As someone who works on the prevention of human trafficking and incorporates film for raising awareness and educating parents and young people about the threats to children, I found Wake Up by Janet Craig essential viewing for anyone who wants to know what domestic trafficking looks like. There is no single way trafficking and other forms of exploitation occur and not one type of person sought, but as one of the demographics most targeted is children in the foster care system, this film hits the gut, exposing the threats to those children who age out of the system and are actively preyed upon by traffickers. This film balances the heartbreak with hope - that when this growing threat to our most vulnerable family and commuinity members is seen, understood and taken seriously, we can prevent and reclaim those at risk. A judge in Los Angeles who oversaw the juveline court that saw a stream of trafficked girls come before her, told me that if do not demonstrate our will to stick with those who are exploited, we will lose them to the traffickers who do not give up. These children have become commodities to be exploited, and as long as there are men who are willing to priotitize personal pleasure and wealth over the future that breathes through our children, we will bear more of the heartbreak and less of the hope. Watch this film, wake up, and take a stand.
