Docufilm Trapped - in the sex trade

Did you know that approximately 68 children a hour, under the age of 18, are lured, coerced and romanced into the world of sex trafficking in the United States? 

I didn't either. 

As a mom…..that is not ok with me and I would imagine that is not ok with you either.

Hi, my name is Jan Edwards and I’m the President and CEO of Paving the Way and I’m committed to keeping kids safe and empowering them to not be a victim.

Two years ago I was invited to go to Ethiopia to do vision screenings and wow were my eyes opened to a whole new world. I learned that Ethiopia is the number one source of people being trafficked into the Middle East. I didn’t even know what trafficking was…

When I got home, our team began to do some research and imagine how shocked we were when we discovered this is a huge problem in our own state, let alone our own hometown .. In fact, according to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, Florida has the 3rd highest number of sex trafficking victims in the US, only behind California and Texas.

That translates to 4 children an hour being sexually exploited  in the city beautiful.*

Not ok with us - that's thousands of lives lost to this silent crime. 

Another frightening fact, the average age is just 12 years old. 


How can that be? We live in Happiest Place on Earth!!

We were stunned.

So, we went after the facts and interviewed officers at the FBI, the Florida Dept. of Law Enforcement, local police and survivors of sex trafficking asking - how can this happen?

More importantly, what's missing that will make THE difference.

Here's what we discovered awareness is missing. We’ve got to raise awareness!!!! 

With over 20 years experience in media, marketing, advertising and training, that was something we could tackle. 

So I wrote a film about a girl named Samantha, who's a good girl, from a good family, that moves to Orlando. At her new high school, she is romanced, lured and coerced into the world of trafficking. She's trapped, with no way out. 

Our film tackles the underbelly of trafficking - kids being recruited by other kids. 


After many months of planning, the stars aligned and we began filming in November of 2015. We are now in the process of editing it and final post production. Our goal is to have it ready to show in schools, churches, youth organizations, parks and recreation, summer camps, along with businesses - because this silent crime impacts you too. 

68 children an hour across the US become trapped in this world. Imagine the lives and human potential lost. YOU can help us stop this. 

Your funding will help us complete the film, market it and get it out to the public through film festivals, collaboration with other organizations like Florida Abolitionists,  and the educational community. Wherever kids are, we want them to see this film.  

Our first screening is in May in New York in partnership with BALCONY AND CUNY Brooklyn.

We are committed to getting this important message out to students, educators and parents to prevent their children from becoming victims by learning the signs and know what actions to take to protect themselves.

I personally invite you to join our team to stop trafficking today, empower our children and to save a life.  

Our children’s future is in your hands.







*National Human Trafficking Resource Center 2015 Reports