Jada Pinkett-Smith has joined forces with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to stop human trafficking. The ‘Madagascar 3’ actress, along with her husband Will Smith, attended a State Department ceremony that released the 2012 Trafficking in Person Report on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.

Although many parents motivate their children to get involved in social issues, Jada said that it was her daughter Willow who inspired her to do something. “She did her own research and realized that there were young girls her age in this country being trafficked for sex. She was like, ‘Mommy — you don’t know what’s happening!’ I was like, ‘Hold up, pause right there!’ And, she was like, ‘I’ve got to give my voice to this. These young girls out there need me,” said Pinkett-Smith.

While she is aware of the human trafficking situation in other countries, Jada was surprised to learn that so many children were being exploited in the United States. “I was actually really quite ashamed that I didn’t know about this particular situation in our country, because when you think about human trafficking, you think about it ‘over there.’ Wherever ‘there’ is. When you talk about modern-day slavery, you don’t see chains. It’s all about the mind. … So, it’s a very layered, complex issue that’s going to take some time for us to figure out how to pull apart. … Right now, we just have to get aware,” explained the actress.

Jada has taken several steps to spread awareness since being inspired by Willow. Not only has she recorded a song called ‘Nada Se Compara,’ but the actress has also starred in a video that addresses the problem. Jada believes that awareness is key to ending human exploitation.

Check out Jada’s video and learn more about human trafficking at DontSellBodies.org.

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