There have been several noteworthy and engaging articles/events that have spread through the cyber-world over the last couple weeks. Though these conversations and announcements aren’t quite the booming News Alerts of “Balloon boy”, Michael Jackson’s “This Is It”, or the Yankees grabbing their 27th World Series… they are at least creating a steady hum of conversation on the issue of Human Trafficking. A hum that we must perpetuate and inflate into something noticeable and undeniable. We cannot be silent when we know that slavery exists in our own backyard!

In this light I’d like to highlight some the key Stories, Articles, and Events from the past couple weeks:

• 52  Children Recovered, 60 Alleged Child Pimps Arrested in Crackdown - The three-day operation, tagged Operation Cross Country IV, included enforcement actions in 36 cities across 30 FBI divisions nationwide. It is part of the FBI’s ongoing Innocence Lost National Initiative, which was created in 2003 with the goal of ending sex trafficking of children in the United States.
• Taking a Sweedish Cue on Prostitution - What Sheriff Tom Dart has done is shift enforcement resources from the supply side to the demand side: from arresting (and releasing and rearresting) forcibly prostituted women and girls to arresting pimps and johns and impounding their cars, while directing the prostituted females to social services.
• For Runaways, Sex Buys Survival - Nearly a third of the children who flee or are kicked out of their homes each year engage in sex for food, drugs or a place to stay, according to a variety of studies published in academic and public health journals.
• N.Y. Hosts Emma Thompson’s Exhibit on Human Trafficking - Journey includes exhibits by Turner Prize-winning sculptor Anish Kapoor, Oscar-winning film designer Michael Howells, playwright Ewan Spencer, photographer Simon Stephens and other artists, each depicting a different portion of the journey of human trafficking.
• ICE Give Voice to Victims of Human Trafficking in the US - As part of ICE’s continued efforts, the agency has unveiled an outdoor public service announcement campaign, “Hidden in Plain Sight,” to draw the American public’s attention to the plight of human-trafficking victims in the United States. The campaign message explains that human trafficking includes those who are sexually exploited or forced to work against their will.

Should we consider a major reorientation of our laws that place criminality on the demand, rather than the supply, of commercial sex? And what are the implications for trafficked and enslaved minors?

The FBI and ICE see that Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation of Minors is priority.

A popular Actress uses her face and fortune to promote awareness and human rights in a creative way.

The runaways of America are now more susceptible to sexual exploitation than ever before.

Even Tyra Banks hosted a controversial show entitled “Teen Pimps and the Teen Girls They Made Prostitutes”.

There’s a lot to think about. But even more to Talk about! And we NEED to talk about it… these conversations NEED to be a part of public conversation and general knowledge. We believe that AWARENESS = PREVENTION and therefore the more we talk about the issue; it’s dirty secrets, it’s misunderstandings, the facts and horrid realities… the more people will know how to avert this injustice and protect their loved ones.

This is an issue worth talking about. Please, Spread the word.

www.brandedphx.com