WATCH: Mel Gibson Releases Emotional Video Promoting New Movie ‘Sound Of Freedom’ Ahead Of July 4th Release

Actor Mel Gibson gave a powerful preview of his new movie “Sound of Freedom” on social media, saying the first step to eradicating child sex trafficking from the world is to raise awareness.

Gibson’s new movie, set to be released on the 4th of July, tells the story of a Columbian boy who escapes his captors and draws the attention of a federal investigator who makes it his mission to free the boy’s sister as well. The film has earned a sterling 91 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is based on the real-life story of Tim Ballard, the former Homeland Security Special Agent who devoted his life to combatting child sex trafficking and went on to found the Operation Underground Railroad.

“The most disturbing problem in our world today is human trafficking and particularly the trafficking of children. Now the first step in eradicating this crime is awareness. Go see Sound of Freedom,” said Gibson in a direct plea to the audience.

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Gibson, a two-time Academy Award winner, has used his platform in Hollywood to promote his Christian faith and causes near to his heart. In 2004 his epic biblical drama Passion of the Christ ignited a fervor in Hollywood to produce Christian-friendly content after Gibson proved there was a deep well of support from religious moviegoers. His latest film is sure to draw on that same pool as well as from more secular human rights communities who for decades have fought the scourge of human trafficking, commonly regarded as one of the most pressing human rights issues of our time.

According to the U.S. State Department, approximately 7.6 million individuals at any given time are caught up in a web of human trafficking that stretches around the globe and is equated to modern-day slavery, with bad actors seeking trafficked victims for everything from sex to forced labor. The United States is not exempt from the problem: between 14,500 to 17,500 victims pass through this country every year, according to the ACLU. Approximately 200,000 American children live in conditions that are ripe for exploitation and are part of 1.2 million children around the world who live under similarly horrible conditions.