I am a mother of two beautiful, vibrant teen girls. With their eyes down, looking at their phones, they don’t see the people around them. The stories we hear, the statistics we read. That’s what keeps us as parents doing the looking, the watching. My husband, Toby, won’t even leave them to go to the restroom if they are in a store. I ALWAYS go with them if I’m there. We are teaching them, they are learning to be aware, to notice everything. If they don’t, they might not see something coming. 

It’s time to start asking some serious questions. 

 Where have all the women and children gone?

 What if some very popular companies were part of something much more ominous?

 How do we know that any of this is really true?

 What can we actually do?

So, here are some short answers. 

It is reported that 200,000 American children are at risk of being trafficked into the sex industry. With the United States being the #1 consumer and producer of pornography, this statistic is not surprising. 

46 children from our own towns go missing everyday. By the time you have finished reading this sentence, a child will have been trafficked.*

If you think this couldn’t or doesn’t happen, you are living with some hefty blinders on. Social media, the internet, and very protected companies make this very real and not only real, but something that goes on under our noses every single day.

Children of color are 4X more likely to be trafficked. 

Children in the foster care system are easy prey and targeted more often. 

This is an epidemic that goes unchecked. Very few people make it their mission to make this as newsy popular. Why? 

Why do we not see more, hear more, know more about this modern-day slavery? After all, this is an industry that racks in over 150 BILLION dollars a year!* Companies are protected by some very powerful, wealthy people. 

The more we pretend this doesn’t happen, or couldn’t happen, the more kids are taken and used and abused in the most atrocious ways. We can only bury our heads in the sand for so long. 

What keeps you from seeing the facts, what prevents your mind and your heart from knowing the reality and what keeps you from doing something about it?

These are hard conversations, but every time we have them, we are one step closer to saving someone.  

Operation Underground Railroad has been in this fight for many years. You can check them out here: https://ourrescue.org/

A21 is another organization fighting for women and children. They have a march every October; it’s worth your time to join them. Visit their website here: https://www.a21.org/

Something to think about: during Covid, sex trafficking hasn’t stopped. It has actually increased. These organizations didn’t get furloughed. They increased awareness, continued supporting survivors and continued going into the lion’s den and rescuing the captives. 

We really can’t afford to keep ignoring this. We really can’t afford to keep scrolling past the posts, past the calls to action. Every time we do, we subject a child to continued torture. This is a community issue; we need to band together in our communities and make a commitment to do our part. Most trafficked women and children are noticed or found because someone in their community notices something is wrong. Masks are making it difficult for them to plead with their faces and eyes for help and it’s making it harder to ID the perpetrators. We need to make ourselves even more aware than ever before. 

Here are some simple action steps you can take today to join the fight:

• If you are an Instagram follower:

  @ourrescue
  @safehouseproject
  @fightthenewdrug

• Choose one thing this month to commit to:

  • join A21 and their Walk for Freedom October 17. You can find your local group to walk with

  • donate to Operation Underground Railroad

  • take a week and post 1 fact a day to start the conversation within your sphere. 

• Most importantly, pray. Pray for the organizations on the frontlines, pray for the woman and children who are enslaved, pray for our government to continue the fight, pray for the families of those taken, pray that God would use you to make a difference.

Today is World Day Against Trafficking. Operation Underground Railroad is hosting events all over America. Check out the link here and see if there are any places hosting in your area. 

*Human Trafficking Hotline Information

*Sources:
https://sunriseforchildren.org/human_trafficking/
https://www.a21.org/content/human-trafficking/gnjb89