It's no secret that Ashton Kutcher has been an advocate for ending human trafficking for quite some time, but the actor took one step further to Capitol Hill on February 15th to expand upon what can and will be done to end this modern slavery. Kutcher spoke before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to outline specificities on how to combat human and sex trafficking including technologies that block searches for child pornography and the slavery of children.
Kutcher is the co-founder of Thorn, which is an international organization that focuses on every aspect of putting an end to human trafficking not only in the United States, but overseas as well. The organization uses a technology that is referred to as "Spotlight." This tool has helped identify 6,000 trafficking victims and has reduced investigation times by 60%, as reported by Kutcher. As he sat before the committee, Kutcher advocated for supplementary funding for Spotlight to continue research on how to better the technology and how to increase the deterrence of criminal activity online.
Since the beginning of the organization in 2009, Kutcher has without a doubt seen the severity of these circumstances and it has definitely lit a fire inside him to continue his work and to continue spreading awareness.
Kutcher told the committee, "I've been on FBI raids where I've seen things that no person should ever see" and went on to describe the victims of trafficking that he has met throughout this journey from all over the world and of varying ages. "I've met victims in Russia, I've met victims in India, I've met victims that have been trafficked from Mexico, victims from New York and New Jersey and all across our country," Kutcher told the committee.
Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the committee, expressed his appreciation for Kutcher's endless work for victims across the world by calling it "inspirational." There is no doubt that Kutcher's work will go a long way and his testimony in front of the committee has brought the campaign even closer to ending modern slavery.
