Four local women team up to fight against human trafficking

Four women from the Manhattan Illinois area, have teamed up to start their own fight against human trafficking and sexual exploitation against children. Taylor Novak, Elisabeth Villarreal, Jenna Ferguson and Alicia Hrvatin have been working tirelessly over the past few weeks to raise awareness and to make sure this serious issue in the world does not get ignored. These women want to bring awareness to their community, Chicagoland and the world.

The women first started out by creating a Facebook group called "Chicagoland Against Human Trafficking". It started out with just 100 members and within 24 hours their group was rapidly growing. The group has now been in existence for a couple of weeks and already has 6000 members. The women are aware that the group covers uncomfortable topics but they want to make sure these crimes against humans do not get ignored and they plan to continue to bring attention to what they call a $150 billion dollar industry. The group researches and shares from reliable sources, posts local stories, and shares information about peaceful demonstrations that are happening around the Chicagoland area. The Facebook group has not only received attention from the Chicagoland area but also nationwide with stories from all over the world being shared and with members joining from all over.

On Sunday August 30, 2020 the Chicagoland Against Human Trafficking Facebook group organized it’s first peaceful demonstration at the intersection of Jefferson and Larkin in Joliet Illinois. The event took place from Noon to 3pm and it was their first peaceful demonstration. The group did not expect the successful turnout that they had. They had a lot of interest on their event page on Facebook but they were pleasantly surprised to see over 40 people attend from all over the Chicagoland area. The activists held signs that said, “Save Our Children,” “Where did 800,000 children go,” “End Human Trafficking” and more.

The women were so happy with the attention that the first demonstration got that they are holding a second peaceful demonstration. Their next event will be September 27 from Noon to 3pm in Romeoville at the intersection of Weber Rd and Airport Rd. They invite all to attend and encourage you to bring signs, masks and practice social distancing. They also invite you to join their Facebook group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1319784401695360 and they encourage you to share articles that are resourceful and educate yourself.

#saveourchildren