Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth (2011)

In 2007, a group of student photojournalists embarked on a journey through 20+ nations on every inhabitable continent, motivated by their love for photography and their passion for justice. At the outset, their experiences seemed diverse, even random. However, a common thread of human suffering emerged as their travels exposed them to a dark, seldom discussed side of humanity- children being bought and sold to satisfy the sexual pleasures of other humans. Upon returning to the United States the students produced a book called Sex+Money: A Global Search for Human Worth. This collection of photographs and stories explores the realities of human trafficking and offers readers a global perspective on the consequences of abusing two of the most powerful forces in the world: sex and money. While researching to write their book, the journalists were shocked to discover that the same injustice was happening on their own soil. Currently, across America, between 100,000 and 300,000 minors are being sexually exploited. Meanwhile, most Americans are oblivious to this staggering truth. As a result, what started as a Global Search for Human Worth became a National Search for Human Worth. Sex+Money: A National Search for Human Worth is a feature length documentary that follows a group of photojournalists as they travel in an RV on their second journey, this time across the United States, seeking to understand how the sexual exploitation of children has become the nation's fastest growing form of organized crime and what can be done to stop it. The goal of the Sex+Money documentary is to bring freedom to those enslaved.