Anita Chen, who is running for House Representative of California’s 17th Congressional District as a Republican, is passionate about combating human trafficking.
“It’s far more prevalent than most of us imagine. When we think of child sex trafficking, most of us picture a poor Guatemalan girl sold by her family to a brothel,” she said. “But the reality is that the vast majority of child sex trafficking cases in the United States are of American youth.”
District 17 consists of Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Santa Clara, Milpitas, Newark, and parts of Fremont and San Jose. Ms. Chen is a San Jose native and a teacher; her election campaign is centered on “restoring public safety, preserving educational freedom, and eliminating human trafficking at a national scale.”
Born to immigrant parents from Taiwan, Ms. Chen struggled with English, as it was not her first language. However, through diligent studying, she went on to win a national speech competition during her senior year of high school.
“I always loved words. I loved reading … but when the time came for me to produce those words on my own … to speak for myself, somehow it didn’t come as naturally,” she said. “When I was finally able to meet a good teacher, I soaked up everything that she would teach me, so much so that I was able to teach it to others [and help them] find confidence in their own voice and knowing that their ideas hold great value.”
Ms. Chen started her own international education firm.
Last summer, she began researching child sex trafficking in the United States and realized it was far more prevalent than she ever imagined.
“Because I live in the Bay Area, a lot of these cases were happening in my backyard,” she said. “As I read these heartbreaking statistics it became clear to me that the children in the statistics that I was reading about were not very different from the children that were sitting in my classroom.”
She said that if she was encouraging her students to use their voices to speak up and inspire change, then she herself needed to speak up. As someone who had watched politics for a long time, she felt it was her time to enter this arena.
Ms. Chen said many child sex trafficking victims have been involved in the child welfare system, such as foster care.
“The political response, in my view, has not nearly been sufficient,” she said.
In California, to purchase a child for sex is a misdemeanor, which is the same as shoplifting.
“The law evolves and takes time, and unfortunately this is not one that has escalated to the level that it should have been,” she said. “I know Senator Shannon Grove is doing great work on this issue, and I applaud her efforts in moving it from a misdemeanor to something far more severe.”
Creating “a standard by which we measure and judge and enforce the law on these issues” is one of Ms. Chen’s campaign goals.
“It’s easy for emotions to run high and use it as a talking point. But unfortunately these cases continue to happen and continue to proliferate. There have been former traffickers who’ve testified that the reason why they had continued to engage in trafficking is because it was such a profitable commodity. For child sex trafficking, the supply is always there. You can sell drugs once, but a human person 10 to 15 times a day,” she said.
Despite the severity of these crimes, there are still some who try to downplay them, she said.
“For anyone who might say, ‘Well, it’s not that bad,’ I would have them imagine a child they love, whether it’s their own child or a niece or nephew, and imagine that sort of horrific abuse happening to them,” she said.
Realizing it’s not the most popular topic, Ms. Chen nonetheless understands the importance of speaking out and addressing this issue.
“It’s difficult to have political clout with an issue like this,” Ms. Chen said. “But I think it’s so important that we do look at it, because to me, the most accurate measure of justice … is the way that we treat the most vulnerable.”
Ms. Chen credits the movie “Sound of Freedom” for “creating a spotlight on this issue in ways it didn’t have before.”
“Secrecy breeds this type of exploitation,” she said. “So the more spotlight and awareness we can bring to this issue, the better.”
Ms. Chen said that addressing human trafficking will remain at the forefront of her campaign.
“[It’s] the reason that I began this campaign—to be a voice for the voiceless—it will always be top [of] mind for me,” she said.
She said a top priority of her campaign is “dignity restoration,” which is what she calls it instead of “anti-child trafficking,” to have a more positive tone and focus on how we can help victims.
She hopes to restore the dignity of these children “through the justice system and a holistic system that allows them to reclaim their lives.”
Ms. Chen encourages parents to not be afraid of having uncomfortable conversations with their children and telling them, “This is your body, and you don’t allow anybody else to touch it. If somebody does, you come tell Mommy and Daddy.
“Because it’s such a delicate issue, it’s essential that we understand the reasons it happens, what it looks like, how it shows up, and the things we can do that are actually helpful rather than hurtful,” she said.
In some cases, trafficked children are allowed to go home at night, so their parents remain unaware. The children are threatened into secrecy.
Ms. Chen said many students who have been trafficked reported being at school at some point while being trafficked.
She urges fellow educators to be able to detect signs, for everybody to gain a better understanding of human trafficking, and for people to utilize their votes to create change.
“I would also urge those who feel passionate about this topic to exchange their passion for long-term advocacy and education,” she said.
“There’s a resounding voice that our participation [and voting] doesn’t matter. I can understand that disappointment and the sense of helplessness,” she said. “Our voices through our votes still matter … so I would strongly encourage anyone who feels discouraged to consider the way in which your vote really, really does matter.”
