Celebrity Influences on Human Trafficking

For years human trafficking has been an ongoing problem that people have been unaware of and now many celebrities stepping up to bring awareness to the cause, like Jada Pinkett Smith. Pinkett Smith, displayed in the image on the right, is an American actress who is married to actor Will Smith. In the image we can see Pinkett Smith at an event where her media influence is large. She heard about human trafficking through her daughter who had recently become aware of it, and decided they needed to take action.

She has used her media influence through two different documentaries: Children for Sale and Rape for Profit. In the first documentary Pinkett Smith teams up with CNN where she follows undercover officers in Atlanta as they raid human trafficking rings and uncover new information about the sex trade in America. She is also one of many executive producers that released Rape for Profit which is about the sex trade in major U.S cities where heroes fight to stop the next generation of human trafficking clients and rescue girls as young as twelve who was fallen victim. Pinkett Smith also created the campaign Don’t Sell Bodies to educate people nationwide on the ongoing problem of human trafficking in America. Don’t Sell Bodies, whose logo is featured on the left, works to educate people on human trafficking in America in many different ways. They provide access to information and statistics as well as what warning signs everyone should be aware of to keep themselves safe. They also have current news on trafficking and victims stories that emotionally motivate others to get involved. Don’t Sell Bodies is a national campaign, however they do provide access to resources that help people all over the globe. Pinkett Smith also appeared before congress with human trafficking victims and surprised a lot of them with her information on human trafficking in our country saying, Not a lot of people realize that yes; this is a growing problem in the United States: (Hepzibah House). By bringing awareness directly to congress she helped in passing the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and has been continuing to advocate for victims all across the country. Through her media influence Jada Pinkett Smith has successfully educated thousand of people all across the nation.

Another celebrity who has largely influenced human trafficking is David Beckham. Beckham, depicted to the right, was a renowned English soccer player now retired and president of the Club Internacional de F??tbol Miami as well as a United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund Goodwill Ambassador. In the image Beckham is wearing a UNICEF shirt and posing for a poster that was advertising the fund he created to help children all over the world. He got involved to help children who were affected by many different hardships, including human trafficking, and has call upon world leaders to so more to help children in need. Beckham realizes children do not have a strong voice, and he takes it upon himself to speak out and stand by them saying, I made a promise to speak out for the world’s most vulnerable children and to help shine a light on the issues affecting them (UNICEF). Beckham brought a document signed by eighteen child survivors to these world leaders, and has been using his influence to incite change all over the world through both financially, and through the media. Beckham created the 7 fund, also known as The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, which will fight for children in Indonesia, Nepal, Uganda, and specifically, the ongoing violence in El Salvador. In El Salvador women are largely targeted and easily fall victim to domestic violence as verified by the statistic to the left. Beckham’s fund will provide a help to victims as well as train parents and teachers on how to support these children and what signs they need to look for. So far his fund has protected 14,500 children from potential violence and abuse in addition to 22,000 children protected from violence in schools (7). He is also working to educate people on the hardships children face through UNICEF and different media platforms through his own stories as well as the stories of numerous child survivors that have had to overcome violence in their lives. By using his financial and media influence David Beckham has impacted children from all over the globe, and has made the world a safer place for these kids.

Works Cited

7 In Action. 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, 7.org/david-beckham-7-fund-in-action/.

About Us. 7: The David Beckham UNICEF Fund, 7.org/about-david-beckham-7-fund/.

Actress Jada Pinkett Smith Brings Human Trafficking Victims Before Congress ? Hepzibah

House. Hepzibah House, 25 July 2012,hepzibahhouse.org/actress-jada-pinkett-smith-

brings-human-trafficking-victims-before-congress/.

Don’t Sell Bodies Logo. Don’t Sell Bodies, Don’t Sell Bodies Campaign, dontsellbodies.org.

Don’t Sell Bodies. Don’t Sell Bodies, dontsellbodies.org/.

Jada Pinkett Smith. IMDb, www.imdb.com/name/nm0000586/.

UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador David Beckham Calls on World Leaders to #ENDviolence

against Children. UNICEF, 15 Sept. 2015, www.unicef.org/people/media_85509.html.

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