Athena’s Court describes diversion model for trafficking survivors, urges county partnerships and housing supports

At its June meeting, the Rutherford Opioid Board heard a detailed presentation from Athena’s Court, a Nashville diversion court serving adult survivors of sex trafficking, and discussed ways Rutherford County could partner with the court on housing and wraparound services.

Judge Anna Espar, a general sessions judge in Davis County who presides over Athena’s Court, said the court offers a treatment‑focused alternative to continued arrest and probation violations for people who identify as survivors of commercial sexual exploitation. “We are the only human trafficking court that we know of in Tennessee,” Judge Espar said, describing a team approach that substitutes sanctions with treatment, stabilization and graduated rewards for milestones.

Athena’s Court staff described program logistics: the court accepts voluntary participants with Davidson County charges (it also sometimes accepts participants with open charges from other counties), operates as a five‑phase program with minimum 90‑day phases, and generally limits active participants to 12 at a time. Staff said…