There are celebrities who use their talents to do what they do best. And then there are celebrities like Ashton Kutcher that go that extraordinary step to help others. In Kutcher’s case, it’s helping children and women from sexual abuse, exploitation and trafficking.
Stephanie Petit with PEOPLE reports.
The 40-year-old actor’s nonprofit organization, Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, assisted law enforcement in identifying 5,894 child sex trafficking victims and rescuing 103 children from “situations where their sexual abuse was recorded and distributed” last year, according to the organization’s own 2017 impact report. His ex-wife Demi Moore is a co-founder.
THORN, which is non profit, builds technology and software that is used to save and defend children from sexual abuse. They’ve brought in more than 25 technology companies that include Google, Facebook and Microsoft, to help with their Technology Task Force in stopping the sexual exploitation of children.
Its data claimed that THORN also helped disrupt 6,608 perpetrators, encouraged over 140,000 individuals seeking child sexual abuse material to get help and educated 3.5 million teens through its Stop Sextortion campaign.
This past March, Kutcher appeared on 48 Hours to talks about his work, admitting it’s hard for him to not become emotional when talking about this issue. His work goes beyond individual hands on. The technical tool he’s building “allows one person to save a lot of people.”
Kutcher’s goals also include bringing lawmakers into the mix to encourage them to get involved and help THORN’s efforts.
Kutcher [40], testified in front of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on modern day slavery Wednesday. He spoke alongside Elisa Massimino, president and chief executive of the New York-based nonprofit Human Rights First, both of whom shared horrors they’ve witnessed through work with their respective organizations. (Kutcher is the co-founder of Thorn, a non-profit organization that “drives technology innovation to fight the sexual exploitation of children,” according to their website.)
Ashton Kutcher has had to deal with trolls who actually tell him to stick to his day job. Kutcher calls his work with THORN—his “day job.” And some days his job could take another’s breath away. He speaks of a video showing a 3-year-old child, the same age as his daughter, being raped by an adult “sex tourist” in Cambodia. He brings up experiences where his organization was the last line of defense against the global sexual exploitation of children, as well as finding the perpetrators.
Here is a short video clip from his congressional hearing (in closed captions).
“I believe that it is incumbent on us as citizens of this nation, as Americans, to bestow that right upon others, upon each other, and upon the rest of the world. But the right to pursue happiness for so many is stripped away — it’s raped, it’s abused, it’s taken by force, fraud, or coercion. It is sold for the momentary happiness of another.”
Here is the full 15-minute video in front of Congress:
This, along with being a father to his two young children, is Ashton’s Kutcher’s new “day job”—and he says he’s sticking to it.
For more information, visit StopSextortion.com, or text “THORN” to 741741 to talk to a trained Crisis Text Line counselor.
Victims of human sex trafficking are often right in front of us at truck stops, massage parlors, hotels, salons … they are held captive through coercion, force and threats. There are an estimated 20.9 million victims of human slavery, with 1.5 million in North America. Sex-trafficking is often the most common and most lucrative crime. An estimated $150 billion is made by human traffickers, just under the number one crime of drug trafficking.
TED talk speaker Tony Talbott makes an incredibly disturbing summation about sex trafficking:
"It's all about the money. Human trafficking is insanely profitable. If you really think about it; You can sell a kilo of Heroin once; You can sell a 13-year-old girl 20 times a night, 365 days a year.”
Report human trafficking
For more information, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center (NHTRC), which operates 24 hours, 7 days a week. Or you can call their Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 and/or text BeFree (233733). If you suspect any kind of human trafficking, you can submit a tip via ThePolarisProject.org.
The FBI is cracking down on “Johns”—the buyers of underage girls and boys. Without demand, this $150 billion dollar crime industry would crumble. Law enforcement agencies are conducting stings to catch traffickers and Johns in more and more states. Victims are brought to safe havens where they receive services that will help them get clean/sober and help them on their journey to recovery.
There are several things you can do. Share as many stories about human trafficking on your personal social networks as you can (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram…). Talk to people about it, and sign/share petitions like the one below or others. Help bring awareness to this horrific modern day slavery and sex trade. Learn how to recognize the signs and never be afraid to report suspicions. You might save lives.
SIGN HERE: TELL U.S. LAW ENFORCEMENT TO CRACK DOWN ON $150 BILLION HUMAN TRAFFICKING EPIDEMIC
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