Women's Civic Club Speaker Ashley Owens Discusses Human Trafficking

Ashley Owens, Director of the Children's Advocacy Center, in Altoona talked to the Williamsburg Women's Civic Club last Monday evening, Nov. 22. Owens was the keynote speaker of the November meeting, and her speech was about human trafficking, especially in our area.

Owens was an assistant district attorney for Blair County for four years where she worked with many child abuse cases. Judge Jackie Bernard encouraged Owens to apply for the director position when it came up that Altoona was getting the Advocacy Center. Before then, children would be sent to Centre County or near the Pittsburgh area.

Owens said the advocacy center is a place that serves child victims of physical abuse, sexual abuse and neglect. Owens conducts forensics interviews in an "unintimidating setting." Owens said this gets rid of children who revealed abuse having to retell their story almost nine times to family members, social workers, police officers and others. The Advocacy Center also offers medical exams, mental health services and victim advocate services.

Owens explained that after a police incident occurs, children come to them for their interview. Owens said that in the four years, the center has been open, she and her team have interviewed 675 children from this area.

Owens then went into the keynote theme, human trafficking. Owens said it's a "business model that is roughly a $150 billion business with labor and sex trafficking."

According to Owens, the human trafficking business is more lucrative than drugs. Owens said you need three things when prosecuting trafficking: an act, means and purpose. According to Owens, when children are involved, there is no need for a means.

Owens said there is a list of the top five ways people get into human/sex trafficking, whether it be by an intimate partner, families for drugs and a place to use, a benefactor like a "sugar daddy," job offer/advertisement and false promises/fraud. Owens said most victims are psychologically controlled and not always physically controlled. She then cited some closed cases in the Blair County area.

The next Civic Club event will be on Sunday, Dec. 5, for their annual Christmas Tea.