Human sex trafficking... Shockingly, it goes on every day right here in the U.S. The secret business generates more than $9 billion a year, making it one of the top three international crimes along with trafficking drugs and guns.
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It's something most people think only takes place in foreign countries, but the enslavement and sale of human beings for sex is a very real problem even here in the U.S.
"It is a hidden crime that people don't realize is going on right next door, and unless we get people to be more aware of it, then we're not going to be able to stop it," said Mary Lynn Bates with the Birmingham Zonta Club.
Case in point, a bust earlier this year in Albertville, where two brothers were accused of running a brothel out of a trailer park smuggling young Latino women into the country and forcing them to work as prostitutes.
One of the people spreading awareness of this type of activity is Nola Theiss, the national director of Human Trafficking Awareness Partnerships.
"A person can be totally tricked and literally kidnapped right out of the mall and in the next week be prostituting themselves," said Theiss.
Theiss says another way young girl’s fall victim to the human sex trafficking underworld is by running away from home, not knowing what they're getting into.
"Half of those runaways become victims of sex trafficking in some form," said Theiss.
Tina Frundt, with the Polaris Project, is also outspoken about the topic, because she's an actual survivor.
"Pimps are predators, traffickers are predators. This is what they do they try to go after children…because they're vulnerable," said Frundt.
But, she doesn't do this work to draw attention to herself.
"I am a survivor, but do I go around telling all my story? I don't cause I don't think that's the focus," said Frundt.
In addition to American kids being turned into sex slaves, an estimated 700,000 people are trafficked across international borders every year throughout the world. Fortunately, when it's discovered here in the U.S., a law passed just seven years ago can be put to good use.
"That law protects victims who have been enslaved through labor, or sex trafficking, or domestic servitude," said Frundt.
Worldwide, there are about 3,000 convictions a year related to human trafficking, but that's just the tip of the iceberg compared to how much it's going on. Frundt says that's why she continues to stay focused to spread the word, calling it her own source of therapy.
"I think the best part of what we do is getting the word out and letting them know that there is a safe place to go," said Frundt.
