Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher Launch Foundation to End Human Trafficking

Freedom -- it's in our DNA.

That statement is both truth and a tag line. Specifically, it's the tag line for the Demi and Ashton Foundation (DNA), which was launched today. DNA's mission is to help raise awareness about and eventually bring an end to human trafficking, and it was created by Hollywood power couple Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher. You can check the website out here.

DNA is the next step in what has been a long and growing commitment of both Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore to bringing attention to modern-day slavery. Currently, the website is little more than a slickly-designed home page with some basic information, but the launch date is listed as today. So we can expect that DNA is in its nascent stage and will be growing soon.

One promising sign of such growth is a list of links to existing anti-trafficking NGOs, which I hope means that DNA plans to work with existing origanzations as a partner. And, in what has become Ashton's signature style, the site is thick with Twitterati and suggested people and organizations to follow on his favorite short-form communication tool.

But aside from being exceedingly social networking literate, what will DNA do? Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore are in the position to take their foundation in any number of directions. They could go the route that Lindsey Lohan took, blowing into India for a few hours and pronouncing all the children who braided her hair "saved" by the power of tea tree oil conditioner. But Ashton and Demi both have more substance than that. I think they have a mature understanding of human trafficking and are ready and willing to learn even more -- a valuable trait in a celebrity ally.

So what can DNA do for the abolitionist movement? For one, it can be a tool to channel the star power of its two famous backers into a number of worthy projects. Ashton has been vocal over Twitter about some of the scary truths behind prostitution, like the fact that the average age of entry is 13. He has the opportunity to be a role model for teens and tweens, both male and female, and help them understand the reality behind the commercial sex industry that is so often lauded in pimp culture. Demi, too, has the opportunity to use her status and career as a trendsetter. If she showed up at the Oscars wearing a piece of jewelry made by human trafficking survivors, what a run on that accessory there would be!

And, of course, DNA has the power to help their famous founders to raise funds for any number of anti-trafficking organizations or fund organizations and projects themselves. Money from celebrity-endorsed foundations can be considered cliche, but it's one of the most powerful tools in the fight against human trafficking. And I don't know a single NGO in the trenches rescuing victims or finding traffickers that couldn't use more of it.

While the DNA website currently mentions sex trafficking, I hope they expand their mission to include human trafficking into all industries. Women and children who are enslaved as domestic servants, factory workers, agricultural workers, and in other labor sectors are sexually abused and raped during their enslavement. Some experts believe labor trafficking is growing faster than sex trafficking, and the two are connected to the same criminal networks.

Bravo to Demi and Ashton for what looks like a promising project which will bring greater attention and resources to the fight against human trafficking. I'm looking forward to seeing how it unfolds in the coming months. And my invitation to Ashton to blog here stands more now than ever before. I also accept signed photos.

Photo credit: Josh Jensen