Bismarck hosts states first summit on human trafficking

Windie Lazenko, sex trafficking survivor and victim crisis caregiver, wants people to remember one thing about victims of human trafficking: Theres always a back story.

Lazenko said those words to a roomful of politicians and prosecutors, law enforcement officers and outreach workers Thursday, at the first statewide summit on human trafficking hosted by North Dakota FUSE.

For nearly 20 years, Lazenko, 46, worked in the game, a victim of human trafficking since she was 13 years old, ending when she was 32.

She spoke of how fleeing a homelife of sexual abuse led her straight into the sex trade, where pimps sold her like a commodity.

Lazenko said that, when law enforcement and caregivers encounter victims of human trafficking, they arent seeing the people for who they really are, but rather the result of years of trauma and abuse.

Worse, victims often dont see themselves as such and resist help, she said.

I didnt know I was a victim of sex trafficking, Lazenko said.

Even after she left prostitution, something she credits to finding God, Lazenko said she tried to keep her past a secret.

Well, God had a different plan, she said.

At 40, Lazenko said she accepted that she had been a victim and began working to help other victims of human trafficking. Today, she advocates for a greater focus on services for those victims.

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Bismarck hosts states first summit on human trafficking