New doc looks at human trafficking in the Central Valley

"The Trafficked Life," a new documentary co-produced by Bakersfield filmmaker Michael Fagans, explores human trafficking in the Central Valley through the story of three young women from Bakersfield.  Fagans — who has worked on this and other humanitarian issues in Kern County — said traffickers across the state use Bakersfield as a hub for labor and sex trafficking. "[The] majority of people being trafficked are Americans, and they are being trafficking by other Americans. It’s not the Taiwanese, or the Chinese, or the Mexicans, as many people like to assume." Merced also held a screening of the film, followed by a forum in which advocates and law enforcement shared knowledge and efforts to address the problem. That story is on We'Ced. Read an interview with Fagans on South Kern Sol.