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Please check out the film and music video inspired by and featuring the song, "Olivia." You can view the film on Vimeo, or at OliviasSong.com, where you can also find more resources for how you can make a difference in stopping human trafficking and provide assistance in the restoration process.
"Each year an estimated 800,000-900,000
human beings are bought, sold, or forced across the world's borders
(2003 U.S. State Department estimate). Among them are hundreds of
thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as 5, who fall victim
to the sex trade. There's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation
of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of the sex trade see
little of life before they see the very worst of life, an underground
of brutality and lonely fear. Those who create these victims and profit
from their suffering must be severely punished. Those who patronize
this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others."
(President Bush, addressing the U.N. General Assembly September 23, 2003)
"90 percent of runaways become a part of the commercial sex industry."
(Estes and Weiner, "The commercial sexual exploitation of Children in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico")
"Each year, an estimated 14,500 to 17,500
foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States. The number of
U.S. citizens trafficked within the country each year is even higher,
with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking
into the sex industry."
(U.S. Department of Justice. 2004. Report to Congress from Attorney
General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking
in Persons in Fiscal Year 2003. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of
Justice.)
"The largest number of people trafficked
into the United States come from East Asia and the Pacific (5,000 to
7,000 victims). The next highest numbers come from Latin America and
from Europe and Eurasia, with between 3,500 and 5,500 victims from
each."
(U.S. Departments of Justice, Health & Human Services, State,
Labor, Homeland Security, Agriculture, and the U.S. Agency for
International Development. 2004. Assessment of U.S. Government
Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Washington, D.C.: U.S.
Department of Justice.)
What would you hope to be able to say to a young girl rescued from the sex trade?...
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