Las Vegas NowActivists Shine Light on Human Trafficking

Activists Shine Light on Human Trafficking

On any given night in Las Vegas more than 400 underage girls are used as prostitutes. It's a grim reality in every major city across the country. But efforts are underway to bring more attention the growing problem in hopes of stopping it.

A rally is planned for tonight at the Trinity Life Impact Center near Sahara and Maryland Parkway. Organizers want the community to know that children are being sold in Las Vegas and the first step to fighting back is information.

Ladies of the night can be seen along the streets in just about every community, but if you look closely, you notice many of them are only children.

"We just put them in a category and really don't look at their faces. We just assume they are over 18. We assume that is what they want do and that is it. We do not question any further. So it is very easy for traffickers to do their job," said Tina Frundt, a survivor of trafficking.

Recruiters lure in girls in their early teens, promising them a better life. They take them away from their homes, but they're turned into sex slaves. "You cry like any child would cry when someone is telling you you are going to have sex with men for money whether you want to or not," said Frundt.

Tina was taken when she was 13-years-old and forced for years to work as a prostitute. Like many girls, she was arrested but never received the help she really needed. "Men are not safe, police are not safe, and they know the pimp got them and can get them. Again, they have no safe place. We need to reestablish that these girls have a safe place," said Linda Smith with Shared Hope International.

Smith has investigated human trafficking for years all around the world. She says the young girls are trained to act older so men don't feel bad buying their services. "She acts a lot like what he wants her to act like so he can say, ‘Oh, some girls are just like that.' Because in our minds, we have to justify -- he has to justify why he would buy her," she said.

It's the thought that they are old enough to know what they are doing that keeps help out of reach for many victims. "As soon as we say they child is involved in prostitution, it must be her decision and her choice and that is it and we wash our hands clean of it," said Frundt.

The rally begins at 6 p.m. and then people will walk down Sahara for a march and candlelight vigil. They hope to bring awareness for this problem and remember the many victims it has taken.