INDUSTRY INSIGHT
The Business of
THE ARTS By Meaghan Branham
Not For Sale
The LifeBoat Project and JCFilms Team Up to Stop Human Trafficking
C
an a movie with a message change the world? The teams behind The Lifeboat Project and JCFilms Studios have teamed up with a new big-screen project that answers that question with a resounding “Yes.”
The film, titled Not For Sale: Florida, is the latest development in The Lifeboat Project’s decade of fighting to combat human trafficking. Founded in Orlando, which is ranked number three in the nation for human trafficking rates, The Lifeboat Project has been lauded for its holistic approach since its launch in 2013. Founder and CEO Jill Cohen recalls an “Aha!” moment when the nonprofit first started and she was speaking with team members of Freedom Network USA, a national coalition that fights for human trafficking survivors. “They told me, ‘If you’re only bringing awareness and training, and
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you don’t have a game plan for housing and services, you’re doing a grave injustice to the victims and to the community.’ That hit me like a ton of bricks. From then on, I knew we needed to continue to assist people after they’d escaped these situations.” Human traffickers force people into slave labor or commercial sex acts through violence, manipulation, or false promises of well-paying jobs or romantic relationships, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The problem occurs on an enormous scale: Worldwide, nearly 40.3 million people have lost their freedom to human trafficking. Traffickers prey on people who are susceptible through psychological or emotional vulnerability, economic hardship or lack of a safety net. They target people of all ages and backgrounds, and they know their victims are too afraid to go to the authorities. The issue has been thrust into the global spotlight in recent months because of the
MEAGHAN BRANHAM is the managing editor for i4 Business, where she oversees the company’s digital media strategy, handles client relationship marketing for the print and digital magazines, and serves as one of the publication’s lead writers. A native of Brevard County, she splits her time between Central Florida and Nashville, Tennessee.
