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Directed by: Sadhvi Siddhali Shree
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Released: 2022 (educational)
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Year of Production: 2021
Running Time: 70 min
Language: English
Subtitle Options: English Closed Captions
Subjects: Womens Studies
With 45 million sex trafficking victims worldwide, only 1% manage to escape or be rescued. Surviving Sex Trafficking examines the ongoing struggles of those survivors as they desperately fight to break free of their past, heal their bodies and minds, reconnect with a world of hope, and reclaim their lost humanity.
Jain monk Sadhvi Siddhali Shree, the filmmaker behind the award-winning documentary Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Traffic, uncovers the depth of pain felt by survivors as well as if and how they can truly recover. Through conversations with victims and trips to women’s shelters around the world, Surviving Sex Trafficking reveals their stories and how they escaped, how they continue to survive, and how they live day to day with the repressed trauma from the horrific events they experienced.
Shree directed and produced the film, with Sadhvi Anubhuti co-producing. Executive producers include Alyssa Milano, Jeannie Mai and Jeezy.
2022 Official Selection at Santa Fe Film Festival
"This documentary is an academic life preserver for any children to see and should encourage parents to foster serious life lesson dialogue with kids who already grow up too quickly these days, so sucked into the Internet where danger and inappropriate content lurks near every click." --Alliance of Women Film Journalists
About the filmmaker
With her team of filmmakers and monks, Shree travels the world to women’s shelters and to victims who are ready to talk, share their stories, and fight for a better future. With her upcoming sophomore feature Surviving Sex Trafficking, Shree calls for empathy and understanding for ostracized survivors to help them, and the world, heal from the tragic wounds caused by sex trafficking.
Shree met her spiritual guru after dissociating with the Catholic Church in high school, and later became the first North American female Jain monk. Her teachings helped her recover from PTSD resulting from serving as an Army medic. They also allowed her to reach a meditative state where she was able to recall child sexual abuse, which she suffered at the age of 6. Armed with her teachings as well as her passion to help survivors and end trafficking, she has devoted herself to aiding victims of abuse. To join the fight against sex trafficking and to support survivors, visit stoppingtraffic.orgSadhvi Siddhali Shree is a Jain monk, US Army veteran, social justice advocate, author, and documentary filmmaker. She has authored three books on her teachings, and found her calling after seeing a film about sex trafficking. It was then that she decided to work with activists to expose the horrors of the 150-billion-dollar industry. Her first film, Stopping Traffic: The Movement to End Sex Traffic, did just that, drawing awards from festivals as well as international attention on the important issue.
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