Thanks to columnist and blogger Marney McNall for this guest post, and for the work she does to shed light on this dark issue. Where Writers Win is a proud sponsor of Poetry For Their Freedom, a no-entry fee contest…

Human trafficking is the fastest growing crime in the world. Criminals buy, sell and trade human beings into the commercial sex industry and forced labor. As a writer, you can take up your pen to help combat this horrific form of modern-day slavery by submitting a poem to the Poetry For Their Freedom Contest on human trafficking and victims’ restoration of hope.

Submissions will be accepted until July 31, 2013. First prize includes $100 and a live reading at The A21 Campaign – U.S. East Coast office’s annual benefit, Be Their Freedom, that will be held on September 19, 2013 at Founders Hall at Charles Town Landing Historic Site, in Charleston, South Carolina. Additionally, the winning poem will be printed in the Be Their Freedom event program and placed on The A21 Campaign’s global Instagram site.

For submission guidelines and more info, please visit http://www.poetryfortheirfreedom.com. This contest has no entry fee.

A Few Facts You Should Know:

• Over 17,500 victims are transported across U.S. borders every year—and that doesn’t include U.S. citizens trafficked within their own country.[1] Nearly 33% of human trafficking victims in the U.S. are American.[2]

• The Internet is the number one platform currently used for buying and selling women and children in the United States.[3] The Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Forces noted more than a 1,000 percent increase in complaints of child prostitution from 2004 – 2008.[4]

• The U.S. National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates that at least 100,000 American children are the victims of commercial sex trafficking each year.[5]

• The average age of a trafficking victim is 12-14.

• The U.S. Justice Department’s National Incidence Study of Missing, Abducted, Runaway and Thrown-away Children estimates that as many as 1.7 million children run away from home each year. Within 48 hours of hitting the streets, it is estimated that 1/3 of these children are lured or recruited into prostitution and pornography.[6]

• An increasingly common place for traffickers to recruit? The classroom.[7]

About The A21 Campaign

The A21 Campaign is an international non-profit dedicated to abolishing injustice in the 21^st century. Combating human trafficking is the No. 1 priority. In 2012, The A21 Campaign opened its first U.S. east coast office in Charleston, South Carolina, adding to its domicile in California, as well as locations in England, Australia, Greece, Bulgaria, Ukraine and South Africa. Visit The A21 Campaign – U.S. East Coast office on Facebook to learn more about local efforts.

Become an active voice. Enter before July 31, 2013. www.poetryfortheirfreedom.com

Marney McNall began her writing career as a technical writer and authored a field manual on humanitarian operations for an agency in the U.S. government. “Writing has always been the best way for me to get my thoughts to coalesce and the topic of how and why people volunteer where they do, fascinates me.” She currently volunteers for The A21 Campaign, and was recently featured in Relevant Magazine.