Our view: It's time to crack the shell of silence on sex trafficking in the Northland

In the Northland, often, it’s a matter of survival: the desperate need for a warm, dry place to sleep or a bite to eat. Sometimes it’s the only way to avoid a beating. So, young women — little girls, really, some as young as 13 or 14 — sell themselves; more typically, they allow themselves to be sold.