In the past few years alone, Georgia has identified hundreds of victims of child sex trafficking and many youth who are vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. While victim services and legislative awareness continues to grow, there is a critical voice missing from the public dialogue—the voice of youth. youthSpark has seen a dramatic increase in the number of youth-led groups searching for ways to take a stand against trafficking. stART2end is our way of engaging youth on their terms.

stART2end is an art competition created by teens and designed to engage teens in a safe way using creativity, art, and social media to amplify their voices. Our goal is to give teens a way to lift up their voice, because it is their friends and classmates who are bought and sold as products. This is their social justice issue. The following submissions were created by high school teens across the Atlanta metro area. The submissions revolve around three themes: educating the public on the child sex trafficking, social media awareness, and victim support and alliance.

Vote for the entry you feel best engages with the spirit of the stART2end competition. This could mean an entry that best explains the issue of trafficking, sheds an unexpected light or perspective, or one you simply find most creative. Voting will close at 12PM on January 22nd. The names of the artist are below the image and the form to vote is linked at the bottom of the post. Thanks for participating!