"I think most people in Alaska don't realize it's a very significant crime in this state," Susan Sullivan, executive director of Victims for Justice, said. "It isn't a new crime, but it certainly has received new attention and new focus."
On Monday, victims of crimes, along with their family and friends, stood together and hung ribbons on a tree in on the park strip in downtown Anchorage. A navy blue ribbon was introduced and it represents the victims of sex trafficking, and it wraps up the 33rd annual Alaska Crime Victims Rights week.
Attorney General Michael Geraghty spoke at the event about sex trafficking and it's prevalence in Alaska. He said before becoming chair of the State of Alaska Task Force on the Crimes of Human Trafficking, Promoting Prostitution and Sex Trafficking, he did not realize how significant the crime was in our state.
"You think it's happening somewhere else and not here, so yeah I was a skeptic but not anymore," Geraghty said.
A 5 month study by the task force found out that sex trafficking goes under reported in the state. The report found that the average age of female sex trafficking victims are between 15 and 17 years old.
The task force also made recommendations on ways to better identify victims and raise awareness.
"There's not going to be one silver bullet, it's got to be multi-faceted, multi-dimensional effort involving many organizations and the communities in general," Geraghty said. "I think we can make a difference if we approach it that way."
Contact Mallory Peebles