Rebecca (on right) and her friend Afghan Spice hanging out (mobbin) in Oakland; representing the Radically Peaceful movement. Image courtesy Huffington Post.
Do you love TED Talks? So do I. Today’s post is a continuation of our Girls of TED Talks series, which focuses on young girls who have presented at TED events around the world with their inspiring ideas.
Rebecca Dharmapalan is a 19-year-old artist and activist working to tackle one huge problem: child sex trafficking in the United States. It’s a problem many don’t realize exists – and yet it affects the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of girls. In 2015 alone, nearly 100,000 children were trafficked in the U.S.
Rebecca is using her voice to take a stand. She produced the documentary International Boulevard, which explores the stories and statistics of child sex trafficking in the U.S. The documentary has won numerous awards and been shown at several festivals, with one simple, empowering message: Love your children.
In 2015, Rebecca took the stage at TEDxTeen to discuss her documentary and her work, as well as her plans for the future.
Rebecca’s message is simple, but it reminds us of the power of love. Loving your children – loving all children – can help foster an inclusive, accepting environment to combat the culture of child sex trafficking. Today, Rebecca is working on a feature film to expose the entire industry of sex trafficking through complex, multidimensional characters, hard facts, and evidence. As she stated, “I am not a filmmaker, I am a changemaker.” We can’t wait to see the film.
-Tiffany Rhoades
Program Developer
Girl Museum Inc.