MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Behind the sandy beaches and countless days of sunshine in Florida lies a dark crime that often goes unnoticed.
According to the Human Tracking Hotline, Florida continues to rank third in the U.S. for human trafficking cases behind California and Texas. In 2021, the state had 781 cases, which is 7.54% of the U.S. total.
Jan. 11 is recognized as Human Trafficking Awareness Day in the U.S.
It's a dark and grim reality for Savanah Parvu, a survivor of child sex trafficking.
"I started being trafficked when I was 11," Parvu said during an online Zoom interview with WPTV.
Trafficking became a way of life for the Orlando native after she was sold for sex by her own mother.
"And there came a time when her drug dealer offered her a $10 piece of crack for me instead of her, and so that's when I began being trafficked," Parvu said.
Over the course of 15 years, Parvu lived in a constant cycle of abuse.
In and out of hotel rooms throughout central Florida with nowhere or no one to turn to, she was broken.
"I would disassociate, so that emotionally it was like it was happening to me, but not really," Parvu said. "So it took a long time, like, in counseling and stuff to realize how young and innocent I really was and that it was a horrible thing, and that my mom would never be the mother I needed her to be."
At 13, Parvu was placed in foster care, where she said the abuse continued.
"It was hard for me to know or see that there was a way out, because I was put in a system that's supposed to protect me, where I was ultimately, trafficked again," she said.
In 2013, Parvu started to receive counseling after ending the relationship with her mother.
After surviving more than a decade of sexual abuse, she turned her trauma into triumph and is now dedicating her life to helping others find their voice and bring awareness to human trafficking.
"There's hope," Parvu said. "You can have a better life. You can be successful, no matter what's happened to you, and if you see something that you just have a bad feeling about, don't be afraid to speak up."
To help combat human trafficking cases, advocates stressed the importance of recognizing the signs.
Catch The Wave of Hope is a nonprofit in Martin County that focuses on prevention, education and bringing awareness to child sex trafficking. The group said it's seeing more cases of predators targeting and luring children online, and it's important for parents to monitor their children's internet activity and relationships.
"Now the signs are, is your child online a lot? Have they decided to give up some of the other activities they are doing? Are they talking to people that you don't know online?" Kelly Laurine, who serves as the board chairwoman, said. "That's a huge thing. Is there new people that have entered their life that you don't know about?"
Laurine said it's also important to teach children to be confident to avoid becoming a target for traffickers.
To report cases of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline 888-373-7888. Callers can remain anonymous.
For more information on Catch the Wave of Hope and other resources, click here.