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Davenport native Vanessa McNeal is partnering with fellow Iowa native and film director Alex Schuman to raise money for a new feature-length documentary to expose the sex-trafficking industry in Iowa.

"Gridshock" -- highlighting the intersection of Interstates 80/35, making the state suited to transport human cargo quickly and efficiently -- will feature law enforcement, medical professionals, social workers and real-life former traffickers who illuminate dark networks that drive the trade, according to a release on the project.

"Most important, 'Gridshock' focuses on victims and survivors," it says. "The vulnerabilities that traffickers target. The emotional manipulation. The psychological warfare. The brutal everyday reality of sexual slavery. It’s a story of trauma and survival. It’s a cautionary tale. It’s a wake-up call."

In any given month, nearly 900 sex workers are available in Iowa, and 150 children are sold for sex in the state, according to the release.

"With its geometrically even 99 counties, Iowa appears from the sky to be a perfect grid – tidy and balanced. But out in shockingly plain sight – on the grid – is an open-air market trading in sexually enslaved human beings, mostly women and children," the release says.