The Sexual Assault Prevention and Response office will offer a special presentation of the undercover documentary film The Abolitionists Oct. 27 from 1-3 p.m. at the base theater.
The purpose of the presentation is to provide an opportunity for base personnel and community partners to attend an event emphasizing the importance of combating trafficking in persons.
Gerald Molen, Academy Award-winning producer of Schindler’s List, brings the fight against child sex-trafficking to the big screen with the release of The Abolitionists.
The film features undercover footage of former CIA and Homeland Security operative Tim Ballard, founder and CEO of Utah non-profit Operation Underground Railroad, conducting rescue operations around the world.
Human trafficking has become the world’s fastest growing crime with over 27 million people enslaved–nearly 2 million of them children. The Abolitionists takes viewers behind the scenes as Ballard and his team of highly trained operatives risk their own lives to free innocent children from captivity.
On Dec. 10, 2013, Ballard turned in his Homeland Security badge and resigned from the U.S. government after spending a decade rescuing children from child sex tourism domestically and overseas. Though his job was difficult, he was proud that his country was one of very few in the world confronting this problem. However, despite the U.S. government’s best efforts, Ballard observed that red tape and bureaucracy left many children falling through the cracks. These children constitute over 90 percent of the children lost to child sex slavery and Ballard could do nothing to help them while employed by the U.S. government.
Now, through O.U.R., Ballard and his team investigate and rescue enslaved children from around the world as undercover film crews posing as traffickers record each of these dangerous operations. Using hidden cameras and surveillance equipment, directors Darrin Fletcher and Chet Thomas capture every moment of the freedom fighters triumphing over evil. The documentary will leave viewers inspired to join in the fight of The Abolitionists.
Following the film, movie director Darrin Fletcher and the members of the O.U.R. Jump Team will provide a short presentation and Q&A session speaking on their experiences and the content contained in the movie, as they have experienced and seen the effects firsthand.
To register for the event, contact Edie Davis or Melissa Rueschhoff at hillctip@gmail.com or visit https://www.eventbrite.com/e/special-showing-the-abolitionists-tickets-28241684639.
Team Hill CTIP Program Manager – 801-777-1985
