A woman questioned one of the statistics in my story about Jenny. She said, “You’re exaggerating about the part in the story where it says that ‘her door swings thirty times a night,’ right?” I responded, “Some handlers, or pimps, demand that the children under their control serve thirty clients a night, others demand twenty.…
Forced (in progress), String on linen, 19½ x 56 inches, 2014 “Child prostitute” is a misnomer. Children are forced into the commercial sex trade; they don’t volunteer to be abused. Brutal pimps exploit vulnerable boys and girls in the underworld of the trafficking industry—because the buyers of sex demand younger and younger prey. FACT: The…
After viewing The Scarlet Cord at ArtPrize, a young teen fell into my arms. I held her and drew her head close as she cried. A couple of minutes later, she pulled away and, then, she quickly embraced me again. Her words tumbled out so quickly that a couple of different times I had to…
This short video produced by 100.5 The River features The Scarlet Cord:
Raped, Yarn on loom, 17 x 49 inches, 2014 Children suffer traumatic pain every time they are trafficked—or raped. For many of these victims, the sexual abuse started at a very young age when the boys or girls were molested by someone they knew. Just as a ruptured appendix releases toxic poisons, sexual abuse releases…
Stripped (Study), Yarn on canvas, 30 x 30 inches, 2014 Showing at Barnes & Noble of Rivertown Human trafficking touches all of us—even within our homes. Pornography first ensnared a ten-year-old boy when he clicked on a computer pop-up that read: “Funny NFL pictures.” The producers of pornography deliberately target children—stripping our youth of their…
17,000 red string bracelets given away at ArtPrize 2014 The Scarlet Cord: Healing for sex trafficked children. Help raise awareness and build circles of protection around at-risk children buy adobe illustrator. Visit The Scarlet Cord outside the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Museum (near the parking lot). Take the Do 1 Thing Challenge.