William Brangham:

Prize winner Nadia Murad, a member of the small Yazidi religious minority in Iraq, escaped from enslavement by the Islamic State and became a fighter for those who have survived human trafficking.

Murad was 21 when ISIS militants captured, raped and tortured her back in 2014. During three months in captivity, she was bought and sold for sex multiple times. After her escape, Murad showed remarkable candor in telling her story, and quickly became a well-known advocate for victims of sex trafficking and fought to protect the rights of refugees in Europe.

In 2016, she spoke at the United Nations, urging the world to more forcefully confront ISIS and defend the victims of its crimes.