Human trafficking. Modern-day slavery. Human smuggling. Sex trafficking. These are all things that happen in faraway places and are not part of my world — or so I thought.
During the 2018 election cycle, I was shocked to see candidates’ ads about stopping human trafficking in Atlanta. “Atlanta?!” I thought. Yes, Atlanta. Atlanta is actually one of the top cities for human trafficking, with a thriving industry that makes an approximate $290 million per year in revenue. Not only is this happening within the city, but 65 percent of men in the Atlanta area who purchase sex with children live in the suburbs.
Thankfully, President Trump’s adviser and daughter Ivanka Trump is on a mission to stop sex trafficking. She is an advocate for many critical issues, from job training to tax reform. Yet it’s her work to end human trafficking that could have the largest impact globally.
Ivanka Trump has worked tirelessly with stakeholders, including survivors, members of Congress, and the president’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (PITF). The task force draws from the efforts of 15 departments and agencies to prosecute traffickers while learning from survivors’ stories.
The Trump administration combined the efforts of PITF with a series of new laws to combat online sex traffickers and international criminal organizations. Ivanka Trump’s role has been essential. In March, she held a meeting in the White House with lawmakers, businessmen from the tech sector, and survivors of human trafficking to work on legislation to curb online sex trafficking, which was passed by Congress and signed into law by the president.
The administration has also ramped up efforts to prosecute domestic human traffickers. Last year alone, the Department of Justice convicted 500 human traffickers, dismantled 42 groups engaged in child sex trafficking, and provided assistance to 8,000 survivors of modern-day slavery.
Last year, Ivanka Trump took the battle against human trafficking to the international stage, delivering remarks at the United Nations General Assembly and announcing the Trump administration’s allocation of $25 million to the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery.
“Human trafficking, forced labor and modern slavery splinters families, distorts global markets, undermines the rule of law, strengthens transnational organized criminal networks and threatens national security everywhere,” Trump said at the U.N.
She also met with survivors of sex trafficking during a trip to Rome at the Community of Sant’Egidio, a Vatican-affiliated organization.
“You can’t learn the story of someone who’s been trafficked, you can’t hear from a survivor and not be deeply, personally impacted,” Trump said in a video released by the White House. “I am proud of the work we’re doing and I’m proud of all the partners we’re engaged with internationally to end this tremendous scourge and to win the fight against modern day slavery.”
While few media outlets cover Trump’s efforts, her remarkable work with others in the administration, anti-trafficking groups, and international leaders alike could save millions of lives.
Just a few years ago, most Americans only knew Trump as an entrepreneur, author, and mother. Her legacy will now be as an advocate for the dignity of all humans and a champion in the fight against modern slavery.
I look forward to working with Trump to end the exploitation of victims, beginning here in my hometown of Atlanta.
Amy Kremer is co-founder and chairwoman of Women for Trump.
