sex trafficking: Closeup of beautiful, serious young black woman with reddish afro

Opinion: Girls of Color, Native Girls Have Been Sex Trafficked Since Colonization, Slavery

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While awareness of sex trafficking has grown, too little attention is given to how this terrible violence impacts girls of color. In Washington, D.C., Courtney’s House is the only survivor-led program serving trafficked youth. Of the young people who receive services from Courtney’s House, 87% are girls of color. 

This disparate impact is not limited to girls in the D.C. area but is evidenced across the country. In King County, Washington, 84% of child sex trafficking survivors are girls and 52% of child survivors are Black even though Black girls comprise a mere 1% of the population. In 2017, among survivors receiving services in Minnesota, nearly 75% were BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and people of color) and 50% of all survivors were girls and young women under age 25 (compared to boys and young men who comprised 6% of all survivors). 

The disproportionate rates at which girls of color are trafficked is not coincidental.

Child holds black lives matter sign

In Demanding Justice For Black People, Are We Sacrificing the Peace of Black Youth?

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We met at Freedom Plaza. This was my first protest since the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor. People of all ages, abilities, genders, races and ethnicities were there to stand up for justice. 

With an impassioned call to action from one of the organizers, the crowd headed toward Capitol Hill chanting, “No Justice, No Peace.” I fell in line toward the back, taking in the moment and the movement. 

As we walked, I noticed a dad and his son, no more than 3 or 4, walking with us. They were white. As the protest went on, the dad explained each chant to his son, encouraging him with the rhythm of the crowd.

immigrants: Woman in crowd of protesters holds sign that says No human being is illegal.

Jailing Immigrant Families Is Just Incarceration By Another Name

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“See, too, that girl of thirteen, weeping, yes! weeping, as she thinks of the mother from whom she has been torn!” —Frederick Douglass, “What to the Slave Is the Fourth of July?” 1852

People do not belong in cages. Youth do not belong in cages. Children do not belong in cages. Babies do not belong in cages.