USC's chapter of the International Justice Mission is a unique student organization that provides students with the opportunity to both raise awareness about human trafficking and work directly with victims.
Recently, the group traveled to Atlanta to participate in an Out of Darkness’ weekly Princess Night. During Princess Night, USC volunteers team up with Out of Darkness team members to go out to the streets of Atlanta and speak to prostitutes, share a message of encouragement and try to stop the cycle of sex trafficking.
When the volunteers arrived in Atlanta, they went through a brief training session where they were told what to expect on the streets and what to do in different situations.
The volunteers' tasks varied depending on their gender. If the volunteer was a woman, then she would hand out roses and talk to the prostitutes. If the volunteer was a male, then he would watch out for the women volunteers and keep distractions away.
During these exchanges, volunteers would give them messages of encouragement, ask them whether they wanted to pray with them and let them know that they could reach out to Out of Darkness if they ever needed help or wanted to get out of their current environment.
First-year criminal justice student Skylar Semn was one of the students on the trip, and she was moved by the conversations she had.
“One of the things we asked them as we were talking to them besides their name was, 'Is there something you want us to pray with you about?' And the first woman I talked to, her immediate response was yes," she said.
There were no women who chose to go back with the volunteers, but participants said there were fewer people in the streets than there were in the previous semester.
On last semester's trip, the volunteer group had the chance to witness and interact with a group of men who were planning on buying sex.
“Interacting with them put a face to [a] group that is often [villainized] and made me realize how important it is to understand their mindset and work to change it,” said Nathan Duvall, a third-year economics student and volunteer on that trip.
For a student like Megan Rigabar, a third-year global studies and Spanish student, the International Justice Mission is a chance to make a real impact on a serious issue.
“I would love people to know that it is possible for them to make a positive impact on human trafficking," Rigabar said. "Human trafficking often seems like a very faraway crime that happens in developing countries, when in reality it's a massive issue here in the United States."