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SAVNNAH, Georgia (WJCL) -- "I never had a stable place. I couldn't shower. There's so many things I did to just survive."
"What did they ask of you?" asked WJCL 22 News' Lydia Blackstone.
"To have sex with people for money or drugs,” the woman replies, revealing the grim reality hidden in Savannah's shadows.
Savannah Police Detective Shenandoah Holden acknowledges widespread misconceptions about sex trafficking in the Hostess City: "People just think that there's just not a lot of it."
However, trafficking in Savannah is more prevalent than many know.
Caught in a trafficking ring dismantled by police in 2024, the survivor -- who WJCL is choosing not to publicly identify -- recounts being trapped without realizing she was being trafficked. From houses to hotel rooms, her plight was a constant nightmare.
"I was introduced to things that I had never done before at home," she shares, describing a life manipulated by addiction and coercion.
Those that manipulated her, she thought, were her friends. When she was 15 years old, they got her addicted to meth and then began trafficking her around Chatham County.
In May of 2024, four of the five suspects were indicted.
First Lady Marty Kemp, a staunch advocate for legislative change, decries the stigma surrounding this crime.
"Nobody gets a hall pass on it," she asserts.
Having facilitated 10 legislative measures, she emphasizes, "We asked the survivors…what can we help you with when you get out of this life? And they just couldn't believe that they were asking that."
The survivor, now 23, said life will never be the same but hopes that she can help others who are still trapped.
"It's hard, but this is the first step in the right direction for me — finally talking about it."
As for where to begin, First Lady Marty Kemp says education is a start.
"If you know what to look for, perhaps you can save a life, and wouldn't that be fabulous," she said.
Kemp helped found the GRACE Commission, which stands for Georgians for Refuge, Action, Compassion, and Education Commission.
