Actress Ashley Judd has traveled across the globe to raise awareness on human trafficking and the damage "modern-day slavery" can have on victims.

Sexual abuse is a topic that Judd takes personally, and she says fighting the sex trade is her true calling in life.

"I am a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and rape, and by the grace of God and doing a lot of hard work in my recovery I can say today that I have no shame," Judd explained.

"It's important for me to talk about it [because] every 45 seconds in this country a girl or woman is sexually aggressed upon. It's very common," she continued.

"Three American women will die today at the hands of their intimate partners," Judd said. "We have a gender violence problem in this country, as well a responsibility morally to do what we can to stop gender violence worldwide."

Every year, millions of men, women and children become the victims of human trafficking. Eighty percent of them are women, and up to 50 percent are minors.

Click play to watch the story of one woman in South Africa who survived this growing crime.