Between January and June of 2013 there were over 14,000 calls made to the National Human Trafficking Resource Center in the US. Of those, 375 came from Virginia. In the past few years, 25 juvenile sex traffickers have been arrested in Virginia. During that time, over 40 victims of sex trafficking have been rescued in Virginia.

The threat of teen sex trafficking isn’t something that gets much attention in these affluent regions of Virginia. The only exposure to the issue many students have is limited to crime TV shows and the occasional mention of slave trade overseas. Knowledge of domestic human trafficking has only recently surfaced in the public eye as gang-related drug rings have mixed with prostitution scandals.

The problem is that the people most affected by this phenomenon, the teens most at-risk, are the ones least aware of what is going on. The Just Ask Prevention Project to End Teen Sex Trafficking, or JustAskVA, is an organization based out of the Northern Virginia Metro area that seeks to raise awareness of teen sex trafficking and “inspire our community to end the scouting, manipulation, and recruitment” of local teens.

JustAskVA is focused on the state, but there are other organizations, such as the Polaris Project, that reach past state lines to influence national policy on sex trafficking and provide support and resources to those affected by it. Named after the star that guided slaves through the Underground Railroad, the Polaris Project is a large-scale, global organization that seeks to end human trafficking and the modern slave trade.

These groups are major proponents of aid for victims, and they were joined in the fight against trafficking by the Fairfax County Police Department after Human Trafficking Awareness Day on January 11^th, when the FCPD began a campaign to raise awareness of the issue within the community and, more specifically, within the schools where many teens are targeted.

These organizations, combined with the Polaris Project and local community members, have inspired many victims and friends to report issues of human trafficking. The cause soon reached beyond adults.

For WS juniors Kyra Beckman and Elaine Stewart, the issue of human trafficking hit a nerve, and inspired the two girls to create the Spartan Global Outreach for Girls club. With Joanne Pendry sponsoring the fledgling group, they felt empowered to make a difference.

“[They] felt passion about the sense of injustice,” said Pendry, “they were inspired to bring about local change.”

The club unofficially began to hold meetings last July, and has expanded to a school sponsored club meant to support girls and women across the nation and across the world. Their most recent activity began after Beckman attended a summit, and met with a woman from Langley, VA.

After discussing the successful campaign to raise awareness of human trafficking in Langley, Beckman brought the program to WS and to the club. With posters placed around the school advertising JustAskVA, the Spartans Global Outreach for Girls was ready to take on a major project.

It started with a simple request to teachers in the school to wear small, silicone, baby blue bracelets engraved with a few simple words. On one side, “JustAskVA.org,” and, on the other, “JUST ASK.” For further reach, the group went beyond WS to local school board celebrity Ryan McElveen, who tweeted a photo of himself wearing the bracelet in support of the cause.

It quickly expanded into a large-scale, school-wide campaign complete with bracelets given out at lunches, given to friends, and slides featured on the morning announcements to both announce club meetings and give general information on JustAskVA.

“We gave out 1,200 bracelets to say that there are people you can go to to ask,” said Beckman, “there are tons of resources available to you.”

Beyond the effort of putting teen sex trafficking in the spotlight on a local level, the club also began a letter writing campaign to recently rescued victims from throughout the world. That campaign focuses on providing emotional support through illustrations and basic English, as they are mailed internationally. The letters themselves are meant to be optimistic, with kind, endearing messages such as “people love you,” and “you are beautiful,” in order to remind the women of their worth to the world.

“[The club] sat here,” said Pendry, “…nearly every desk in my room was filled, and they were writing these cards. It was inspiring.”

As added support for the women they write to, the Spartans Global Outreach for Girls is also looking to begin a donation drive to physically support victims. Their letters reach around the world, but for now their donations will have to stay more local.

“[We want to collect] supplies to donate to women’s shelters that have been affected by this, and eventually to help overseas organizations,” said Stewart.

The work of the girls and their club goes even further, reaching past the world of the women affected and into the world of politics. Their next mission is to write letters to the Virginia senators, pushing for more laws protecting the victims.

This past February, the Virginia state legislature passed laws restricting the loopholes many sex traffickers were able to take advantage of. This new legislation, however, only makes it so an offender cannot say the child or teen used for trafficking sex was “willing” in order to avoid a sentence, rather than protecting the girls themselves.

“It’s often girls who go to jail for prostitution when they were enslaved,” said Beckman.

With meetings held every other Monday, the girls are determined to make a noticeable difference in the lives of the people affected by teen sex trafficking, and to help people on all levels be more aware of the issue and its tell-tale signs.

Their work continues to expand as they gain support and raise awareness of a serious problem many Virginians don’t know about. With the bracelets marking the beginning of their journey toward change, the club hopes to bring about discussion of an issue overlooked.

“[Human sex trafficking] is something we all think is gone from America,” said Beckman. “It’s a huge shock factor.”

Their dedication to the cause and to humanitarian aid has been at the forefront of conversation within WS, and they are continuing to become a greater presence in the local area. Their work has inspired discussion that, until recently, was rarely acknowledged.

“I could not be more proud,” said Pendry.