Youth Radio is the recipient of a 2011 George Foster Peabody Award for its investigative series Trafficked.  The two-part report, produced in collaboration with National Public Radio's All Things Considered, exposes child sex trafficking in Oakland, California-one of the nation's top child-sex-trafficking hubs.

The series originally aired on NPR in December 2010 and was later featured on the front page of The Huffington Post.

 Youth Radio's report highlights the voices of two young women who are sex-trafficking survivors. It also sheds light on police practices that often criminalize victims rather than pursue perpetrators, and the community members who are trying to solve the issue.

 The Peabody Awards, the nation's highest honors in broadcasting, recognize excellence and meritorious work by radio and television stations, networks, webcasters, producing organizations and individuals.

"Youth Radio set the goal of investigating sex trafficking from the point of view of the youth who are trafficked," said Youth Radio President and Chief Content Officer Ellin O'Leary. "Their perspectives drove our reporting, including our coverage on police practices that target the victims."

 Horace Newcomb, director of the Peabody Awards, said this year's awards continue the commitment of the University of Georgia and the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication to "challenge media makers and distributors to reach higher, try harder and be ever mindful of their central role in public life."

Fellow winners include WNYC, C-SPAN, BBC, HBO, and PBS.   This is Youth Radio's second Peabody Award.  In 2001, the organization was honored for its body of work.

Youth Radio collaborated with a number of partners in covering and distributing this important investigation, including MISSSEY, a community-based organization for sexually exploited youth, the Alameda County SEM Network, NPR, and The Huffington Post.

Support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting made the outstanding work of Youth Radio's investigative unit possible. Downloadable audio and video for this story are available at http://www.youthradio.org/trafficked.

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Youth Radio is an award-winning youth-driven media production company based in Oakland, CA with bureaus across the US and the world. Youth Radio stories are featured on NPR, PRI, American Public Media, BoingBoing.net, BBC, The Huffington Post, and other digital and broadcast outlets worldwide.