We’ve all seen the movie “Taken.”

A young girl abroad goes missing and is sold into sex trafficking while her father tries to save her. Although the movie is fictional, the story of girls sold into slavery is very real. SMU senior Lisa Walters and her father Jim aren’t standing for it.

Lisa, a human rights major at smu, took the lead from her father and began researching ways to help victims of trafficking.

“I am very fortunate to have a dad who is a leader in human rights. He’s actually given me a couple of opportunities to learn and to assist in very small ways on projects,” Lisa said.

According to the UN, approximately 2.5 million people around the world are trapped in the web of human trafficking at any given time.

Aside from his duties as Assistant Police Chief for SMU, Jim Walters serves on the Department of Justice’s Southern Border Initiative as well. Their mission is to spread the Amber Alert child-abduction information system across cultural, national and tribal borders.

“The idea behind this program is to create collaboration and capacity between Mexico and the United States on issues that effect the safety of both countries,” Jim said.

In another effort to stop trafficking, Jim helped Mexican officials with their version of an Amber Alert reuniting several missing children with their families.

“Well, we know that the Amber Alert system has almost 700 children that have been saved that have been recovered safely as a direct result of the Amber Alert system,” Jim said.

The father-daughter duo will continue on their mission to stop human trafficking, even if it means only being heroes to some.

For more information on how you can help stop human trafficking, visit the Embrey Human Rights Department on the first floor of Clements Hall.