Shame of the cities

Trafficking | Tens of thousands of young girls are being forced into prostitution in the United States; activist Linda Smith wants to know what Americans—and Christians—are prepared to do about it | Mark Bergin

Lezlie Sterling/Sacramento Bee/MCT/Newscom

VANCOUVER, Wash.—The headquarters of Shared Hope International is humble, occupying a rickety storefront on a side street in Vancouver, Wash. The organization's staff is small, about 17. But the cause of this decade-old nonprofit is grand—and the impact of its efforts immeasurable.

At 12 years old, Tanya was not unlike millions of other American girls—pretty, intelligent, ambitious. But on her walk to school one day, a seemingly chance encounter with an older boy would lead to a hellish lifestyle of beatings and sexual slavery.

It began innocuously enough, a compliment here, a car ride there. Before long, the pair was a couple. Then everything changed—power plays, manipulation, physical abuse. Tanya was too young to resist and too emotionally attached to leave: "When I realized that my boyfriend was a pimp, I thought, well, I guess that's just the way it is, and I did what he told me."