Allegation: Elizabeth claims to have been sex trafficked by her parents weekly or multiple times a week from age 4 through her mid 20s. If that’s true, her parents should be in jail.
Fact: Sexual abuse and sex trafficking occurs much more than anyone would like to admit.
According to the CDC, about 1 in 4 girls and 1 in 13 boys in the United States experience child sexual abuse.
Someone known and trusted (like a family member) perpetuates 91% of child sexual abuse.
According to Kelly Dore, a survivor of familial sex trafficking, Director of the National human Trafficking Survivor Coalition and Legislative Liaison for United Against Slavery, estimates there are about 180,000 child sex trafficking victims who are trafficked by their families in the United States every year.
According to the US Department of State website, there are, at any given time, 27.6 million people forced into human trafficking. 6.3 million of those are forced into commercial sexual exploitation.
In 2021 alone, 69,135 victims of sex trafficking were identified.
That means that of the estimated 6.3 million victims, about 1% are identified by law enforcement.
9,193 of those identified victims led to prosecution of the traffickers. That’s 13% of the victims identified, or 0.14% of the victims who had their abuser prosecuted.
Of those prosecutions, 4,886 resulted in convictions. That’s 7% of the sex trafficking victims identified who had their traffickers convicted, or 0.07% of total victims.
Unfortunately, that means that Elizabeth’s story, where her abusers are neither tried nor convicted, represent the majority of sex trafficking victims (99.86%).
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, individuals who have experienced childhood abuse or neglect are particularly at risk, and family members are specifically listed as potential traffickers.
They also list the following as signs that someone may be experiencing trafficking:
-Signs of self-harm
-Suicide attempts
-Confusing/contradicting stories
-Protects person who hurt them
-Guilt and shame about experiences
-Heightened stress response
-Post-traumatic stress disorder
-Withdrawn
-Depressed
Elizabeth demonstrated all of these through her teen years and into her early 20s, prior to getting appropriate therapy and distance from her birth family.
Sex trafficking is also known to occur in the area in Utah where Elizabeth Frazier parents live. Recently 21 were arrested in a sex trafficking operation.
There have also been arrests made in Utah County for people performing ritualistic sexual abuse.
The bottom line is: Sex trafficking happens to about 6.3 million people every year. It often is perpetrated by family members (up to 90%). And it happens in the area where Elizabeth Frazier parents live.
For the most part, sex trafficking is not reported. Of the total number of sex trafficking victims about 1% are identified. About 0.14% of abusers are prosecuted. And about 0.7% are convicted. So, Elizabeth is in the vast majority of sex trafficking victims who are abused by family members (90%), whose family members are not prosecuted (99.86%).
Allegation: Lynn Packer and the creators of their website claim to have gained information from Elizabeth’s friends and family.
Fact: Elizabeth Frazier ex-parents are no longer her family as she was legally adopted in 2008. If they spoke to her actual friends, it would have been a very different narrative.
Allegation: Elizabeth was taken to the Unified Police Department of Greater Salt Lake by her mother in 2004 where she was interviewed by a detective regarding Elizabeth’s claims of rape. Her mother was not present during the interview. After investigation, the rape case was cleared due to a lack of evidence substantiating Elizabeth’s claims. At no time did Elizabeth tell the officer that she was being sex trafficked.
Fact: Elizabeth was coerced into making a false report by members of her family. She did not remember being raped by this boy, but her mother insisted that she was and needed to report it. So, she did. Elizabeth later apologized to the boy who she falsely accused.
It can be difficult to understand the combined fear and reliance that an abused child has on her abuser. Especially her parents after so many years of abuse and control. You might believe that she should not have done anything her mother or father said. However, she was physically, emotionally and mentally reliant on her parents due to a lifetime of abuse. You can learn more about this phenomenon on this page.
And although Elizabeth Frazier parents claim that she should have told the police officer that her parents were trafficking her while she was with the police officer, what would happen after that? She had been told her whole life not to tell, that her life would be much worse and her abuse would be worse if she ever told, and that no one would believe her.
When you have heard this throughout your life, you tend to believe it. Especially when you are still living with your parents.
Allegation: Elizabeth’s parents provided her with regular sessions with well-respected and licensed psychologists in Utah. Never did she ever bring up sex trafficking or abuse by her parents even though she had multiple opportunities to do so.
Fact: Elizabeth’s mother was seeing the same therapist that Elizabeth was at that same time, Thom Harrison. Elizabeth was certainly not free to share what was actually happening with this therapist, knowing her mother may see him for his next appointment. This shows a continued desire by Elizabeth Frazier parents to control Elizabeth while attempting to show that they are helping her. Only once was Elizabeth allowed to pick her own therapist and it was one her current therapist recommended. It never felt safe to share everything until she moved out of state and felt distance could help protect her.
Allegation: A true survivor remembers details because they relive the moments over and over.
Fact: Traumatized people do not usually recall their events with perfect clarity, especially if the trauma occurred over a long period of time. This is particularly true of ages or dates of events.
Trauma impairs a person’s concentration and memory. You can see more details about this in this article from VeryWellMind.
In fact, the Department of Health and Human Services cites “confusing/contradicting stories” as a sign that someone may be a victim of sexual abuse or sex trafficking.
Abusers often rely on this fact, stating exactly what Elizabeth Frazier parents say, that “a real survivor would remember the facts.” However, abusers know that the trauma they caused will make it difficult to remember facts.
Allegation: Elizabeth claims that she confronted her parents in front of authorities in the church that her family belongs to (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints).
Fact: Elizabeth and Mike sent letters to many church authorities informing them of the abuse and asking the church authorities to discipline them, or at least not have them be assigned to a mission in close proximity to Mike and Elizabeth.
These complaints were ignored by the church completely. Instead, the church essentially asked Elizabeth to be quiet about it and had her local leaders handle it, but to protect the name of the Church. You can learn more about this, and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ history of silencing abuse claims, at this website.
In the confrontation with her parents in front of their mission president (an assigned church leader who also happened to be their personal friend), Elizabeth said “I know what you did to me and I forgive you.”
Allegation: During a six-month period in 2003, Elizabeth claimed to have been raped by upwards of 15 men. This was prior to her allegations of having been sex trafficked by her parents.
Fact: During this time period, Elizabeth was starting to realize that she was not, as her family taught her, “special,” but being abused by her family.
During this time period, she wanted help. But, she was not sure the best way to get it. She reported being raped to several people, with the hopes that they would know how to help her.
This was not the best or most effective way to get help. She wanted people to know she was being hurt and abused, but wasn’t ready to tell people that it was her family. It’s one of her biggest regrets.
Allegation: In the 12th edition of AwareNow magazine which can be found online, Elizabeth states “Once I felt safe within myself and had a network of people I felt safe with, I was ready to break away and involve law enforcement if necessary…”
Fact: Elizabeth filed a restraining order against her ex-father after he was seen in Elizabeth’s town. If certain members of her ex-family were to try to contact her or her family at this point, she would pursue further legal action against them.