Sex trafficking | Linda Smith | TEDxPortland
Published on Jul 7, 2015
"No girl wakes up and looks in the mirror
and says I want to be a prostitute."
Linda Smith is a saint and with relentless determination, professionalism
and poise she has dedicated her life to the issue of sex trafficking.
She literally saves lives and seeks justice for those who can't defend
themselves through policy change, awareness and activism.
To alter the course of human rights, we must change our
perception, language, laws and response in an effort to
stop this criminal offense.
Linda Smith is a leader in the global movement to end sex trafficking.
In 1998, while serving in Congress, Linda traveled to a notorious
brothel district in India where the hopeless faces of women and
children forced into prostitution compelled her to found
the Shared Hope International organization. Linda is the
primary author of From Congress to the Brothel and
Renting Lacy, co-author of The National Report on
Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking, and instrumental in
creating the DEMAND Report. Linda has testified before
Congress, presented at national and international
forums, and has been published in numerous news
outlets and journals. Linda served as a Washington
State legislator (1983-93) before being elected to Congress in 1994.
Greco