On November 4th 2014, Celia, Campbell, Maxine and I met Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle, a sexual trafficking specialist. We were slightly nervous at the beginning of our meeting for we had never conducted an interview before. However, Mary Ellen was very warm, welcoming and very appreciative that eighth graders were taking on such a heavy issue. Currently, Sister Mary speaks at many schools, churches and other gathering as well as working with sexual trafficking victims at a safe house. This safe house with a confidential location insulates women from five different countries for one year time while the recover physically and emotionally. Our group started off by asking Mary Ellen broad questions such as, “How do you feel about sexual trafficking?” to which her response was, “Sexual trafficking is one of the main social evils of our day.” This eventually lead to more of a open-ended and less formal conversation. Mary Ellen taught us many interesting facts having to do with modern day slavery, like how the chocolate and fishing industries have a numerous amount of young children whom are forced to work in factories with unsustainable conditions. An extra plus was that Mary Ellen taught us the signs of sex trafficking and what to do if we see a situation that could involve the exploitation of a girl/woman. Something I didn’t know until speaking with her was JFK international airport and 42nd Street (Port Authority) train station are big hubs for sexual trafficking. Most importantly, we learned that sexual trafficking really boils down to gender inequality and how women are portrayed in the media, along with poverty and race.

Meeting with Sister Mary Ellen O’Boyle was an eye-opening experience and great introduction to our social justice topic. After speaking with her, I started to notice the things that promote sex trafficking, for example, when someone say “you guys” even when referring to girls or the numerous. I had not only learned about her personal story, but how the idea of sexual trafficking constantly appears in our everyday lives. Immediately after the interview, we scheduled for Mary Ellen to come into our school and speak about our safety and how we can be activists towards sex trafficking. This will be beneficial to many groups such as women in the media, and children in poverty. Overall, Mary Ellen really informed us and changed our views about sex trafficking in the United States letting us see a more realistic and unfortunately, brutal picture. Her determination and impactful deeds regarding sex trafficking victims, led us to believe with her positive attitudes, we can also spark change.