Most Americans are unaware that modern day slavery exists in the form of human trafficking. To many, the phrase “human trafficking” elicits connotations of a tragedy present only in far flung, third world countries. And while trafficking of men, women and children truly is an international evil of epidemic proportions, it hits much closer to home in terms of victims and demand.

The U.S. Justice Department estimates that each year in the U.S. as many as 300,000 American children are at risk of being trafficked for commercial sex. The Polaris Project, an organization combating all forms of human trafficking, reports that 41 percent of sex trafficking cases and 20 percent of labor trafficking cases in the United States referenced U.S. citizens as victims.