Woman Battles Human Trafficking With Web Site

Friday,  September 11, 2009 5:43 PM

Video
CINCINNATI, Ohio

A trip to Southeast Asia opened the eyes for an Ohio woman who wanted to make difference and help young girls trapped in the sex slave industry.

 

Home for Emily Hill is a posh condo in a nice part of town, but six years ago this activist was in Thailand. She was teaching English and met children from impoverished homes.

 

"One of the places we visited was a home for girls who were highly at risk of being trafficked. They were ages 9 to 18," said Hill.

 

She visited poor villages and saw firsthand the faces of human slavery. Young girls who were sold as sex slaves.

 

"It was just horrifying to me and I knew then that I had to do something," said Hill.

 

At first Hill was overwhelmed. She couldn't believe how some parents would voluntarily allow their kids to be taken away.

 

"Men or women would go through the villages and talk to the parents and say, 'hey, we know that you don't have a lot of money. We can take your daughter to the big city; get her a job as a waitress, a model.' They don't tell them that they're going to be slaves," said Hill.

 

But Hill said that there were some parents who knowingly sold their children to slave traders just to make a few extra bucks.

 

"[The children are] forced, they're raped, they're beaten, they're locked up. It broke my heart, and I think I just knew my life couldn't be the same," said Hill.

 

So a few months ago this young entrepreneur launched an online boutique selling handbags, jewelry and lotion from women who have been given a second chance at life.

 

Products sold on the Web site are made by survivors of prostitution and trafficking in India.

 

Each purchase from Hill's Web site Stop Traffick Fashion  directly helps survivors and organizations that help with rehabilitation.

 

"If we could increase the distribution and awareness of these products, then that's a really valuable way to support the cause."

 

A cause Hill will continue to fight for until every child is safe at home.

Hill is planning another trip to Southeast Asia next year. She will be visiting Cambodia to talk to survivors of human trafficking.

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