Walking Prey: How America's Youth are Vulnerable to Sex Slavery
Today, two cultural forces are converging to make America's youth easy targets for sex traffickers. Younger and younger girls are engaging in adult sexual attitudes and practices, and the pressure to conform means thousands have little self-worth and are vulnerable to exploitation. At the same time, thanks to social media, texting, and chatting services, predators can ferret out their victims more easily than ever before. In Walking Prey, advocate and former victim Holly Austin Smith shows how middle class suburban communities are fast becoming the new epicenter of sex trafficking in America. Smith speaks from experience: Without consistent positive guidance or engagement, Holly was ripe for exploitation at age fourteen. Her experience led her, two decades later, to become one of the foremost advocates for trafficking victims, as they should be seen by law enforcement. The book is a clarion call to look sharply at striking human rights abuses going on in our own backyards.
