A Wellesley Woman Who Will...

When you dawn the doors of Wellesley College there is one phrase begging for completion, "Wellesley Women Who Will...". This is an intimidating phrase to complete at 18 when you look at the incredible accomplishments of Wellesley alumnae, like Madeleine Albright, Madame Chiang Kai-shek, Hillary Clinton, Diane Sawyer, Lulu Chow Wang, and Nora Ephron. All of these women have been revolutionaries in their field and changed the fabric of our nation. Of course, I felt overwhelmed, awe, and a little nervous, but knew the future was pregnant with possibility.

At Wellesley, I learned about the issue of sex trafficking, but at the time the magnitude of the issue was lost on me because honestly I was focused on jump starting my career. When I graduated from Wellelsey, I moved to Atlanta for work. Yes, starting my career was a monumental step, but the most transformative part of my time in Atlanta was having my eyes opened to the global crisis of sex trafficking.

Atlanta is the #1 city in America for sex trafficking because it has the busiest airport in the United States and the city is a major destination for conventions and tourists. The sex trafficking market in Atlanta is an astounding $290 million in revenue each year, which is more than "the revenue generated by metro Atlanta's illegal drug and gun trade combined". It estimated that over 300 children are trafficked each month in Atlanta. Some pimps have reported earning an average of $33,000 a week.

After a year in Atlanta, I moved to San Diego an international gateway for sex trafficking and one of the top 8 cities in the United States. Sex trafficking is a multi-billion dollar business annually and is the fastest growing sector of organized crime.

My unintentional education on sex trafficking did not stop there. Next, I moved to a suburb of Reno where certain counties still promoted legalized prostitution. Yes, the legalization of prostitution means that women who work in the brothels are provided with benefits, like healthcare. However, the presence of legalized prostitution causes a supply and demand issue. Approximately 800 women work in the brothels, but that only represents 8-10% prostitutes in the Reno area. In order to meet the demand produced by legalized prostitution another 90% of people are trafficked illegally. One of the most shocking thing I learned was that the brothels were allowed to recruit at high school career days. Here these brothel owners were given permission to sway young, impressionable minds at school. Finally, we must dispel the belief that women who work in brothels want to be there. Over 80% of women interviewed in the brothels wish they could leave.

If the statistics aren't enough the personal stories of the people fleeing sex slavery show the deep and lasting pain that is caused by years of trauma. These women and children are beaten and abused. They become addicted to alcohol and drugs to numb the pain. Pimps tattoo their girls, also known as "branding". Virgins are sold to the highest bidder, like cattle. If they are ever arrested by law enforcement they are treated like criminals and not victims of a hellacious crime. This just reinforces the pimps hold on their girls because they know that even if they were to get away they would not be free.

Well, the time to act is now. The time to change the future for those fleeing sex slavery is now. We have to take back the future of our children. We have to become a voice for the voiceless. We have to build safe houses where victims can be restored. We have to educate everyone to identify at risk children or those who are already be trafficked, and speak up for them. We have to instill confidence in our children, so they will not be victimized. We have to take back the night, and fight to end sex slavery.

After 10 years, I know how I will complete that phrase. I will be a "Wellesley woman who will..." fight to eradicate sex trafficking and provide a place of refuge for those running for sex slavery. What will you do?

https://www.safehouseproject.org/

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