I wouldn’t consider my childhood as sheltered… not be a long shot… protected, yes, but sheltered, no. By the time I was 5, my parents had begun taking in teenage girls with a variety of issues from running away to prostitution to violent episodes. At a young age, I was aware that the world was largely not a safe place for children and that many children went without the kind of parenting I had come to rely on.
Still, in my early twenties when I heard about child soldiers, I was appalled. Thanks to movies like Blood Diamond and the work of grass roots organizations like Invisible Children, my eyes were opened. Probably, like lots of you, I participated in the Globate Night Commute. With a large group of my Seattle friends (props to Annie, Scott and Holly, Robyn, Matt, and others), I walked to the Green Lake area of Seattle and camped out for the night to step, in the tiniest way, the shoes of a Ugandan child soldier and to help make a national statement.
Even so, today as a sat in a meeting room at Dublin Methodist Hospital and absorbed a full seminar on the topic of human trafficking, it boggled my mind. Some 27 million people are enslaved across the world right now… that’s twice the number of all of the people enslaved throughout history. A large portion of the enslaved persons are women and girls and close to 20 million are used for work, the rest are victims of sexual exploitation.
How much money does this industry generate? Are you ready- its going to blow your mind. About 36 billion dollars every year.
That’s three times the annual revenue of all professional sports in the USA.
Dr. Jeff Barrows, who conducted the seminar I was able to attend today, put up this map.
Look at the areas where slaves originate from and where they end up. Think about it this way: slaves come from impoverished places and end up where the money is.
At least a hundred thousand international persons are trafficked into the USA for servitude and sex. The number goes up when we consider domestic sex trafficking.
Sex trafficking of minors here in the USA is defined as anytime a child under the age of 18 is involved in sexual activity for the exchange of something of value. So this definition involves exotic dancing, pornography, and prostitution for any person under the age of 18. For a person over the age of 18, sex trafficking is the same definition but in addition the person must be coerced, forced or tricked into the trade.
This is not a new phenomenon, but it is a growing one. Largely fueled by the pornographic industry, more and more at risk youth are being enslaved. And amazingly, little is being done about it. Only 39 beds are reserved in residential facilities to treat these youth… and that’s in the whole United States.
Many of these children are living on the streets, getting picked up and charged with crimes by a system that doesn’t understand the dynamics of the situation. Others end up in foster care or mental hospitals or residential facilities that are not trained to deal with the special circumstances.
Runaway teens trapped in a cycle of prostitution, children as young as 5 pimped out by their parents for money or food stamps or a new TV, girls who become the girlfriend of a whole gang in exchange for safety on the streets… its not as uncommon as we would all like to think.
I want to give you a few things to look at and consider… Dr. Jeff Barrows and his wife, Kathy, are opening a home called Grace Haven in rural Ohio within the next 9 months to help girls who have endured sex trafficking recover. It is a faith based organization that initially will hold up to 10 girls.
You can visit their website by clicking here and consider possibly partnering with them to begin to make a dent in this huge issue right here in our backyard. As you can imagine, giving these girls all the necessary care is not a minor expense.
I wanted to share with you a couple of other items that were shared with me…
This video is a trailer for a documentary being backed by George Clooney on the issue of Sex Trafficking. Its called “Playground” and there are showings of it across the USA… the viewings left are:
October 20 – Atlanta, GA
October 26- Washington, DC
November 5- Dallas, TX
November 10- Dayton, OH
November 12- St. Louis, MO
For more information on these showings, click here.
*I will warn you, this isn’t easy to watch*
A fellow blogger @ Now I am at Your Feet told me just today about a project her brother is involved with called “Sex + Money“. You can learn more about them by clicking on the link and by watching the trailer for their documentary here… to purchase their book, click here.
you know how God will have you see the same thing over and over to get your attention?? lately, it has been the words “sex trafficking” and here i am reading them again! praying and asking God what it is that He wants me to do. what is my part in helping??
thanks for this post, i was startled to see how prevalent it is in america. going to grace haven’s site now.
not gonna lie, i hurt right now. i guess im suppose to, though. i HATE living in a world where i could even imagine something like this exists…. and so to know that it really does, cuts me like nothing else.
we need to stand up.
Wow, that is heartbreaking. Thanks for posting, as hard as it is to read and know, it happens, closer than we think.
it is so good to see some new posts here. π bloggy breaks are sooooo very nice, but it’s good to see that you & Co are well! looking forward to hearing more about how life is going for you guys & of course to see an update on the house!! ive been curious how it’s going π
Glad to have you back, Kate.
Thanks for calling attention to this horrible issue. It seems to be a distant horror until it hits home. My little cousins were targeted by a trafficking operation just a few months ago in a McDonalds bathroom. Thankfully my cautious grandmother was there to save the day and get them out of there ASAP. She said they were so organized that it was scary and got away so fast. Those sick people will forever pay for their sins against innocent children and young people.
Thank you, thank you so much for this post! The resources you provided are great. I’m forwarding to friends.
There is an organization called Exodus Cry (www.exoduscry.com) that is part of IHOP in Kansas City, fighting human trafficking both through prayer and establishing safe houses. They’re working on a documentary called “Nefarious”…
Thank you for blogging about this…please check out Love146.org for another organization that is doing big things to stop this big injustice.
Glad to see you are back π
Here is another organization/movement:
http://callandresponse.com/