Helping to End Sex Trafficking

Human Trafficking is one of those things I've heard about, but sadly haven't paid much attention to. The August 2014 issue of St. Anthony Messenger featured an article by Theresa Flores, a middle-class woman now working as a social worker who got caught up in prostitution as a teenager. Unfortunately, the article isn't available to the public online, but this is the core of her story:

A young man from high school, a fellow Catholic, asked to give her a ride home. On the way there, he stopped at his house. He invited her into his home, drugged, and raped her, taking pictures of the whole thing. The next day, he told her that the pictures would be distributed publicly, including to her parents. unless she worked then off by having sex with others. The pictures were never returned and she ended up being a sex slave for two years. "She endured constant harassment and threats of bodily harm, both to herself and her family if she didn't comply."

She wasn't able to escape until her family moved away. They never knew what was going on. Theresa has started an organization to help end sex trafficking and to educate others on how quickly young people can be sucked into this nightmare. Please visit http://www.traffickfree.com/ to learn more.