FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Indie Rock Artist Challenges Men who Sexually Exploit Children in Atlanta

Atlanta, Georgia – 8 February 2012 – Indie rock artist, Janie Chu, targets men in Atlanta who exploit children for sex through an exclusive END DEMAND anti-trafficking PSA and benefit concert.

While Atlanta sleeps each night, nearly 100 girls are raped-for-profit; their sex sold to men by a shadow market of human trade. Janie Chu, a local Indie Rock artist, understands that by ending demand for the “product” (some “products” are only fourteen years old), the market for sexual trade will crumble.

Chu was shocked to hear that Atlanta was being regarded as an international hub for human trafficking in the United States. After months of researching present-day slavery, Chu learned that little was being done to address the demand-side of commercial human trafficking.

“It’s my belief that to stop the trafficking of underage children, and protect victims as well as help survivors, men need to be educated on ending demand,” Chu wrote on her website. “Get rid of demand, cripple the industry.”

Human trafficking is the enslavement and trade of human beings for the purposes of forced labor or sexual exploitation. It’s a multi-billion dollar industry with money changing hands right here in America. According to the U.S. government, nearly 17,500 modern-day slaves are trafficked across U.S. borders each year.

With the help of Atlanta non-profits A Future. Not A Past. and Street GRACE, Chu and friend, Samantha Murphy, created and produced a public service announcement which educates men in Georgia on the issue of human trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of children. “Buy sex, buy rape. It’s that simple,” Chu says in a video gaining traction on YouTube.

Chu’s latest album, The Human Condition (Feb. 2012), features the single “Dear John,” a personal appeal addressing the role of men who fuel demand for sex trafficking. “I really wanted to communicate my heart on the issue to bring the buyers, and men, into the forefront.”

The Human Condition will be released at the Drunken Unicorn on February 23, 2012 in Atlanta as part of the END DEMAND Benefit Concert, which will raise funds to aid A Future. Not A Past. and Street GRACE in their efforts to fight human trafficking at the local level. Details can be found on Street GRACE’s website.

Help end demand by visiting: http://www.streetgrace.org

Learn more about A Future. Not A Past.: www.afuturenotapast.org

Janie Chu music: www.janiechu.com

Contact:

Matthew Snyder

matthew.la.snyder@gmail.com

2610 Kensington Alley

Gainesville, GA 30504

316.655.6835