Survivor's Ink

Last month I wrote about CNN's documentary on sex trafficking hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith. This month they are featuring Survivor's Ink, an non-profit organization founded by Jennifer Kempton, a sex trafficking survivor who spent five years of her life as a sex slave, branded three times by different traffickers. Her organization now provides financial help for women trying to cover these brands.

You can check out the video here.

Jennifer's trafficking horrors ended in a basement while trying to hang herself. When the rope broke, she heard God's voice telling her He had a purpose for her life. And it wasn't dying in the basement with a rope around her neck. Once free of her trafficker, Jennifer endured several years with her brands before she was able to scrape up enough money to cover the one on her left arm with a colorful tattoo and a scriptural verse from Corinthians. She now helps other women do the same.

Formerly trafficked women are constantly reminded of their past when they look at themselves in the mirror and see "Property of..." tattooed on their necks, their arms, their stomachs, their groins. As they try to put the horrors of that existence behind them, many of them find they cannot afford the costs of a cover-up tattoo, much less laser removal. Survivor's Ink helps provide them with scholarships so they can finally put one part of their past behind them.

You can check out Survivor's Ink at this link.

Recent CNN Documentary on Ending Sex Trafficking

In the late 1990s and early 2000s when the media first began reporting on sex trafficking, almost all of the stories were based on foreign soil. In 2015, the stories are taking place right here, in our own back yards, in our schools, or just down the street.

Last week, CNN (in conjunction with the Freedom Project) broadcast a one-hour program hosted by Jada Pinkett Smith (an ardent anti-sex trafficking activist) featuring six women whose lives were once in the hands of traffickers. The stories include a fourteen year-old, recruited out of her own school, and a young woman who began her foray into the sex industry as a stripper, only to be told that she could make more money if she also agreed to offer sex as part of her services. One of the most chilling details about this piece? Every one of the stories takes place in Atlanta, Georgia--one of the largest "hubs" for sex trafficking in the United States. According to CNN (through an Urban Institute study), the illegal sex industry in Atlanta generates over $290 million dollars a year.

Jada Pinkett Smith became involved in the movement to end sex slavery when her eleven year old told her that there were girls her age in the U.S. being sold for sex. In disbelief, Pinkett Smith spent hours on her computer researching the cases. It was a wake-up call creating a call-to-action in her heart. In this documentary from CNN, Pinkett Smith interviews many of these women who have come out of "the life" as well as a courageous rescuer who runs The Living Water Center, a shelter and rehabilitation center for trafficked girls.

If you haven't seen Children for Sale: The Fight to End Human Trafficking, I highly recommend watching the documentary or some of the clips at THIS LINK on CNN.com.