*Slavery still exists
*The difference between HUMAN trafficking and SEX trafficking:
- Human trafficking= slavery that involves the transporting of people for work (2.5 million people at any time)….all backgrounds….men, women and children
- Sex trafficking= transferred across borders for forced sex in exchange for money or goods (800,000 trafficked across international borders)
*Not all slaves are trafficked, but all trafficked are slaves
*They are taken away from everything they know–usually to an area that they don’t understand the language and can’t communicate
*Speaker Michelle (Founder and CEO of “SHE IS SAFE” https://sheissafe.org/ ) has been working to fight slavery since 1995
*”SHE IS SAFE” works to Prevent, Rescue and Restore…they help 15,000 women/girls each year
*Michelle mentioned a book called “Forgotten Girls & Daughters of Hope” Forgotten Girls & Daughters of Hope Set | She Is Safe
*Michelle first became aware of the problems of slavery when she and her husband moved to Nairobi with their two children. They learned that some families had what they referred to as “up country girls” which were young girls from a tribal area….their families would sell them to these other families that had more money and they would be a slave for them—do all the cooking, cleaning and babysitting
*”You can’t unlearn something once you see it” – Brene Brown
*Reputable places to find info and statistics:
- International Labor Report
- World Health Department
- State Department
*Global Slavery Index reports that there are 45.8 million slaves in the world today
*TIP REPORT = like a report card….nations subject themselves to this…it is associated with national aid-there are protocols- it is important for countries to work together–we can’t only focus on our neighborhood
*Areas of high trafficking are North India, China, Bangladesh and Nepal
*Traffickers are “business people” and they go where it is “easier” to get people
*India has 21 million slaves, China has 3 million, it is hard to give a number for the US– there are 300,000 at risk teens
*Prostitution can be by choice unless they are under 18 years old….a minor can’t make that decision to exploit themselves-so, anyone that takes advantage of this is criminal….they use force, fraud, and coercion
*WHY BE SO CONCERNED INTERNATIONALLY WHEN IT IS RIGHT HERE?
- they talk people into coming to the United States for an opportunity and they get here….don’t know the language, don’t know what to do or how to navigate. They are told that they can’t go to the police because the don’t have papers and they will be put in jail and never get home.
- we see it a lot through Nail Salons, Massage Parlors and Hotels
*PATHWAYS to Trafficking:
*LEAST LIKELY– Abduction (the way Hollywood shows us in “Taken” with Liam Neeson)
*MOST LIKELY- Runaway Teen (want to get out of the house and be on their own–then quickly realize they need money)
- Coercion….”you are so pretty, you could be a model, have you ever had pictures taken”
- Romance…the trafficking cartels select and train handsome men to find these girls…a man trained to do this said, “you wouldn’t believe HOW EASY it is to get a 13 year old girl to fall in love with you over the internet! You just tell her that you want to take her to dinner–but first you want to get her a new dress and get her hair done”
- Stripping
- Pornography
- Vulnerability
*The deck is stacked against women. 200 million girls are missing
*In China boy babies are prefered–so, they have killed baby girls…now there aren’t enough girls to marry–so, they are trafficking them in!
*In a community in North India there 30,000 sex slaves– they start at age 11…they usually only make it about 7 years…they get an STD….or the 2nd leading cause of death, death during childbirth….or the #1 cause of death, suicide
*IT IS UP TO US WITH FREEDOM AND OPPORTUNITY TO STAND UP FOR THESE WOMEN/GIRLS
*If you help 1 girl…she can transform 26 others
*World Bank did a study on the 4 poorest countries and they showed all of the benefits that would come if they would just start investing in and caring for the girls in the same way they do the boys
*Other areas of concern— organ removal and baby mills (selling babies)
*William Wilberforce William Wilberforce – Wikipedia tried to outlaw slavery….he made it so you couldn’t count humans as cargo. He changed people’s mindset. People could not consider themselves “good people” and have a slave.
*There is an App called TraffickCam https://traffickcam.com/ you can help by uploading photos of your hotel room to help determine where perpetrators are committing their crimes
*Slaves are cheaper today than they have ever been and there is more internet involvement
*Before you stay in a hotel you can ask if they have signed the Ban Against Sex Trafficking
*Most sex trafficking is happening at lower end hotels–but, their are higher end situations too—they see buyers of all types…lawyers, law enforcement, pastors, etc….
*Covenant House https://www.covenanthouse.org/
*Recruiters are out….they are watching our children…they are at the malls, airports, etc…
*Atlanta has the busiest airport in the world, many sporting events and a convention center
*42% of the buyers (12,000) men every single month are from Atlanta’s northern suburbs
- talk to your sons early
- *when the buyers have gotten caught they said the things that would keep them from doing it would be:
1)If their wives were informed and knew what they were doing
2)If their cars were impounded
3)If they lost their job
*When they get caught in prostitution the buyer pays bail and gets out….the girls are poor and have to stay in jail until their pimp comes to bail them out. They have nowhere to go. Now, with the SAFE HARBOR AMENDMENT the buyer (when caught) has to pay a fine and it goes to the aftercare of the victim
*THINGS YOU CAN DO:
- get informed on the POLARIS website https://polarisproject.org/
- know the HUMAN TRAFFICKING HOTLINE # 888-373-7888 and what to look for:
- if the person is not free to come and go
- under 18 and providing sex
- underpaid or paid very little
- owes a large debt
- security cameras and high fences
- strange behavior–mental illness….depressed/paranoid/overly submissive
- if they avoid eye contact
- lack healthcare
- take in a foster child (so they don’t become a victim of trafficking)
- be a mentor
*The Unicef website https://www.unicefusa.org/ gives info. on how to talk to your kids
*WE CAN TEACH OUR CHILDREN:
- Don’t accept friend requests from people you don’t know
- be aware of how they recruit
- be aware of your surroundings
- reinforce all the time that there are good people and bad people
- don’t reveal too much about yourself to someone on the computer
- don’t agree to meet someone
- if you feel uncomfortable about something–go to a trusted adult
- if accepting a job- talk over with a parent first
- remember 911
*HOW CAN WE PRACTICALLY GET INVOLVED?
- take a tour at “She is Safe” and consider volunteer opportunities
- sponsor a “Dinner for Freedom”…..host a dinner party and you can donate what people would have spent going out
- Mount Paran Christian School had a “Prom Red”….instead of buying a new dress, getting their hair and nails done, and riding in a limo the wore an old or borrowed dress, did their own hair and nails and drove a normal car. They donated all the money they saved.
- paper doll book
- read “Forgotten Girls & Daughters of Hope”
- host a “Run to Rescue”
- children can “Read to Rescue”
*$1 a day can rescue and restore one girl
*She shared a favorite freedom story….”Herna the Pig Farmer” about 4 girls that were about to be trafficked and they were rescued at the border and ended up returning to their village and turning things around by planting crops in a field, starting a school, and raising pigs. They were valued and protected in the end.
*THEY WANT THE GIRLS TO KNOW….EVERYONE IS GIVEN TO THIS EARTH AS A GIFT.
AND ASK THEM… HOW DID GOD UNIQUELY MAKE YOU?