has absolute power over another and controls his/her life, liberty, and
fortune”. Federal law defines Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking (DMST) as
“the commercial sexual exploitation of children within U.S. borders…the
recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision or obtaining of a person
for the purpose of a commercial sex act, where the person is a U.S. citizen
or lawful permanent resident under the age of 18 years” (www.sharedhope.org).
The commercial exploitation of children is often characterized, but not limited
to, prostitution, pornography, and/or erotic entertainment. No child belongs in
this industry. The life liberty, and fortunes of these children are controlled
by the greedy criminals and widespread manipulation, exploitation, violence, and
terror inflicted on them, which enslaves them in this bondage of vicious
degradation and abuse.
According to the Polaris Project, more than 100,000 American children
are at risk for being lured into sex trafficking each year. Other sites project
that this number is over 300,000. The reality is that our country does not have
a grasp on how wide this problem is for a variety of reasons. Despite the
conflicting estimates of the scope, it is estimated that Texas is responsible
for roughly 25% of the nation’s sex trafficking statistics.
Human trafficking is the second largest and the fastest growing criminal industry
in the world with profits of billions of dollars each year. It is constantly fueled
by a disgustingly high demand coupled with the relatively low risk of prosecution.
But this isn’t just a foreign issue. The problem is rampant in our country, and
more specifically in our state. Houston alone is a major hub for trafficking
given many factors such as its proximity to the border, its international airport
and seaport access, the interstate travel route I-10 (which the Department of
Justice designated as the number one route for human trafficking in the United States),
the city’s draw of major sporting and entertainment events and locations, and the
diversity and density of the population and the subsequent ability for trafficking
to go virtually unnoticed. Major cities, such as Houston, Dallas, Austin, and San
Antonio are home to thousands of runaways and homeless youth, who take to the
streets to escape difficult home situations. But statistics show that one out of
three runaways is approached within the first 48 hours on the street to be lured
into sex trafficking. Definitely not the lives they were trying to escape to.
My eyes were opened to the fact that these crimes are NOT limited
to big cities. In 2010, Craigslist faced intense media pressure to remove the
adult services section of their website, as many people considered these sites
to be a major contributing factor to the problem of online
human sales. However, since Craigslist removed this section, an array of
other ad-based websites quickly popped up, capitalizing on this money making
venture and enabling criminals to misuse and abuse their online accessibilities.
Currently, websites like backpage.com allow sections such as escort ads and
adult entertainment ads, and they defend these sections by quickly stating that
there are “limitations” that protect against illegal activity. But these
“limitations” and “policies” mean nothing. I could go online right now, type in
my city, and find girls being openly sold for sex. The websites’ representatives
will tell you otherwise. They will tell you that they remove hundreds of flagged
ads daily. And that they are trying to help fight against trafficking by adding
into their disclaimer that it is the responsibility of the viewer “to report any
suspected exploitation of minors and/or human
trafficking”.
So why are there still pictures of clearly underage girls dressed in their underwear,
with suggestive and provocative text along with their phone numbers? THIS
IS WRONG. I am not for one minute fooled into believing that the term
“escort” suggests companionship. The ads speak for themselves. But please do not
mistake this information as suggestion to prowl these sites—remember: these
girls are someone’s daughter, someone’s sister, someone’s best friend. More
importantly, these girls are daughters of the Most High King. The dehumanization
of the industry desensitizes buyers into seeing these girls as commodities, as property,
as profits. These girls are worth so much more. Help me to spread awareness.
Despite society’s assumption, this life is not a choice. Research
shows that the average age of entry into prostitution is 12-14 years old. This
is well under the legal age of consent. Next time you see a picture of the girl
on the internet, please remember this: whether they are being forced to pose for
these photographs, or accept money for sexual acts, the vast majority of these
girls are being held against their will. Fueled by physical, verbal, and
emotional threats, malnourishment, violence, manipulation, and rampant drug
usage, the criminals who drive this industry instill paralyzing fear to force
their victims into submission. This is modern day slavery.
Not only do we need to raise awareness and seek more legislation for
protection of today’s youth against the criminals exploiting them, but
we also need to advocate for more assistance for the victims upon rescue.
It is common for rescued girls to be institutionalized because there is no
other “safe” place for them. There are simply not enough resources for
the victims. Therefore, they are sent to juvenile detention facilities where
they are once again treated like prisoners. There need to be more long-term
homes for these girls to aid in a safe and supportive transition.
Restore Her is a branch of Still Creek Ranch’s ministry
and is currently the largest, long-term safe home for
victims of human trafficking in the United States.
Their mission statement is to bring children from Crisis to New Creation. God
has big plans for this ministry. As a whole, Still Creek operates solely off of
donations; they do not receive any state or federal grants or funding. Take a
moment and let that sink in…they are operating solely off of donations to fund
this huge undertaking. I hope that you will prayerfully consider donating to
this worthy cause. There are so many lives that can be restored. Still Creek is
holding their Fall Fundraiser on October 24th, 2013 at 6pm at the Brazos
Center. You can donate locally by contributing funds and buying a seat at the
fall fundraising banquet, OR from a distance by visiting their website (http://www.restoreher.org/events/). I am very excited for future of this ministry
and can only hope that funding will continue to come forth to extend the reach
of God’s plan for restoration and hope for these sweet girls.
If this issue speaks to your heart, but you are not able to contribute monetarily,
please consider some alternative means of action you can take:
http://www.traffick911.com/take-action
Resources:
http://www.polarisproject.org/
http://childrenatrisk.org/research-data/resource-gallery/
www.still-creek.org
www.sharedhope.org
www.traffick911.com