I am reposting this blog again from January 2017 as I have been educating myself about sex trafficking lately in preparation to do some other things. I would encourage you to educate yourself and get involved. Light always overcomes darkness!
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Hello everyone!
I find it sickening that in the "land of the free" we have the equivalent to modern day slavery: the sex trafficking "industry". These slaves are forced to sell themselves to strangers for the almighty dollar in exchange for little food and no protection. The damage is the same as is the bruality in this form of modern slavery. As in the past these slave masters seeks to steal identity, diginity and innocense from a person as well as control their entire life. They view their slaves as property and "less than" them, just as they did in the before the American Civil War. Unlike in the past, many of these captors are adults these children and women trusted as some point.
What can we do? We must not stay silent! We can't be afraid! We must educate ourselves, our churches and our communities. We must actively be alert and aware of the children and teens around us that we have influence over and responsibility for. Who are they spending time with? What are they looking at online? Where are they spending time? We must be willing to get outside of our comfort zones to help these young men and women who have been victims of this slavery escape that life for good. **We must also understand that their slave masters suffered many of the same things they inflict on others- you only do what you know and what you have learned is "normal."**
God sees these victims and He sees their captors. He loves them both but He hates what their captors do to them and He hates the hurt the victims suffer. We must open our eyes, we must see them as He sees them if we are ever to turn this tide. He needs our hands and feet. One in six children are now victims of sex trafficking and many as young as 12 years old. That number is up from 1 in 5. (Center for Missing and Exploited Children).
Are you willing to go into dark and dangerous places to shine His light? I am. If not for us, how will they know Him? If not for us, how will they escape?
I am not afraid.
**For better insight into why I say this, see Lisa Bevere's book Lioness Arising. In this book, she writes of speaking with a a former madam in Asia who held young children and women captive for the sex trade. This madam has since come to know Jesus and left that world. She provides an interesting and very thought provoking look into the thought processes within the sex trafficking and trade industry as well as the "why" to why women like her do what they do. I would also recommend Girls Like Us by Rachel Lloyd. She writes about her own experiences in this "industry." **
Until next time,
Elizabeth