Sex Trafficking

What It Entails:

• • • Sex Trafficking is a federal crime in which force, fraud or coercion is used to compel a person to perform commercial sex.
    • It affects all populations and all economic classes.
    • Traffickers find victims through various means and lure victims through promises of protection, love, home and opportunity.

Why It Matters:

• • • God created us from His perfect love, that we might love Him and love others.
    • We are made in his image and it breaks his heart.
    • We are called to protect the young and the innocent of this world as they are precious to him and not as possessions or a way of making money.
      (Luke 17:1-2, Matthew 18: 1-5, Psalm 103:13, Isaiah 49:15-16)
    • The victims are oftentimes people who we are called to care for and instead are mentally, emotionally and physically abused.

What God Says:

• • • Isaiah 1:17– Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed.
    • Proverbs 31:8-9 – Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
    • Luke 17:1-2– Jesus said, things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.
    • John 8:32- Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
    • Galatians 6:9- Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
    • Psalm 103:13– As a father has compassion on his children,  so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.

Take Action:

• • • How to protect your child from sex trafficking– Know the facts and be intentional in your efforts to protect children from trafficking situations.  It often starts with a simple conversation. 
    • Fighting Human Trafficking Options
    • Educate your kids about human sex trafficking, what it looks like and who to talk to if they think they see it. 
    • Partner with local experts, community leaders and businesses that understand the root and causes of slavery in the region. 
    • Provide direct services including food, shelter, education, and healthcare to those affected by modern day slavery and exploitation
    • Find out why people in a certain place are susceptible to slavery?
    • Create businesses and social enterprises that generate sustainable, fair-wage jobs in the region.

Relevant Organizations:

• • • National Human Trafficking
    • HotlineTraffick911– fight child sex trafficking by helping survivors embrace healing and freedom
    • Children’s Rescue Initiative– making a global impact in the war against slavery by freeing victims through our Rescue, Restore, Raise Up™ Cycle of Freedom
    • International Justice Mission is a global organization that protects people in poverty from violence. They partner with local authorities in 24 program offices in 14 countries to combat trafficking and slavery, violence against women and children, and police abuse of power. 
    • Rescue1 is a sponsorship and outreach program that rescues children from the horrors of sex-trafficking and abandonment.  
    • Reflection Ministries of Texas invests and walks the journey of healing and restoration with sex trafficked victims.  They provide stability, safety, healing opportunities, and most importantly God’s love and grace.
    • Called To Rescue a non-profit organization that helps rescue children who are missing, have been abused or trafficked.  
    • iEmpathize equips adults to empower youth to eradicate exploitation.  They prioritizes prevention of human trafficking using a unique child-centered approach and training.
    • Polaris is leading a data-driven social justice movement to fight sex and labor trafficking problems.  Learn about how you can be part of the solution.
    • Ruth Institute–  a “global non-profit organization leading an international interfaith coalition to defend the family and build a civilization of love.” They host an annual Survivor’s of the Sexual Revolution Summit.
    • Good Fight– Discerning the signs of the times and shining a light in the darkness.  Pastor Joe Schimmel has been equipping Christians with the truth of God’s word.
    • Refuge for Women– is the Nation’s Largest Recovery Program for Victims of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation
    • Shared Hope International– strives to prevent the conditions that foster sex trafficking, restore victims of sex slavery, and bring justice to vulnerable women and children
    • My Life My Choice– Their fervent conviction is that no child should be bought or sold. Their holistic, battle-tested approach is grounded in survivor experiences of those who have lived the ugly realities of exploitation and come back fierce, wise, and strong
    • GEMS-Girls Educational and Mentoring Services– has served as the nation’s leading organization for empowering commercially sexually exploited and domestically trafficked girls and young women
    • Operation Underground Railroad (O.U.R.)– We exist to rescue children from sex trafficking and sexual exploitation.
    • International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children– Training and program resources to help make a difference
    • Real Restoration-To get as many girls as possible out of harm’s way and on to a new journey in life.

Resource Links:

• • • Covenant Eyes– will help you live porn free
    • Trafficking Truths– free ecourse on the realities of human trafficking by Rebecca Bender
    • Nest Foundation– Sexual violence prevention education that empowers
    • Prevention Project– believes that in order to eradicate human trafficking, the selling of human beings for profit, we must educate young people on the lures of trafficking and invest in character and leadership development.  The Prevention Project curriculum not only prevents human trafficking, but also equips student leaders to bring a lasting change for our schools, communities, and beyond.
    • Ending the Game-“coercion resiliency” curriculum that reduces feelings of attachment to traffickers and/or a lifestyle characterized by commercial sexual exploitation, thereby reducing the rate of recidivism among sex trafficking survivors.  ETG is designed to educate and empower survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking by providing a structure and framework to uncover harmful psychological coercion that victims may have been subjected to during or before their exploitation experience.
    • Chosen– curriculum for victims of commercial sexual exploitation
    • Moms Moving Forward– is designed to provide a network of support for single moms to share milestones, successes and challenges of being a mom.
    • Boomtown, Episode6: A Thin Line– During booms, the Permian Basin sees a rise in prostitution charges. But misperceptions and stereotypes about sex work have led to policies that may actually harm the women involved.  Listen to the Fox Hunter.
    • Reflection Ministries Resources
    • Department of Defense
    • Human Trafficking Assessment Tool

Prayers:

• • • 30 Days of Prayer– a devotional guide available for you to utilize at your own pace.
    • A Prayer Strategy for Human Trafficking– Valerie Beck points out specific scriptures that target the greatest needs in human trafficking.  It’s time to put the supreme worth of God on display through our prayers.
    • Prayer for Protection of Your Children– Pray along with Dr. Myles as he issues a divine restraining order for supernatural protection over your children in all areas of their lives
    • Prayer for an end to human trafficking with a focus on action, prevention, protection, restoration, and justice

Testimonies:

• • • Stories of Hope from Refuge for Women
    • Success Stories of Transformed Lives– Read these stories of hope as God transforms lives across the world

Videos:

• • • What Would You Do? Interview with Debbie Wright  – Debbie Wright shares how she discovered sex traffickers living next door.

Books:

• • • In Pursuit of Love: One Woman’s Journey from Trafficked to Triumphant– by Rebecca Bender
    • In Our Backyard: Human Trafficking in America and What We Can Do to Stop It by Nita Belles.  This book provides a good overview of human trafficking in the United States and is readable for the average person. Each chapter covers a specific form of trafficking through life story and then gives further explanation of the issues of trafficking ending with questions relevant to the information covered in the chapter.
    • From Congress to Brothel– Walk with Shared Hope International President and Founder Linda Smith, as she relives her life-altering experience of seeing children in cage-like conditions – offered for sex in one of the world’s worst brothel districts. 
    • Invading the Darkness– Shared Hope International Founder and President, Linda Smith, takes you inside the historic fight against child sex trafficking in the United States
    • Renting Lacy– A Story of America’s Prostituted Children by Linda Smith with Cindy Coloma.
    • Human Trafficking in America’s Schools
    • The Sexual State by Dr. Jennifer Robach Morse exposes toxic ideologies that lead to the destruction of families and society.
    • Love Thy Body: Answering Hard Questions About Life and Sexuality by Nancy R. Pearcey
    • Trance Formation of America by Cathy O’Brien

Training:

• • • i:CARE Health Care Provider’s Guide to Recognizing and Caring for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Victims is a new resource designed to improve identification and response to victims of sex trafficking within various health care settings.
    • Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking Digital Download; an interactive training tool for agencies and organizations that may come in contact with child sex trafficking victims in the United States.
    • Gang TRAP Training Package– Gang TRAP (Trafficking Response and Prevention) Training Guide and Video Series is a unique training curriculum designed to address the growing trend of sex trafficking cases perpetuated by criminal street gangs.
    • Empowering and Equipping both Adult and Youth– support material that helps to empower youth and adults with active empathy and prevention.
    • Runaway and Homeless Youth Training
    • National Human Trafficking Training
    • Office for Victims of Crime Training