“My first suicide attempt was in November after it happened,” said Kristen Tebow. “I tried to overdose on my thyroid meds… it didn’t’ work.”

 

 At just 18, Tebow had become a victim of betrayal and was forced into the world of sex trafficking.

 

She was now part of an illegal industry that has a global worth of 31.6 billion and is quickly becoming the third largest and fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world.

 

To many Tebow’s case may sound like a rare and unfortunate incident, but the truth is, sex-trafficking occurs daily within the United State’s border. The U.S. alone contributes roughly 30% of the total yearly global revenue that sex trafficking yields. The U.S. Department estimates that more than 250,000 American citizens and legal residents are being trafficked within this country at this moment. 

 

Most recently, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office identified Wichita and Kansas City as major originating cities for trafficking. The reasoning behind this is because Kansas is home to two major interstates, I-70 and I-35; interstates that run across all across the nation, which make transporting sex trafficking victims a breeze.  

 

The numbers lead many to ask why and how could sex trafficking be an issue within the Land of the Free and most imporantly, in the Heart of America?

 

According to Tebow, it is because Americans, specifically Kansans, have a cavalier perception of sex trafficking.

 

 “Midwest victims are chosen because they’re bright eyed and bushy tailed and are worry free,” said Tebow. “Out here there is nothing to worry about, but there is,”

 

 In order to tackle trafficking within the state, the Kansas Attorney General’s Office established a Human Trafficking Advisory Board,along with a four pronged approach:prevention, protection, prosecution, and partnership, to rescue and help sex-trafficking victims.