This week in Waterloo Region, a 20-year-old woman was convicted of trafficking a 15-year-old girl for sex. In the first 8 months of 2019, 75 cases were being investigated by Waterloo Regional Police. It is widely understood that most cases are never reported. The average age of victims is 12 to 15. Ninety-three percent are female. Accessed through technology and driven by demand and profit, our children and young people are easy targets for traffickers. Human sex trafficking is the sale of humans for sex. It involves deceit, force, coercion and control of a person by threats of emotional, mental and sometimes physical violence for sexual exploitation and forced commercial sex. Awareness is the first step towards action.