NYC Teens Tackle Child Sex Trafficking Via Digital Film

by Amanda Kloer

categories: Human Trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, International Human Trafficking and Migration, Sex Trafficking and Prostitution, Technology and the Media, Trafficking in Women

Published July 01, 2009 @ 07:30AM PT

What do you get when you combine a group of New York City teens, digital animation, and a passion for ending child sex trafficking?  You get Discovered, a machinima (digital animation created by filming video games) film on child sex trafficking, produced entirely by high school students.  You also get a group of teens who know what it means to put the "act" in activism.

"We picked child sex trafficking because it wasn't as popular, people don't talk about it as much," said Megan Butcher, 17, one of the filmmakers.  "We want more people to be aware of this problem and we hope it will end soon."

Discovered was created as part of the Virtual Video Project, a project of Global Kids, which works to transform urban youth into successful students and global and community leaders by engaging them in socially dynamic, content-rich learning experiences.  This past weekend, the filmmakers presented their work at the first annual (o.o) Festival on digital media.  The youth project fair featured a wide variety of digital media, including digital comics, serious game designs, animated movies, assistive technology projects, and do-it-yourself tech support.  But it was the Global Kids Youth Leaders who innovatively used digital animation and design to educate their peers about issues of human trafficking.

"I hope when people watch this movie, they will feel that there is a problem, that this can happen to anyone easily," says Evin Cruz, 16, of his film.  "Now they are aware of this, they can help.  I hope people can be more aware of what goes on, and I hope the government can play a stronger role in what's happening to end the suffering."

You can watch Discovered below.  It tells the story of a young girl who is lured from her home in Mexico to America, the abuses she suffers while in the U.S., and the challenges the government faces in combating human trafficking.  It is eloquently written, creative, and mature; I would not have ordinarily guessed it had been created by young people.  Then again, these are obviously extraordinary young people.