Why is it that billions of dollars are spent globally each year to buy and sell human beings for forced labor or sex? Why is it that thousands of children each year, in the United States alone, are prostituted against their will? Why is this crime of human trafficking allowed? These burning questions remain unanswered for Dotti Groover-Skipper, but that hasn't stopped her from using her faith and experiences as a former NFL cheerleader and more to address human trafficking.
Check out our Q&A with Dotti, an extraordinary leader in Florida's fight to end modern-day slavery.
Why do you advocate against human trafficking?
Human trafficking is a horrific crime that robs the innocence and dignity of its victims. In Proverbs 31:8, God commands us to speak up for those who have no voice and to display the genuine unconditional and nonjudgmental love of Christ to all, especially to the most vulnerable.
How did you develop this passion to speak out for "the least of these"?
We all have events in our life that are “aha” moments that shape and mold us. Some refer to these moments as "spiritual markers" or events that produce a tremendous paradigm shift in our way of thinking.
It was in my college years that I noticed God’s whispers and nudges. While living in Miami, I was chosen to be an NFL cheerleader for the Miami Dolphins. This opportunity placed me in a world I had never experienced.Through God’s grace, I made good decisions, while at the same time, I was heartbroken for the beautiful young women who didn’t. I witnessed one after the other sell their body for a cheap high.
Throughout the years, God continued to whisper, nudge, and push me until I was placed in the middle of an intensely profound experience that shook me to the core. As I taught self-esteem classes to the most marginalized children of Tampa, I discovered that a beautiful 13-year-old girl in my class and her four-year-old sister were being sold on the street every night for drugs by their grandmother. The youngest girl had psychological issues and a sexually transmitted disease. This evil was revealed to me and once seen, I could not turn a blind eye.
How did you start to address human trafficking in your community? Where has this journey taken you?
In 2008, I established the HeartDance Foundation, a faith-based initiative in Florida that mentors women coming out of addiction and the sex trade industry. From this preparation, I was invited to chair a six-county human trafficking collaborative called FREE: Slavery Survival Network. Last year, I was appointed by Florida’s attorney general to the newly formed Statewide Council on Human Trafficking to represent the faith community and survivors of this crime. I also serve as the state antitrafficking coordinator for the Florida division of the Salvation Army.
Why does modern-day slavery thrive in your state?
Florida is a target state for traffickers, with the Tampa Bay area as a top destination for this monstrous activity. Tampa Bay has a lethal combination of tourism, world famous beaches, hospitality and agricultural industries, sports arenas, a military base, international seaports and airports, as well as a destination spot for one of thelargest adult entertainment industries in the nation. This combination attracts all forms of human trafficking which has become a larger money maker than selling drugs, as the human "product" can be used and re-used over and over again.
What would you say to those who are also being nudged by God to address the injustice of human trafficking?
Be bold. In Jeremiah, we learn that God formed us in the womb and that God has a plan for our life. Take the next step - we have much work to do in our nation and world to stop modern-day slavery.
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