In this talk, Antoinette Welch, former ADA in Nashville, TN, who won a landmark case under enhanced sex trafficking law, identifies and tackles the issues with the unequal societal perception of prostitution, how those views leave women drowning in the cycle of prostitution, and how the Hannah Project levels the playing field for those who want and need help to get out of the vicious cycle.

The Hannah Project works along with the court system and is a one-day court ordered program for women arrested for prostitution. Its mission is to be the missing link between the judicial system and helping and identifying victims of sex trafficking and those stuck in the cycle of prostitution; It is the first of its kind in the nation.

Antoinette Welch, former ADA in Nashville, TN, is the founder of a program called The Hannah Project. It is a program used to screen for victims of sex trafficking as well as help women stuck in the cycle of prostitution with options of treatment and counseling. The Hannah Project has been in 5 documentaries and one best-selling book written by Pulitzer Prize winner, Nicolas Kristoff on the subject of sex trafficking. Mrs. Welch spent 8 years as an instructor at Nashville's John School.  A program aimed at getting 1st time offenders of soliciting prostitutes to understand the full ramifications of their behavior and to prevent further occurrences.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx