On September 24th, Designers Against Child Slavery will have their debut exhibition in Columbia, SC. We will feature work from 30 graphic artists from all over the world.
Come out for a night full of art, music, and free food. Listen to guest speakers from The Blind Project and Compassion International
Come out and support us! Details are below.
When: September 24th
Where: 701 Whaley St. Columbia, SC
Time: 7:00pm - 11:00pm
Bram Vanhaeren is a freelance graphic designer/illustrator from Antwerpen, Belgium. Bram has been a huge part of DACS since the start. He has been featured in countless places including Advanced Photoshop and Computer Arts Magazine and on websites like Abduzeedo and Psdtuts.
DACS is made up of artists from all over the world. To the right you can see a few of the artists who have participated in our first exhibition. They range from the US to Poland, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, and even Thailand.
If it were not for the hard work of the people you see to the right, DACS would not be possible. So if you have contributed to DACS in anyway, we want to say thank you, for making DACS possible. You ARE Designers Against Child Slavery
Art
We are always looking for volunteers to help out with our exhibitions.
Email John Mark Herskind at johnmark_dacsunited.com and he will explain what we need.
DACS believes that art is a very powerful form of communication. So what better way to communicate the reality of a horrible injustice then to get creative!?
As much as we hate it, we can't do what we do with out donations. If you really want to help us with telling the world about sex trafficking, please consider donating.
About DACS
Designers Against Child Slavery is a Design Collective that enables creatives from all over the world to rise up against the sex trade. We want to see how effective artists can be when they start breaking the boundaries of culture, race, religion, and backgrounds to unite for a just cause, and use their unique styles and talents to give a voice to the voiceless.
We are a group of artists with a passion for making a difference in our world. We leverage our unique gifts and styles to produce artwork, to raise awareness of the injustice of sex trafficking and inspiring others to use their talents to impact the world around us.
About the sex trade
Over the past few decades, sex trafficking has reached epidemic proportions. Its estimated that one third of the worlds sex trafficking takes place in Asia, and 30% of the victims are children. Hundreds of thousands of girls and boys are believed to be enslaved in the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia and other countries in an underground industry that inflicts horrible emotional and physical pain to these young lives.
There are an estimated 2 million children enslaved worldwide, with approzimately 225,000 women and children being trafficked out of South East Asia annually. The average age of the victims is between 10 and 18 years old, but children have been found as young as 5 years old. These victims are often required to have sex with as many as 15 men a day. If they refuse they are threatened, beaten, and starved. It is estimated that 50-90% of children rescued from brothels in parts of Southeast Asia are infected with HIV.
Although many people are removed forcibly from their families for the purpose of trafficking, many others go willingly, choosing to believe their traffickers promise of a better life. This deceit is all too common. A Cambodian study found that 85 percent of victims were trafficked by someone close to them, someone from within the family, a friend, neighbor or boyfriend.
There are many reasons for the dramatic increase in the trafficking of women and children such as globalization, domestic servitude, cheap labor, marriage, adoption, prostitution, child pornography including the more recent practice of live internet child abuse, and child sex tourism. Weak law enforcement and lack of community awareness as well as the lure of easy money have helped to make this industry boom.
Facts
There are an estimated 2,000,000 children enslaved in the global Sex trade.
200,000 - 250,000 women and children are trafficked out of Southeast Asia every year.
The sex trade brings in 9 billion dollars in annual revenue. Making it the second most lucrative illegal industry in the world just behind drug dealing.
Children enslaved in the sex trade can be as young as 5 years old.
These young girls are expected to have sex with up to 15 men a day.
If they refuse to perform, then they are beaten, starved and threatened.
50-90% of children rescued from brothels in Southeast Asia are infected with HIV.
Virgins are highly sought after in the sex trade, and purchased for as much as $750.
Many girls are tricked in to the slave trade, by the promise of a better life. They are often betrayed by a family member, or a new found "Friend".
While many people think of young girls being trafficked for sex, it is not uncommon to find young boys working in the brothels.
Child sex tourism is where a person from their country of origin travels to another country to engage in sexual acts with children.
25% of child sex tourists are US citizens.
DACS Exhibitions
DACS believes that art is a very powerful form of communication. Artists down through the ages have used various forms of art, and so today's digital artists take their place in a long line of outspoken citizens of the world. Designers Against Child Slavery calls artists from all over the worldto collaborate and hold exhibitions based on certain themes related to trafficking.
To view an exhibition, click on the name of the exhibition located in the menu bar to the right.
Exposé is coming September 25th!!!
Check out our media section!
Check out all of our videos. If you want to help us out, it would be great if you could share some on facebook!
DACS is made up of artists from all over the world. To the right you can see a few of the artists who have participated in our first exhibition. They live in the US, Poland, Germany, Sweden, South Africa, Brazil, Thailand and many many more.
If it were not for the hard work of the people you see to the right, DACS would not be possible. So if you have contributed to DACS in anyway, we want to say thank you, for helping us raise awareness of this injustice. You ARE Designers Against Child Slavery
DACS would like to thanks the following companies/groups for donating to DACS.
Starbucks Coffee
Chick-Fila
Target
Professional Printers
- The Blind Project
- Columbia Crossroads Church
Have Questions? We have answers.
Contact us using the contact form below and expect us to reply with in a few days.
