The actor was close to tears as he spoke out against child sexual exploitation.
Speaking before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing on fighting modern slavery, the 39-year-old star of Two and a Half Men discussed his work with Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, which is an organisation he co-founded with his ex-wife Demi Moore in 2009 that builds software to fight human trafficking.
Coming close to tears, the actor praised the committee in his 15-minute opening testimony and spoke about why his work with Thorn – which he considers his ‘day job’ – is so important to him.
“As part of my anti-trafficking work, I’ve met victims in Russia, I’ve met victims in India, I’ve met victims that have been trafficked from Mexico, victims from New York and New Jersey and all across our country. I’ve been on FBI raids where I’ve seen things that no person should ever see,” Kutcher said.
“I’ve seen video content of a child that’s the same age as mine being raped by an American man that was a sex tourist in Cambodia. And this child was so conditioned by her environment that she thought she was engaging in play.”
Kutcher – married to actress Mila Kunis and father of their two children – believes that the use of technology is working in combatting child sexual exploitation, and he discussed a software tool called ‘Spotlight’ that is playing a leading role in bringing criminals to justice.
“It’s working. In six months, with 25% of our users reporting, we’ve identified over 6,000 trafficking victims, 2,000 of which are minors. This tool has enhanced 4,000 law enforcement officials in 900 agencies. And we’re reducing the investigation time by 60%.”
Kutcher also indirectly called out President Donald Trump’s attempts to keep Muslim’s from seven different countries from entering the United States.
“When people are left out, when they’re neglected, when they’re not supported, and when they’re not given the love they need to grow, it becomes an incubator for trafficking, and this refugee crisis, if we want to be serious about ending slavery, we cannot ignore them, we cannot ignore our support for this issue in that space, because otherwise, we’re going to have to deal with it for years to come,” he said.
