Protecting Vulnerable Children from Trafficking

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.

Proverbs 31:8–9

Millions of children have lost their ability to be children. Their childhoods have been taken from them. Too many will never know what it’s like to play with friends, go to school, or enjoy growing up with their own families.

More than one million children are trafficked every year all over the world. Currently, there are around 152 million child laborers around the world. In 2018 alone, over half of the sex trafficking cases in the United States involved children. These children also work as servants, beggars, and soldiers. They work in sweatshops, strip clubs, restaurants, hotels, and massage parlors. Sadly, the list doesn’t stop there.

According to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, human trafficking is defined as:

"a) Sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years of age; or

b) The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery."

To put it simply, trafficking means taking someone and using them for your own personal gain. Maybe they are sold, maybe they are forced to work for nothing, or maybe people buy their “services” (like sex) from their traffickers. It is a violation of basic human rights.

One out of every four victims of trafficking is a child. Homeless children, runaways, and LGBTQ youth are at increased risk, along with those who are Black, Hispanic, and Indigenous. Around sixty percent have been in foster care. However, we can’t forget that ANYONE can become a victim.

Trafficking isn’t a hidden crime. Victims go to school, attend church, and overall, they look and act normal. This crime is hidden in plain sight.

Familial trafficking is just one example that shows how this crime is “hidden in plain sight.” In around forty percent of cases, children are sexually exploited by family members, usually in exchange for money and drugs.

A large number of these cases involve mothers exploiting their own children. These children lose their ability to trust when the person who is supposed to protect them is the one bringing them pain. This can negatively affect every aspect of their lives, and no one around them even knows anything is wrong.

Unfortunately, there are many methods traffickers use to reach victims. Trafficking can happen when a teenager becomes friends with someone they met online. Traffickers groom their victims, target their vulnerabilities, and make them believe that there is nothing for them at home. These teens are led to believe that their best option is to be with this stranger, who ends up exploiting them for their own gain.

Trafficking can also happen when a runaway teen, who has been brainwashed by their trafficker, recruits their friends. This is a commonly used method for traffickers because many teens trust their friends even more than family members.

One of the most traumatizing things that can happen for these young children and teens is for their exploitation to be publicized on porn sites. Law enforcement officers have found videos of children so young that they still had their umbilical cord. We all know that once something is posted online, it never really goes away.

Trafficking takes away the freedoms that children are born with. They can no longer be a normal child. They don’t know what it’s like to trust adults. They don’t have fun. They live in constant fear. We have to do everything we can to save these children and prevent this from happening to others.

WHAT CAN YOU DO?

PRAY. God cares and He loves justice.

Learn the signs and understand that anyone can be a victim or a trafficker.

Speak up. Learn everything you can about this issue so you can help raise awareness.

Buy ethically. Research brands. Find out who is making the products you buy, and what their working conditions are like.

Get help for your porn addiction.

Become a foster parent or adopt.

Listen (REALLY listen) when someone tells you that something has happened to them. Many young children don’t know what all their body parts are called, so use context and ask questions. And BELIEVE them.

Talk openly with your kids about online safety. Explain how traffickers find victims and groom them. Don’t scare them, but make sure they understand the dangers. If someone strange reaches out to your child and you find out, don’t make them feel ashamed. Make sure they know it’s not their fault.

If you see something, don’t keep it to yourself. Call the police or call the human trafficking hotline at 888–373–7888.

Donate to organizations that fight human trafficking and support women and children who have been abused.

Here are some of my favorites:

A21

Dressember

Love146

100 Million Campaign

International Justice Mission

And more resources:

Stop Sextortion

Fight the New Drug

Responsible Sourcing Tool

Slave-Free Buying Guide

Research brands

Slavery Footprint

(This was originally published on Medium.com)