Help End Sex Trafficking

By Jamie Lund

Sex Trafficking has become a world-wide issue mostly involving young women. The term “sex trafficking” itself is said to comprise the organized movement of people, usually women, between countries and within countries for sex work with the use of deception and bondage through forced debt. On Sept. 23, 2011 North Dakota State University is stepping up to the challenge to help end human trafficking. With this being an arising issue in North Dakota, The National Sex + Money Campaign has put out a documentary to educate and bring awareness throughout the United States. This documentary, Sex + Money: A National Search for Human Worth, is about domestic child sex trafficking and the modern-day abolitionist movement fighting to stop it. By showing this free to the public, the campaign hopes to help save young women and end the trafficking.

According to Patrick Atkinson, the founder and executive director of the Institute for Trafficked, Exploited and Missing Persons (http://www.ITEMP.org), “trafficking affects the most vulnerable. It is a crime against the human rights of all women, men, and children traded for the purpose of sexual or labor exploitation, removal of organs, begging, and other illegal activities. The numbers are frightening here and nationwide. Several thousands of people are trafficked within the United States every year.” He also states that “this is a strong message, and North Dakotans should not and will not tolerate any part of the trafficking process.”

This Sex + Money documentary will be available free to the public at two one convenient locations throughout the FM area. North Dakota State University will be showing the film on Friday, Sept. 23, 2011 in the Century Theatre. The showing will begin at 2:00 pm followed by a panel discussion in the Memorial Union. There are various sponsors for this great event which include The GOD’S CHILD Project, The Institute for Trafficked, Exploited & Missing Persons, as well as both The Memorial Union and The Equity and Diversity Center of North Dakota State University.

For those of you outside of the Fargo-Moorhead area hoping to catch this educational film, The Good Shepard Lutheran Church of Bismarck, ND will also be hosting an event. Located at 106 Osage Ave. Bismarck, the church will also air the documentary free to the public, as well as host a short worship service on Saturday, Sept. 24, 2011 at 7pm.

This educational documentary is intended to be used a platform to engage the public in the fight against human trafficking.  This feature length documentary created by the Sex + Money Campaign follows a group of photojournalists as they travel in an RV across the United States in hopes to somehow understand how the sexual exploitation of children has become the nation’s fastest growing form of organized crime, and what can be done to stop it. If this issue isn’t addressed in an aggressive manor, nothing will be resolved. The campaign showing the documentary hopes to reach people who feel as strongly about sex trafficking and will join them in helping end the fight.

Don’t forget, both of these events are free and open to the public.  They welcome people of all types to raise awareness for this serious issue. The documentary is unrated and may not be suited for young children. It does contain some adult content that may not be suitable for children under the age of 15, so parental caution is advised. For more information on anti-human trafficking, visit ITEMP.org or contact the office at 952-544-1670. If you’d like to learn more about the Sex + Money campaign, visit their website at http://sexandmoneyfilm.com/ You can also check the documentary schedule if you aren’t able to attend either showing in North Dakota.
                                                                                               
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