Exposure: the good and the bad but mostly the ugly

So I’m writing this while I feel slightly agitated and my hands are shaking, my hearts beating way too fast. You know when you expose yourself to something and you know it’s going to make you feel things, make you upset, frustrated, whatever, but you do it anyway because it matters to you? Well, I did just that.

As you all know, I got my degree in Criminology and I was obviously exposed to a lot of stuff that really opened my eyes and made me see the world in a different way. Of course, I still like to see the beautiful side of it. You know the saying you need to see the ugly to appreciate the beauty. But what happens when the ugly is just too much?

As a student, I came across one topic that I still am extremely passionate about, my statement of interest clarified that, my bookshelf is filling up with books on the issue, I have articles saved on a USB so that I can educate myself on the topic, I have newsletters filling up my inbox every other day, I email organizers, contributors, anyone who can educate me more on the topic.

The topic being human trafficking & exploitation.

This is definitely not pretty. I never thought I’d have the stomach to keep educating myself on it. And sometimes it does make my stomach turn but now that I’m dedicated almost every second to learning about the issues not just locally, nationally but as well as  international, I feels super exposed and frustrated in a way that I want to channel it to make a difference.

Anyway, since I’m still learning more about the topic, I thought I’d share some links and documentaries in order to raise some awareness. I hope to write more about the issues on my blog once I have finished my course on it and also learned more about what we can do. There are a lot of things currently happening on this planet that will be provide doors for people to take advantage of people in desperate need. This is why I’m sharing this. People are fleeing their countries due to political unrest, civil wars, in hopes for a better life and knowing the world we live in, there will always be a predator lurking in the shadows and take advantage of it.

There are people going to countries and manipulating people into things or people within your own cities that are coerced daily and you don’t know about it. You know that girl you see everyday with bruises on her face, that 13 year old girl you see on the streets and you judge her upbringing, that boy who is being forced to be with older men, that baby that went missing in the hospital but really was sold for its organs, this what you wish wasn’t real, it happens. No matter where you go, it’s not just in third world countries, its not men and women going there to hide behind “barely there” laws but it also happens right next door, across town, in the next city or wherever.

I had hoped to find this one documentary on Canada but I couldn’t find it so here are some other ones that I wanted to share with you.

Trafficking of Children in the United States:

Meet Farida: Sold into prostitution by her father:

21st Century Sex Slaves:

I honestly wish I could share a lot more. Right now I leave you all with these. I hope to share more information and find more recent findings. I hope to write about it quite soon. I still have a lot journal articles, documentaries, statistics and organizations to go through but the more I expose myself to it, the more I want to share with all of you.