Called to help sex trafficking victims

COEUR d'ALENE - Pat Connell wasn't sure how to react when her granddaughter turned down several scholarships and the chance to play college basketball to work with prostitutes.

"I thought, gosh, this is so risky," Connell said. "She said, 'God is calling me. The need is there.'"

Her 19-year-old granddaughter, Kelsie Birch, has spent the past several months advocating for and trying to change the lives of prostitutes and victims of sex trafficking.

"No little girl dreams of being a prostitute," Birch said.

The Denver woman was in town Thursday visiting her grandparents - Pat and Jim Connell of Hayden - and trying to spread awareness about sex trafficking. During a presentation at St. Pius X Catholic Church, Birch related her experiences during a three-month outreach journey that took her from the streets of Manhattan to Costa Rica's largest cities.

"No documentary can prepare you for what you see," Birch said.

She was shocked to discover the average age of a prostitute in America is 12-13. Outside the United States, the average age for a prostitute is a even younger.

"It's the second-most lucrative industry in the world," Birch said. "Drugs are No. 1 right now."

She said human sex trafficking is expected to surpass drugs as the most prolific, though.

"Drugs are not reusable," she said. "But people are."

She has heard horrific stories of abuse, like a woman having been raped 60 times in one night, and she witnessed young girls being exploited by much older men.

During the Super Bowl, she joined others in New Jersey for assemblies at junior and senior high schools to raise awareness of human trafficking.

Sex trafficking and the big game go together, Birch said.

"Men flock to town and prostitution increases during that time," she said.

She spent the month of February in Costa Rica where prostitution is legal - and prevalent.

Birch would see old men driving taxis stop and pick up girls as young as their early teens. The girls would get inside "make out with the cab driver and do other things," and be in and out in a matter of minutes. She suspected they were performing sex acts in exchange for rides.

"This happened right in front of my eyes," she said.

Though sex trafficking is a global concern, local advocates say it also happens closer to home.

"Portland is a central hub," said Joanne Wing, a member of the Coalition to Abolish Human Trafficking in the Inland Northwest. The organization meets monthly in Coeur d'Alene.

"I-90 is a main corridor," Wing said. "They come right through Coeur d'Alene. It does happen here in Idaho."

Only a minuscule percentage of prostitutes are able to break free from the lifestyle, according to Birch. Many who do ultimately end up going back to their pimps and abusers.

"They enter prostitution so young," she said. "They don't know they can serve coffee or flip burgers at McDonald's. In their mind, it's the only thing they're good at and know how to do."

Birch's next stop is Pittsburgh, where she will volunteer for two years in a ministry aimed at helping women who work in adult entertainment and strip clubs.

Her biggest hope is to witness change. Her grandfather, Jim Connell said she's well on her way.

"I'm absolutely amazed at the difference a 19-year-old woman can make," he said.

* If you go

• What: Coalition to Abolish Human Trafficking in the Inland Northwest

• When: Meets at noon, second Tuesday each month

• Where: North Idaho Violence Prevention Center, 850 N. Fourth St., Coeur d'Alene (208) 664-9303