Order a Child Faster than a Pizza.

According to the World Economic Forum, 1 out of 150 people are human trafficking victims. That’s almost 50 million people. Right now. All over the world. Including children, and teens. In cities smaller than yours, bigger than yours, or just like yours.

What people care about.

THE ABSURDITY OF OUR SOCIETY

In today’s Western world, everyone seems to have a diversity, a demand, an injustice to fight for. It is broadcasted to us over social media, news channels, and even from the decisions from both sides of the political spectrum. And yet, when a man goes online and, with a click of a button, buys a child, an average age of 9, for the night to do with as he pleases, there is no beep about it anywhere. Just a few of us hear that little girl’s pleas or screams. Since I decided to dedicate my life to anti-trafficking, I hear those screams daily. I think about them and feel them as sharp pains in my stomach. And the lack of outrage and action on a broader socio-political level confuses me. Human trafficking, modern slavery, is here; it’s everywhere, hidden in plain sight, and the society has closed its eyes.

So how can that be? How come we hear about the constant debate about whether Dylan Mulvany should talk at the Forbes Power Women’s Summit, or biological males should be allowed to compete against women athletes or pee in the same bathroom, or about reparations for slavery that ended centuries ago, shouldn’t there be a hint of outrage and worry for the millions of children enslaved all over the world now. They are forced into prostitution right here in the United States. The problem here is that there is nothing to debate. Ideally, everyone understands that enslaving and selling humans, especially children, is a no-no. There is nothing to fight about for the opposing political parties, no agendas to push for their benefit. It’s just an awful thing that nobody wants to deal with.

WE NEED PERSPECTIVE

I am not bidding one agenda against another and seeing whose issue takes precedence, who suffers more, and why. All I am asking for is perspective. Chances are that if you were born or live in a first-world country, you will have an excellent opportunity to make something of your life, regardless of individual background or personal issues. However, if you were to end up in slavery, chances are that you will be abused, raped, and eventually die within seven years of being trafficked. Even if you survive and escape, you might never be the same again.

That’s why, for me, the main goal is to raise awareness and prevent future children or adults from being trafficked in the first place. One of the main reasons I started this platform was to do just that! As of now, there are incredible NGOs all over the world, and right here in the United States (link to one here), who advocate for, rescue, and try to protect survivors of trafficking. The problem is that trying to make a dent in the criminal business that enslaves millions of people worldwide, makes $150 billion in illicit profits, and has its claws into all parts of society is almost impossible without the help of partisan action on the grassroots level.

HERE’S WHAT I CAN DO FOR YOU

I want to help bring this issue into our everyday dialog on social media, news channels, and political decision-making. I want to show teenagers the hidden dangers in their everyday lives and how to avoid them. Because yes, human trafficking can happen to anyone, but some people are more vulnerable than others. Runaways, homeless youth, people with mental health issues, and people from abusive homes are sought out by traffickers to exploit their situations. Often, children get trafficked by their family members. However, even a teenager who is on their way to an Ivy League school and eats dinner with their family every night in a nice neighborhood might fall into the trap of an exciting stranger they met online, or in a shopping mall, etc., who promises them the fairytale love story, gifts or admirations, they are secretly yearning for. Next thing you know, they might be sold for prostitution out of the back of a van or a motel room fifty times a night before they are driven back to their family to have meatloaf for dinner.

Human Trafficking is a very complex issue, but for me, it is the most important one to figure out and fight against. This website is an excellent tool for familiarizing yourself with essential subjects to keep yourself safe and use your young years as a solid foundation for a successful future. If a man can buy a child with a click of a button, we can do the same to learn how to protect ourselves and how to come together as a society to protect each other and harshly punish those who buy other humans in the 21st Century, like it is nothing. It is everything! Even one child or adult, on the streets or online, waiting to be sold repeatedly, is one too many!