Erica N.
LifeWay Education Volunteer
I came to volunteer with LifeWay Network a few months ago with two things: the outraged desire to help prevent and heal the ravages of human trafficking and a self-conscious awareness that I knew little about how to fix this problem. I didn’t know how easy it is to see both the traces of trafficking in my community and how close at hand the hope for solutions might be.
LifeWay Network has a robust training program for community engagement. I’ve learned a great deal from LifeWay’s rich collection of educational materials about sex trafficking in the United States. A resource that really brought it ‘home’ for me is a compelling new book and documentary film, A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity. This book and film is from the best-selling authors and creators, Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, of Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. A Path Appears is a must-see for anyone interested in fighting sex trafficking. In a way that is compelling but not sensationalizing, shocking but without gratuitous shock value, the film presents some ways in which young women and girls become victims of domestic sex trafficking.
A Path Appears helped me learn that trafficking happens right here, in our own neighborhoods, communities and families. Though the term ‘Human Trafficking’ brings to mind images of cross-border smuggling, trafficking is not 
smuggling. Smuggled persons are complicit in their movement and may not be victimized. But, trafficking isn’t necessarily about moving from one place to another. Trafficking in humans refers to all acts related to recruitment, transport, sale or purchase of individuals through force, fraud or other coercive means for the purpose of exploitation (UN Protocol on Trafficking, 2000). Trafficking is just another word for modern-day slavery. And its victims are not only foreign nationals, but, domestic U.S. Citizens—men, women, and children from all walks of life and socioeconomic backgrounds. Perhaps the most poignant lesson I took from A Path Appears was that I ‘know’ these victims and I ‘know’ these johns, who feed the cycle of enslavement through their demand.
A concept that this film really helps to tackle is how to confront sex trafficking when it seems truly overwhelming and a growing problem. A Path Appears shows hopeful solutions. It shows the collaboration of law enforcement, advocates, service providers, survivors, community members, and non-profit organizations fighting to confront this issue. Building awareness about the realities of trafficking is something I can do. You can do! We don’t need to have worked in immigration law or counseled victims in order to help create an informed and compassionate community. We are already part of a community, a neighborhood, a city—in which trafficking thrives. And, we can start raising awareness right here!
Nicholas and Sheryl have done incredible work around bringing light to this horrific crime of human trafficking. Nicholas, a columnist for The New York Times and two-time Pulitzer Prize winner, often writes about the various dynamics of trafficking. Sheryl, currently a senior managing director at an investment banking boutique and first Asian-American reporter to win a Pulitzer Prize, continues her anti-trafficking efforts after initially identifying the issue in late 1980‘s with her husband Nicholas. Together, they provide a unique and essential narrative about making a difference in the world, and becoming conscientious global citizens. For this great work, the 2015 LifeWay Network Freedom Award was presented to Sheryl WuDunn on May, 19, 2015, at LifeWay’s annual fundraiser “Event Towards New Life”.