Synopses & Reviews
They are Americas forgotten children, the hundreds of thousands of child prostitutes who walk the Las Vegas Strip, the casinos of Atlantic City, the truck stops on interstates, and the street corners of our cities. Many people wrongly believe sex trafficking involves young women from foreign lands. In reality, the majority of teens caught in the sex trade are American girls--runaways and throwaways who become victims of ruthless pimps.
In Somebody's Daughter: The Hidden Story of America's Prostituted Children and the Battle to Save Them, meet the girls who are fighting for their dignity, the cops who are trying to rescue them, and the community activists battling to protect the nation's most forsaken children. Author Julian Sher takes you behind the scenes to expose one of Americas most underreported crimes: A girl from New Jersey gets arrested in Las Vegas and, at great risk to her own life, helps the FBI take down a million-dollar pimping empire. An abused teenager in Texas has the courage to take the stand in a grueling trial that sends her pimp away for 75 years. Survivors of the sex trade in New York, Phoenix, and Minneapolis set up shelters and rescue centers that offer young girls a chance to break free from the streets. “The sex trade is the new drug trade,” says one FBI special agent, and Somebody's Daughter is a call to action, shining a light on Americas dirty little secret.
Review
"If you ever watched Pretty Woman and wondered how Julia Roberts got out on street in the first place—read this book. Somebody's Daughter exposes the grit behind the glamour, the exploitation behind the elegance, and the violence and abuse that are the true story of the women and children hurt on our own streets, in our own cities in America." —Laura J. Lederer, president, Global Centurion, former senior advisor on trafficking, U.S. Department of State
Synopsis
Shocking and gritty, this work contains firsthand accounts of terror and abuse from prostituted children--and the law enforcement officers and community activists working to save them. While detailing the necessity for substantive legal and cultural change on the national level in regard to prostitution, pimps, and children's rights, this book also provides encouraging stories of new, pioneering law enforcement initiatives and child-recovery strategies reaping positive results in urban areas inundated with children victimized by sexual exploitation and violence, such as Las Vegas, Atlantic City, New York City, Phoenix, and Dallas. This updated paperback edition includes a new, four-page afterword by the author, with updates on new laws and initiatives and follow-ups on some of the young women discussed in the book. A call to awareness and action for parents, legislators, and educators, this examination exposes this country's dirty secret.
Synopsis
They are America's forgotten children, the hundreds of thousands of child prostitutes who walk the Las Vegas Strip, the casinos of Atlantic City, the truck stops on interstates, and the street corners of our cities. Many people wrongly believe sex trafficking involves young women from foreign lands. In reality, the majority of teens caught in the sex trade are American girls--runaways and throwaways who become victims of ruthless pimps.
In Somebody's Daughter: The Hidden Story of America's Prostituted Children and the Battle to Save Them, meet the girls who are fighting for their dignity, the cops who are trying to rescue them, and the community activists battling to protect the nation's most forsaken children. Author Julian Sher takes you behind the scenes to expose one of America's most underreported crimes: A girl from New Jersey gets arrested in Las Vegas and, at great risk to her own life, helps the FBI take down a million-dollar pimping empire. An abused teenager in Texas has the courage to take the stand in a grueling trial that sends her pimp away for 75 years. Survivors of the sex trade in New York, Phoenix, and Minneapolis set up shelters and rescue centers that offer young girls a chance to break free from the streets. "The sex trade is the new drug trade," says one FBI special agent, and Somebody's Daughter is a call to action, shining a light on America's dirty little secret.
About the Author
Julian Sher is an award-winning investigative journalist, TV writer and director, and the author of six books. The New York Times, USA Today, CNN, and the BBC have featured his reporting on child abuse.