Keisha Head, Advocate for AFNAP

JJF’s Keisha Head brings courage and great heart to her work with girls being trafficked. As an Advocate with our A Future. Not A Past. (AFNAP), Keisha will be honored this week by DA Paul Howard for her extraordinary work in the community. Read about it in this press release:

Keisha Head, Sex Trafficking Survivor and Advocate for A Future. Not A Past., to be Recognized by the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney

ATLANTA (Oct. 24th) The Office of the Fulton County District Attorney will recognize Keisha Head – a former victim of child sex trafficking and now a program advocate for A Future. Not A Past. (AFNAP), the Juvenile Justice Fund’s campaign to stop the prostitution of children in Georgia – at its upcoming 14^th Annual “Voice for Victims” Awards Ceremony.

The event is held yearly to pay tribute to law enforcement, civil servants and civilians who go “above and beyond” on behalf of victims. The 2011 “Voice for Victims” event will be held Thursday, Oct. 27 at 9:30 a.m. in the Executive Conference Center (Bank of America Auditorium) on the campus of Morehouse College.

“I am honored to be part of this event and to be recognized by the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney,” says Head. “Countless efforts are done by so many to help young victims, and that truly makes it even more humbling to be chosen.”

According to Shannon Hervey, director of victim services for the Office of the Fulton County District Attorney, “We consider it our honor this year to recognize Keisha for her service and tireless commitment to improving the lives of young girls.”

Keisha on the right, pictured with Ga. Gov. Deal and Jennifer Swain

About Keisha Head

After her early years were spent in and out of foster care, Head was victimized by the infamous Atlanta-area pimp, “Sir Charles” at age 16, trafficked on the streets of the city and ultimately raped and beaten by buyers. Her inability to see herself as a victim kept her in the lifestyle, and at 18, Head – who felt she was not deserving of any other life path – started her own escort service, which she operated for seven years.

In 2006, Head and her then boyfriend were arrested on felony drug charges, for which she was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison. Though she ended up serving only three of those years, she says it was her time in prison that changed her life.

“My prison term, or my darkest hour, was when I began to see things differently,” Head says. “I was finally able to see how all of the negative experiences of my youth had made me a victim as a child – not a criminal. I knew when I was released that it was my chance to start over and to make a difference.”

Head, 31, is now a married mother of three, pursuing her college degree and through AFNAP helps to aide girls who are currently victimized – and need the help she so desperately went without for so many years.

“Through AFNAP, I am able to tell my story, a story which I hope will help girls facing the same situations I did,” Head says. “These girls are our daughters, sisters and friends. They are faces, not labels – and they are crying out for help in a desperate way.”

About A Future. Not A Past.

Since 2007, A Future. Not A Past. (AFNAP) has been addressing the commercial sexual exploitation of children through research, education, advocacy and intervention. AFNAP provides training for law enforcement, legal professionals, mandatory reporters and community leaders. For more information, please visit www.afuturenotapast.org.