Five months ago, three University of Wisconsin students started a student organization in an effort to stop child sex trafficking and exploitation by raising awareness on campus.

UW sophomores Megan Brey, Meta Tshiteya and Emiko Gomez held the kick-off meeting for Love 146 Wednesday night. The three of them hope to add to the efforts to stop human trafficking in Wisconsin and around the world.

According to their website, Love 146 is an international non-profit organization whose goal is to abolish child sex slavery and exploitation. The organization was founded in 2002.

At UW, Love 146 is a relatively new task force. They aim to raise funds for the international organization and increase awareness about child sex slavery and exploitation on campus.

Love 146 on UW was started by Brey and Tshiteya in April 2010. Gomez said she joined at the beginning but is really only around to help out.

Brey said she became passionate about this issue when she first heard about human trafficking on a trip to New York while she was in high school.

After watching a film about a little girl who was kidnapped to be trafficked, Tshiteya said she decided to dedicate her life to stopping child trafficking in high school.

“I devoted my life to saving victims of human trafficking and catching and imprisoning perpetrators,” Tshiteya said.

Tshiteya said not enough students know slavery or trafficking is still happening in the world, or even in Wisconsin.

Around 200 victims of sexual or labor trafficking have come into contact with justice officials in Wisconsin, according to a 2008 study from the Wisconsin Office of Justice Assistance.

About 14,500 to 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States annually, according to figures from the State Department.

“There are more slaves today than any other point in history,” Tshiteya added.

Love 146 also supports victims after they have been rescued, Brey said, and helps them rehabilitate and return to society.

According to their website, Love 146 set up a safehome in the Philippines they call the Round Home to support and care for children rescued from brothels.

The international organization also believes strongly in grassroots organizations and helps develop them worldwide.

“The national organization is being very supportive to the group on campus,” Brey said.

According to their website, the group’s name comes from a visit the founders took to Thailand, where they witnessed a child working as a sex slave in a brothel whose only identification was the number “146.”

Approximately 30 people attended the kick-off, which explained the goals of the organization as well as outlined what their current plan of action is.

The organization requires $5 dues from all members per semester. They plan to host fundraisers and movie screenings in order to raise additional funds. According to Tshiteya, the money raised will either be used to help pay for fundraising events or will be donated directly to Love 146.

The group plans to meet as a whole about three times a semester, though Brey and Tshiteya plan to meet more often and contact the members on a regular basis. There are currently 48 to 50 members, Brey said.

According to Brey, the Love 146 task force should be an officially registered UW student organization by the end of the week. They are also currently trying to get funding from the Associated Students of Madison.

The group wants to eventually start or contribute to a lobbying coalition whose goal is to capture perpetrators of sex trafficking in Wisconsin.