It’s not widely seen or noticed. But it is happening.

Exploitation of women in various forms occurs in Kitsap frequently. From human trafficking, such as prostitution, to practices even found in legal businesses.

“It is very diverse. We live in a melting pot for exploitation,” said Rosie Ludlow of Scarlet Road.

“Scarlet Road essentially is an organization for outreach and after-care for victims of sexual exploitation,” Ludlow said. “That would include human trafficking and legal forms of the sex industry.”

Ludlow considers strip clubs, pornography and bikini-barista stands as being “legal forms.” And even though these businesses are considered legal, it is not uncommon to find illegal activity through them.

“Essentially within the legal forms of the sex industry, there are almost always illegal forms of sexual activity going on,” she said.

“For example, in the bikini barista scene, we know that there has been prostitution going on. In strip clubs, we know there has been prostitution going on. Any time you have someone in that industry, they are at grave risk for falling down that rabbit hole.”

Then there are simply illegal activities, like prostitution, much of which is organized through gangs and through online services.

The “melting pot for exploitation” is what led Ludlow to form Scarlet Road in 2009, with Jana Otte and Victoria Hudson. By 2012, it was an official nonprofit. They have an office in Silverdale, but serve the Kitsap region.

Ludlow notes the three founders came to the cause through their individual faiths, but Scarlet Road is not faith-based. Women are not required to adhere to a faith to receive their help.

And they do provide help. Scarlet Road has been busy.

“The reality is (prostitution) is prevalent,” Ludlow said. “It’s an underground issue. People don’t recognize it’s happening in the community. It is happening in our community. People need to realize (Scarlet Road) is a social service we need to support.”

In 2014, Scarlet Road has assisted five girls through its after-care program, which helps to provide a path out of the sex industry with jobs, education assistance, and trauma support.

“All the things that will help them be successful and figure out what the next step in life is going to be,” Ludlow said.

Of the five girls, most of them came out of the strip club industry, according to Ludlow.

“Each of them experiencing exploitation. Someone was taking advantage of them and they were forced to do things against their will,” Ludlow said.

“We’ve had five girls go through our after-care program but we’ve come in contact with about 30 unique girls this year,” she said.

“Unique girls” means new contacts, not women the organization has had contact with before.

“We have had girls contact us directly. We work pretty closely with the juvenile detention center and other youth organizations in the county,” Ludlow said.

“Our typical situation would be girls around the ages of 15-22,” she said. “And most of them are either local girls that have been recruited from the Tacoma and Seattle area.”

Scarlet Road is a nonprofit run mostly by volunteers. It is largely supported by donations and small grants. Donations are tax deductible, and the majority of funds go directly to assisting the girls it helps.

INFO: To donate to Scarlet Road or find more information about the organization, visit its website www.scarletroad.org. Contact the organization at pavingtheway@scarletroad.org or call 360-850-9718.