“It is important for my family and I to know that these men that hurt me are in jail, so that other children don’t suffer what I suffered.”

These words were spoken by a woman named Griselda, a survivor of sexual violence, who was helped by the International Justice Mission.

Like the International Justice Mission (IJM), there are many anti-human trafficking nonprofits that focus their efforts on prosecuting the perpetrators of these horrific crimes.

According to IJM, when the justice system in a country is not functioning as it should, the average person is much more likely to experience an act of violence against them.

“When the laws aren’t enforced, violent people can abuse, exploit and enslave others without consequence. Violence becomes commonplace.”

To  this end, IJM has had over 1,300 convictions against perpetrators of human trafficking and is currently protecting 150,000,000 people from violence. Just this past month, IJM was recognized for playing a large role in rescuing 155 enslaved people, along with 31 children from a brick kiln in Avadi, India.

What do you think? Do you believe that legal prosecution of violators of human trafficking should be a priority? Or do you think efforts would be better spent on the survivors themselves?

For more information, check out the video below or go to http://www.ijm.org.