Dear Future President,

Being a topic overlooked and understated, human trafficking is a huge problem in our world today. Like as said by this quote from the US Advisory Council for Human Trafficking: “Efforts to prevent the exploitation of people in the United States are essential, but largely absent when it comes to addressing diversity, prevention, and trauma.” Human trafficking is a subject that I feel is incredibly important in regards to the future development of our country and our acts to increase acceptance of diversity and safety in our nation. Stories that I have heard about girls my age have made this an important issue in my life; Although I have not been directly affected by this problem, I feel close to the victims through the stories that I have heard.

Since the time that I first learned about this problem, many steps have been taken to prevent it. During the time that President Obama has spent in office, he has made acts to reduce human trafficking. Enacting the The United States Advisory Council as the head of this surge has made an immense impact on the issue and although these steps have already been taken, I dread to see them digress.

When I first learned about human trafficking, it was actually from a fictional novel that I was reading and I was instantly inspired to learn about the topic. The book was about a little girl, sexually trafficked by her father and his friends. They weren’t the people that I had previously thought about when trafficking came to mind, they were well off and the father was an influential community figure. The intriguing story left me wondering if this situation was common in the US today. What I have learned is deeply saddening. I had no idea of the amount of humans that are trafficked in the US everyday, much like many of my fellow citizens. I consulted the internet and a story that struck me hard is about a middle class woman, tricked into sexual slavery. Being a teen, she was vulnerable to the emotional manipulation from an older man. By the time that she even realized that she was a slave, she had already made thousands of dollars for her captor. When this girl saw the man go to trial, she said,”For the longest time I didn’t even think it was that serious”(ICE). I was struck with sadness, even the victims didn’t know the severity of the problem. Unfortunately, I found many other stories just like this one, the outcomes of these tragedies diverse, most of them positive because the women in these situations are the only ones still able to speak about their experience.

As you can see, although human trafficking doesn’t directly affect my life, it is a topic that is close to me. The advancements that our country has made over the past two presidential terms is exponential but has only taken care of a fraction of the slavery and trafficking all around us every day. I still urge you to take further steps in the problem. Trafficking is a large problem for not only laborers and impoverished foreigners, but even girls in highschool, the same age as myself. Don’t let this be a problem, President, please continue in the work for a better country, without human trafficking.

Sincerely, Abby D

Works Cited

"Human Trafficking Victim Shares Story." ICE |. Department of Homeland Security, n.d. Web. 31

            Oct. 2016. https://www.ice.gov/features/human-trafficking-victim-shares-story

Preston, Natasha. Silence. Smashwords ed. United States: CreateSpace, 2012. Ebook.

"United States Advisory Council on Human Trafficking Annual Report 2016."U.S. Department of

            State. U.S. Department of State, 18 Oct. 2016. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

            http://www.state.gov/j/tip/263114.htm#3