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The Olympic Peninsula is home to beautiful, lush forests and mountainous views, but a darker secret lurks in some of the region’s most visited and beautiful places. This area has repeatedly been the focus of State efforts due to the high incidents of childhood maltreatment and child sex trafficking. There are many community initiatives, including those working with government to curb these two distinct yet intimately intertwined problems.
Washington received a “C” overall grade from Shared Hope International, and an “F” grade in “Identification of and response to victims” in 2023. The numbers of reporting and investigations by various agencies and groups paint a very clear picture. The rates of conviction in big cities are going down while reports are going up because King County has cut their investigation staff despite record funding. Meanwhile, local communities have continued to allocate resources and convict to make sure that it is known this behavior is unacceptable in their backyards. The problem continues though, the surge of victims is rising and there are not enough places that can care for them properly.
Recent local studies show of trafficking victims in this state, 90% had PTSD, 80% had other mental health disorders as a result, and 55% faced addiction issues. Of those who had been trafficked in this region, 69% of them had been sexually abused before they were commercially sexually exploited. Indigenous Americans faced the highest rates of 13.8/1000 children, over 7 times higher than the state average. While Black children also face disproportionate rates of abuses at 11.9/1000 children being harmed.
The Olympic Peninsula has been under the watchful eye of the state for at least 20 years as their rates of verified child maltreatment have remained amongst the highest in the state. This has resulted in additional programs because the need is so great. Port Angeles and the surrounding area were selected as one of the four worst locales in the entire state to receive special funding and support due to the intense nature of the need to educate and provide structural supports to ensure children grow up healthy on the Olympic Peninsula.
The Clallam County Prosecuting attorney says he agrees that trafficking is a problem but says it does not look like people expect it to and that impacts how it occurs. This is because it mostly occurs in the home. Over 90% of victims knew and trusted their abuser and 30% of them were a family member. Around 70% were harmed by another juvenile or peer. When you see these numbers in totality, it is easy to understand why 90% of the offenders never see the carceral system and simply get away with it. Now, it is socially easier to deal with the fallout of getting found out than it is to get effective care for those wanting to ensure they do not continue the cycle. That needs to change.
The evidence is clear that the abuse they suffer leads to a lifetime of health problems and mental anguish if not properly addressed. Modern research is more and more showing that chronic stress causes autoimmune disorders and worsens many other chronic health conditions. They did nothing wrong to deserve this, and as societies most vulnerable, they deserve to have heaven and earth moved to make them better.
There is a coming surge of trafficking cases according to the data made available from government organizations like DCYF. They experienced a 145% increase in confirmed victims in 2023. Within that data is also a troubling statistic that around 10% of children who are being harmed are being abused for the first time under the age of one. This means that they have interrupted bodily systems already impacting their development that usually take years to healthfully relieve under the best of circumstances. Without specified care, these cases will become the people most likely to ever gain control over themselves. While facing a crisis already, we are staring down an unimaginable surge of abuse coming for these children and their peers as they age if they do not get the proper time and attention they need to healthfully develop. We are ready to start providing the kind of care this region needs.
The research showing that nature is the best place for healing is copious. The people willing to get their hands dirty who also have a secure ability to traverse the spiritual, mental, and physical aspects of healing something so complex are far and few in between. Add to that the need to be able to function in case there is a crisis and with regressed children in tow? We are talking about building a team of exceptional people, who have been there before and got out. We are talking about letting survivors lead healing for the next generation.
Another problem, the one we hold close to our chest, is that stopping the cycle really isn’t that hard, most people just don’t have the stomach to show the empathy needed to help make sure would be offenders heal. We do. Our shadow goal, is for LUSID to act as a sieve to catch those children who are struggling the hardest with learning to cope healthfully. This is often the children who were groomed the heaviest and youngest, they need and deserve special attention to make sure they are properly aligned to not hurt others. We want to select out those children and be a lifelong support for them, so they never go on to offend.
And that is where we come in.
