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PHOENIX - There are approximately 40.3 million victims of human trafficking in the world, with a large percentage of them being women of color, according to the International Labour Organization.
Here in the Valley, one man is working to change that one step at a time.
Respect Our Daughters President Frantz Beasley has started a 500-mile walk through the city of Phoenix to raise awareness about sex trafficking.
"Every morning it's 12 miles until we get to a little over 500," said Beasley.
The walk began at the Arizona State Capitol on Jan. 1 and will end on Feb. 12 in Glendale - the day of the Super Bowl.
Beasley plans to start every morning at around 4 a.m. to raise awareness about the issue.
"In 2020 for instance, of the 250,000 individuals - the women and girls alone - that went missing, 100,000 of those are Black, brown and indigenous," said Beasley. "African Americans make up 13.5% of the population, [and] we're just talking about the women and girls out of that group."
"Black women and girls make up 40% of those being trafficked right now. When you start seeing how such a small group makes up a majority of the numbers - that's a very scary statistic," Beasley continued.
Learn more: https://www.respectourdaughters.org/notforsale
Get the latest route, meetup information here: https://www.respectourdaughters.org/events
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