A Hollywood actress visited Dallas to speak at a human trafficking awareness event.
On Oct. 11, Jada Pinkett-Smith, a long-time advocate for sex trafficking survivors, was nonprofit New Friends New Life’s guest speaker at its annual luncheon.
An emotional Pinkett-Smith told the attendees that 400 teenagers in the Dallas area are trafficked each and every day.
"There are a lot of young girls that don’t make it. I know some," said the star of such films as "The Nutty Professor," "Set It Off," and "Angel Has Fallen," NBC DFW reported. "This is an epidemic in our country."
New Friends New Life, which is devoted to ending human trafficking, reported that Texas ranks second nationally for the highest number of trafficking victims. It is a crisis that is not getting enough attention, according to the organization.
Pinkett-Smith participated in a panel discussion moderated by NBC DFW personality Laura Harris. The 48-year-old actress, producer, director, activist and humanitarian attributed her determination to bring human trafficking to the national conscience to daughter Willow.
"My daughter Willow was actually the one who told me about sex trafficking. She was only 11 at the time. I didn't even believe it," she said.
Pinkett-Smith was instrumental in the making of a 2014 documentary that examines child sex trafficking in Atlanta. She thoroughly discussed what it was like to film the documentary, stating that the victims hail from different walks of life.
“I could be trafficked,” Pinkett-Smith said. “Willow could be trafficked. Anyone of our daughters, sons, sisters, could be trafficked. And I was like, 'This is an issue that we need to be educated about in this country and have understanding of why this is happening and why this is happening.' So, that’s how I got involved."
She added that young boys could fall victim to human trafficking and called on parents to heavily monitor their children’s online usage.
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