Sean Patrick Maloney: “Sex trafficking has been called the slavery issue of the 21st century. And because girls and women are its victims, it…”

“Sex trafficking has been called the slavery issue of the 21st century. And because girls and women are its victims, it is one of the great women's issues of our time. The lives of trafficking victims are pure horror. These photographs that are in the current issue of Prism magazine include mug shots or photographs of trafficked women arrested for prostitution over periods ranging from 1 to no more than 3 years. Better than words could ever convey, the photos display the destruction that takes place for hundreds of thousands of trafficked girls and women. Notice how when they were first arrested, they all look distinctly different. But in the end, they all look the same. You cannot tell the difference from one to the other. That is because they have been abused, psychologically battered, broken and devastated at the hands of their pimps. We need effective prosecution strategies against their traffickers. We need to protect the victims of the sex trade industry and punish the predators who exploit them.”