I am sure that most, if not all of you, are aware of what is going on in D.C, the snow storms around the world, and the Golden Globes. But are you aware that according to Polaris, the National Human Trafficking Hotline has received reports of 22,191 sex trafficking cases inside the United States? There have been 22,191 sex trafficking cases received in the past ten years meaning that there have been approximately 2,219 cases received annually and that number includes only those cases that have been received by the National Human Trafficking Hotline.

Are you aware that according to MYNORTHWEST, Local Police estimate up to 500 teens as young as 12 years old, are working as sex slaves every day in the King County? In most cases, these teens are forced to change their hair, wear more “provocative” clothes, and are often forced into taking drugs.

My best friend’s cousin has recently been taken captive and is being sold into sex trafficking. It completely blows my mind because we are so focused on the snow all the way across the country, the NFL games, the pointless things our president shares on his social media, when approximately 500 teens in your local community are being sold into human slavery.

It breaks my heart knowing that just in our community, that many teens are scared, afraid, abused, and being sold as slaves. According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline Data Report, in the year of 2016, just in the state of Washington there were 557 substantive calls received. That means we have 14^th highest call volume of all 50 states and Washington D.C. 52 percent of the sex trafficking victims were adults, 25 percent were children, 64 percent were females, and 5 percent were males. Nationwide, The Human Trafficking Hotline received a total of 34,068 phone calls, email, or online tip reports in 2016.

As I sit and write this, I am overwhelmed by these statistics. I am surprised that human trafficking has not come up in my school - unless, of course, we are talking about history and the civil rights movement. People in my community rarely ever talk about this topic. While there has recently been a rise in mental health and rape culture awareness, I still don’t feel as though there is enough being done.

Human trafficking happens right under our noses, in our malls, in our schools, to the people we see at the grocery store. Pimps are walking around freely roaming, looking for new victims. I cannot go to the mall or walk down the street without being in fear, and that needs to change.

To give help or get help, call The National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888

Visit A21, Dressember, and Polaris, to find resources and learn how you can help abolish and end slavery everywhere.