National Crime Victims’ Rights Week event in Detroit recognizes survivors, advocates

DETROIT (FOX 2) - An annual event held in honor of National Crime Victims’ Rights Week on Wednesday brought together judges, prosecutors, and advocates who work to support survivors of crime.

FBI data shows violent crime rates fell 49% between 1993 and 2022 – robbery, aggravated assault, and murder have all declined. However, the Department of Justice reported the number of people prosecuted for human trafficking nearly doubled between 2011 and 2021.

Survivors want everyone to know the signs

"It was a simple note that caused me to run away and run into the life of sex trafficking," said Lauren Sowell, an Anti-Trafficking Specialist at Avalon Healing Center and a survivor herself.

Sowell said she realized she had to do something to escape when she began feeling depressed and suicidal.

"I didn’t want to be here anymore," she said. 

Sowell isn’t afraid to tell her story because she knows how much good it can do for others.

As part of her message, the survivor encouraged people to "bring back family dinners, bring back family households, and really hear when children are screaming for help."

FOX 2 spoke with the US attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan, Dawn N. Ison, who said this process needs to be recognized every day, all year long.

"We do this work to bring justice to victims, but also to help support them through the trauma," Ison said. "We’re doing everything we can to remove barriers for returning citizens so that they don’t reoffend, so they don't victimize someone else."

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Victims of Crime Act, signed into law October 12, 1984. It was created "to provide federal support to state and local programs that assist victims of crime," according to the National Network to End Domestic Violence.