Meet Jillian Mourning. She’s one of our five Do Something Awards nominees and is in the running for $100,000 towards her work with sex trafficking. When she was 19-years-old, Jillian took a break from college to start her modeling career. One night, her manager and his friends broke into her hotel room and raped her. After a 6-month long nightmare where she was blackmailed and forced into sex trafficking, Jillian was able to escape. She went back to school and studied international genocide and violence against women. Since then, the now 25-year-old took her experience, coupled with her knowledge of the issue and launched All We Want is LOVE (Liberation of Victims Everywhere). This is amazeballs! Jillian’s org not only raises awareness about sex trafficking, but also provides training to those who could come in contact with it.
We got a chance to talk to her about what she’s doing. Check out our interview below:
DoSomething.org: How did you feel when you first learned of the problem you're addressing?
Jillian Mourning: I remember watching Dateline NBC in April of 1997 on a Friday night with my grandma and great grandma. At 9-years-old, I watched this episode focused on sex trafficking that told the story of a woman who was sold after applying for a job in the Czech Republic as a maid. Her face, story, and the subject never left my mind. At age 9 the problem only resonated so deep and I did not understand fully this form of modern day slavery. I did not know how much the subject matter of that show would tie into my life 10 years later. Ironically, I didn’t associate myself as a human trafficking victim until months after completing my thesis on the issue. I thought, 'How can people sell other humans and make billions of dollars without our whole world being in uproar about it?' It also surprised me the lack of resources going into prevention, education, rescue, rehabilitation as well as prosecuting traffickers and pimps. After reading about my trafficker, and seeing the words trafficker associated with him, it was a gut wrenching experience to realize that was me. I had an emotional breakdown, which opened my eyes to the fact that I couldn't stay silent. People had always assumed it could not happen to “girls like me,” but I was living proof that no one is immune.
DS: How do you feel about it now?
JM: I am more passionate about this cause than I ever could have imagined. I am still surprised how many people think, “It doesn’t happen here, it cannot happen to me or my family, surely that’s just a poverty problem.” The lack of education on sex trafficking and the meticulous business of selling human beings frustrates me, but simultaneously gives me extreme purpose and knowing that I have the ability to change this one person, one businesses, one group at a time. I am thankful though that more cities, states, countries, and most importantly individuals, want to fight this epidemic. I am hopeful that there will be continued impact made through my organization and all of the other amazing organizations fighting this issue.
DS: What person or experience sticks with you from when you first started your project?
JM: I had a survivor reach out to me with her story – her childhood robbed of her, sold for years to men, and eventually found under a bridge by undercover cops, just to be charged with prostitution. She thanked me for speaking out and changing the stigma because she felt like the charge brought her societal shame. She went on to say that people did not understand what she had endured and looked at her as a prostitute who chose that lifestyle rather than a child who was prostituted. To have a stranger confide in you about something life changing and as horrible as this, thank me, and want my help, stuck with me. This wasn’t about me (even though this has been my therapy), but rather all of the girls that can see themselves in me who have also been exploited or those who see themselves in me from who I was before and aret able to protect themselves.
DS: Can you describe the moment you knew you were actually making a difference?
JM: I get that feeling all the time! There are so many ways God has affirmed my decision to do this that I continually am amazed. I was recently at a golf tournament and looking for friends, when a woman said I could stand with her until I found them. She asked what I did and I told her about my trafficking work. “That’s amazing,” she said. “My daughter is in 10th grade at Charlotte Latin and is doing her high school project on human trafficking after hearing this girl speak who was a survivor.” I was almost speechless and told her I was the girl who spoke at Charlotte Latin who was a survivor. “Well I hope you know you greatly impacted the life of a 15-year-old girl,” she replied. “My daughter hasn’t stopped talking about it and is helping to get the student group (Student Traffick) off the ground at Latin.” That was an incredible feeling to know I was able to spark an interest and educate on the issue to one of the highest vulnerable groups to sex trafficking.
DS: What has surprised you the most about the journey that has taken you here today?
JM: All of it, I look back to a year ago and my organization was just a dream that I wasn’t living. In a matter of a couple weeks my organization was legalized and in six months I had reached people all over the world. I was being asked to speak at schools, colleges, conferences, and other things alike. I was surprised that after I had heard how challenging things would be, that I did not have to ask for much and people were requesting me. Today, I have reached hundreds of thousands of people on the issue and am making a difference not just in my community, like I originally thought, but all over the world. What started as something I thought could help Charlotte, North Carolina has turned into something that is impacting cities and individuals everywhere.
DS: What advice do you have for other young leaders who are having a tough time getting their ideas off of the ground?
JM: Never give up and trust your instincts. Also, do not be afraid to ask! The vast majority of the help and progress I have made is by asking people to help me make it happen. Whether you need legal help, business advice, marketing, whatever it is to grow your idea, there ARE people who will help you. We all have a story, a voice, and a passion, but without letting it be known, you will not have proper support. You have to make it your life and let everyone know what you are trying to accomplish. Getting people involved and passionate about your cause becomes contagious, but you cannot be afraid.
