve picked her up, arrested her, taken her in...” I would ask them, “Why don’t you lose 20 pounds? Stop smoking? It takes work to make a change, to break negative behaviors.” Also, from the perspective of a domestic violence victim, it takes an average of 7 attempts before she is finally able to leave her abuser.

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

I think a lot of it has to do with the social and economic environment that most African Americans come from. And I’ve worked with sex trafficking victims of any and every background. I’ve worked with a girl who had a multi-billionaire Lithuanian father. I know that they can come from any background, but the majority of them come from African American backgrounds. Even the White girls who I worked with lived in predominantly African American backgrounds.

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

We can’t miss the message of it all, the awareness of it all, especially as we have not seen the true repercussions of this pandemic, how it will affect everyone...even the youth. I was speaking with my daughter...she asked about the kids who are dependent on the summer youth program. Those children come from impoverished situations. They will do what they need to do to satisfy their basic needs. I think we are going to have an uptick in human trafficking.

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Survivor Perspectives: Interview with "Faith Robles"