Today is Sanctity of Life Sunday. Dozens of issues can and should be discussed on this day, such as the deaths of aborted babies, the suffering of the impoverished, and the needs of the disabled. But, the primary cause I have dedicated Sel Rosé to supporting over the years is trafficking.
Why Human Trafficking?
In 2015, my sister and I were shopping in one of our favorite stores when we were approached by a man. That sounds innocent enough, right? But to this day I believe that he was a sex trafficker. I’m convinced of this mainly because his behavior was consistent with the methods I researched afterwards: he seemed to be on drugs, and he was working with a partner who watched from a distance. After we refused to go with them, they left the store together for just five minutes, then returned and systematically approached another young girl. If that wasn’t enough, I’ve never felt so creeped out by anyone in my life. Trust your gut, ladies, trust your gut…
Obviously, we were fine. But the angry, disturbed feeling I was left with from that brief encounter impacted me for weeks. It was the first time I had been made aware that sex trafficking goes on in my own backyard. And while in most scenarios, girls are groomed for weeks before enslavement, occasionally they are literally kidnapped into it.
I couldn’t help putting myself in the place of the millions of women whose lives have been torn from them. If not for their enslavement, they might have aspirations, dreams, husbands, and children. Instead, their tortured bodies are invaded, sometimes hourly, by strangers. It was difficult for me to comprehend people whose wickedness is so undiluted that they’re capable of viewing another human life as nothing more than a device for pleasure.
Unfortunately, trafficking, and sex trafficking in particular, is a billion dollar industry. Linked to pornography, prostitution and drugs, it’s become one of the most widespread crimes in our world.
What Can Be Done?
Here are a few ways that you can fight to end this abominable “industry” no matter where you are:
1. Donate Financially
There are many organizations dedicated to abolishing slavery and they would all appreciate donations. Here are just a few I would recommend: A21, Exodus Road, Operation Underground Railroad, & International Justice Mission.
2. Raise Awareness
As January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, now is the perfect opportunity to share information about this terrible crime with your friends and neighbors. The websites linked above are great sources for further information about trafficking.
3. Pray
It is important for all of us to realize that the fight against modern day slavery is spiritual as well as physical. Prayer is the weapon of spiritual battles and the one we should wield regularly on behalf of the enslaved.
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Please join me in praying and raising awareness about trafficking. We are in the midst of a fight for the freedom of millions of valuable human lives. The “least of these” need us to do the least we can by never forgetting them and never giving up the fight.
