Our state’s commitment to fighting human trafficking is turning up the heat.

Earlier this week, Gov. Brian Kemp, along with Georgia first lady Marty Kemp, GBI Director Vic Reynolds, state Attorney General Chris Carr and Criminal Justice Coordinating Council Executive Director Jay Neal, announced the formation of the Human Exploitation and Trafficking Unit under the auspices of the GBI.

The HEAT Unit, the governor said will give the GBI director the resources to go after sex traffickers. The unit will be staffed initially with a special agent in charge, an assistant special agent in charge and four special agents. 

Its mission is to go after commercial sex traffickers and labor traffickers, and to help the victims of adults trafficking.

Last year, victims of sex trafficking filed suit in federal court against four metro Atlanta hotels where they alleged sex trafficking was not only allowed to operate but where hotel employees profited from it. A similar suit was filed earlier this week against a Cobb County hotel.

Atlanta is a hot spot for human trafficking, but its reach extends throughout the state. Marty Kemp is the co-chair of the GRACE Commission, which has the sole mission of fighting human trafficking in Georgia.

As we’ve stated previously, there are challenges to cases involving the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Often, the victims don’t view themselves as victims and are dependent on their pimps. They don’t trust law enforcement. There is routinely a lack of witnesses and physical evidence is difficult to come by, the Attorney General’s office acknowledges.

The average age nationally for someone to be thrown into the commercial sex industry is between 12 and 14 years old.

Georgia Cares, an organization devoted to helping child sex trafficking victims, reports there has been a huge spike in the number of kids seeking its help.

Last year, Georgia Cares reported there were 387 confirmed commercial sexual exploitation of children victims referred to its organization. Of those cases turned over to GA Cares, 80 percent of them did not return to their previous life in the sex industry.

Eradicating human sex trafficking has been a goal of the Kemp administration since the governor took office and it is a worthy objective. We look forward to the day when the HEAT Unit stands down because it has done its job and human trafficking is not just curtailed but wiped out in our state.