“Long red hair, capris and bug bites.”
This is how Stacia Freeman, U.S. executive director at Hope for Justice, described the young Moldovan girl who inspired her to pursue her passion: ending human trafficking that affects more than 35.8 million people across the globe.
A pediatric audiologist and UT alumni, Freeman presented as the keynote speaker at the Global Issues Conference on international women’s rights at the I-House last Friday.
She explained that she stumbled upon the issue of human trafficking after taking care of a young, abused, mentally-ill girl who was part of a sex ring. The impact of that first encounter, Freeman said, has driven her desire to put an end to sex trafficking ever since.
“How could I even have existed in this space in the world and have something so profound happening that I don’t even know about?” Freeman asked.
As Freeman became more involved in the world of sex trafficking and treatment for victims in various countries including Moldova and India, she began to notice a trend that now forms the foundation of her work with Hope for Justice.
“I thought, there’s something I keep coming in contact with,” Freeman said. “It always seems to go back to vulnerability.”
That vulnerability, Freeman said, usually takes the form of poverty, abandonment and sexual abuse in early childhood. She added it is a myth that the majority of women sold into sex trafficking are tricked. Instead, she asserted they are usually affected by profound trauma.
“When those things occur in those critical years, that trauma imbeds in them and every decision they make is filtered through that trauma,” Freeman said. “In most situations, they are kids in vulnerable situations with no other options. How do we change that?”
The answer, for Freeman, lies in recognizing the symptoms as they are occurring and intervening to prevent any lasting harm or the possibility that the women affected will be tempted to go into sex trafficking.
“Education is empowering, and we wanted to think about how to keep these kids from becoming victims,” she said.
Lauren Longino, I-House coordinator, said educating young college students was one of the major motivations for hosting the Global Issues Conference.
“I hope something you heard today sparks an idea in your head,” Longino said. “Please don’t let what you learned here stop here. Research more about it, figure out how to mobilize students to take action on a cause you feel strongly about.”
Through Hope for Justice’s efforts, Freeman said she hopes to not only treat symptoms of the problem, but eradicate it entirely through secondary preventative measures and education across the U.S. and in other nations affected by sex trafficking.
“We don’t want to fix it, address it or put a band-aid on it,” she said. “We want to end it.”
