After this, Martin considered becoming a lawyer to fight against child prostitution and trafficking. “The more I researched,” Martin says, “the more I realized that there are a lot of laws already, but they aren’t enforced and there isn’t enough money.”

Since March of 2005, Martin has worked as an unpaid volunteer alongside Jake Collins, whom she met through a mutual friend. She recently started traveling to a prominent red-light district in Central America once a month to investigate the situation and build relationships with girls down there.

“I want people in America to become aware of what’s going on here so that, eventually, they respond with funding that we can use in the source countries, to help get their local law enforcement people working on their own problems,” says Martin.

“We can’t allow people to get overwhelmed by this,” adds Martin. “Everyone can help.”

For more information about what you can do to help stop child prostitution and trafficking, visit www.TinyStars.org.