C.I.A
Human Trafficking
Oppression
The exercise of authority or power in a burdensome, cruel, or unjust manner
Prostitution
The act or practice of engaging in sexual intercourse for money.
Modern Slavery
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others.
Luke 4:18
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed"
John 10:10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
THEOLOGICAL UNDERSTANDING
OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Once a human being is reduced to the status of property, sexual violence is common and not viewed as a violation of rights.
“Recently, the Vatican declared that human trafficking in our time is a greater scourge than the transatlantic slave trade of the 18th century”. CHRISTIAN CENTURY November 27, 2007
Some 87 percent of international trafficking involves women and children who are forced into prostitution.
What is our mandate as Christians ?
But while the government's involvement to end trafficking is important, the church's involvement is even more so, says Kern.
"Maybe it's not [God's] plan that the government do more; maybe if s his plan that his church do more," says Kern. 'When the government gets involved, you can't talk about Jesus. Maybe instead of lobbying Congress, we need to lobby the church."
"Justice at its best is love correcting everything that stands against love." Martin Luther King Jr.
GOD AND SLAVERY
Exodus 21:16
"Anyone who kidnaps another and either sells him or still has him when he is caught must be put to death
Within this industry, sex trafficking is masked as prostitution. The typical concept of prostitution summons the image of a customer who pays a sole individual for sexual activity. Most people are vaguely aware, however, that women and children who sell their bodies for sex rarely operate independently
Psalms 12:5
"The Lord says I have seen violence done to the helpless and I have heard the cries of the poor. Now I will rise up and rescue them as they have longed for me to do."
Clearly Human trafficking is a perilous industry of sexual exploitation that is a sin against God because it violates his most sacred creation—human beings made in his image. In union with all who search for meaning in their lives, we as the church are called to use our abilities to bring about relationships of equality, justice and solidarity
John 14:12
"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.
75-80% of human trafficking is for sex. 80% of those are enslaved.
1 Timothy 1:9-11
9 We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, 10 for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine 11 that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which he entrusted to me.
GOD AND OPPRESSION
Proverbs 31: 8-9
“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those being crushed. Yes, speak up for the poor and helpless, and see that they get justice.”
Philippians 2:4 “Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others”
Isaiah 1:17 “Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow
Isaiah 58:6
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?
Psalm 82:3-4
Give justice to the weak and the orphan; maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
James 1:27
“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”
Galatians 3:28
"There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus"
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000
The U.S. Government is strongly committed to combating trafficking in persons at home and abroad. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, enhances pre-existing criminal penalties, affords new protections to trafficking victims and makes available certain benefits and services to victims of severe forms of trafficking. It also establishes a Cabinet-level federal interagency task force and establishes a federal program to provide services to trafficking victims. The U.S. Government recognizes the need to sustain and further enhance efforts in order to achieve the goals and objectives of the Act.
According to Victims of Violence and Trafficking Protection Act 2000,
severe forms of trafficking in persons “means the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for labors or services, through the use of force, fraud or coercion for the purposes of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery
Researchers estimate that between 100,000 and 300,000 American children are trafficked within the U.S. each year.
Christianity Today Magazine May 2010
“During the October raids, law enforcement rescued 52 minors children under 18, trafficked into with prostitution or adult entertainment. Nearly 700 people, including 60 pimps, were charged.”
What Does the Bible Say About Sexual Assault?
• Clearly depicted as a sin against the victim and God
• Mentioned frequently throughout the Bible
• Referred to as a symbol of how badly sin has corrupted God’s good creation
• Understood as a severe distortion of God’s plan for sex
Human Trafficking Organizations
Polaris Project
Human trafficking is a form of modern-day slavery where people profit from the control and exploitation of others. As defined under U.S. federal law, victims of human trafficking include children involved in the sex trade, adults age 18 or over who are coerced or deceived into commercial sex acts, and anyone forced into different forms of "labor or services," such as domestic workers held in a home, or farm-workers forced to labor against their will
Freedom Climb
Climbers will be raising awareness, prayers, and finances for women and children being oppressed, enslaved, exploited and trafficked. The Freedom Climb goal for 2012 is to affect the lives of 10,000 women through projects that break the cycles of poverty, shame, slavery, and despair. These projects include micro-loans, education, skills training, and protection from exploitation.
Not For Sale Campaign
According to the book titled "The Secret World of 27 Million People" Human Trafficking is a $32 billion dollar a year industry
A 21 Campaign
In 2008, Christine and her husband, Nick, founded The A21 Campaign, an organization dedicated to addressing the injustice of human trafficking. The A21 Campaign’s comprehensive approach includes raising awareness, preventing future trafficking, taking legal action and offering support services to survivors.
Together we can make victims into friends and survivors into family
The A21 Campaign
1. WRITE A LETTER
2. MULTIPLY YOUR PENNIES
3. GET SOCIAL
4. GET SMART
5. INTERN WITH A21
6. BE A BILLBOARD
7. SEND STUFF
8. PRAY
9. SHOW YOUR STUFF
10. READ HEADLINES
21 Ways To Help
11. START A STUDENT REVOLUTION
12. PARTY WITH A PURPOSE
13. UNITE AND CONQUER
14. WRITE FOR THEIR RIGHTS
15. FAST ON THE 21st
16. INCORPORATE THE CORPORATE
17. MAKE VIDEOS VIRAL
18. LINK LOCALLY
19. WALK IN HER SHOES
20. DEMAND NO DEMAND
21. SUPPLY THE SOLUTION
Free The Slaves
Our goal: to end slavery in our lifetime.
Sower of Seeds International Ministries
Our Mission: Responding to cries for help.
Our Vision: Sowing seeds of God's love, compassion and salvation into the helpless, the poor and the needy children of the nations.
Our goal is to be a bridge, connecting you to world missions in a way that is measurable and full of impact, making an eternal difference in the lives of others.
Hagar International
In all things we aim to follow the example of Jesus who never gave up and who coaxed life from the darkest corners of human experience.
Wellspring Living
Puresa Humanitarian
Puresa Humanitarian is dedicated to empowering women who are rescued victims of human trafficking.
Our organization operates and mobilizes in order to support the continued assistance needed for these survivors to achieve a new life full of hope, dignity, independence, and freedom.
Human Trafficking for the purpose of commercial exploitation is not confined to developing countries, it has tragically exploded into a global epidemic infecting every corner of the world.
There are 27 million people being held in bondage today, more than at any other time in human history.
"Most Americans do not realize that child trafficking is a major problem on Main Street USA" said Ernie Allen, president of National Center of Missing and Exploited Children, "These kids are victims. This is 21st-century slavery"
Genesis 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them”.
The abuse of one’s identity and freedom is a justice issue. The biblical mandate for justice is spread throughout scripture. Whatever is opposed to life itself, is an infamy and is poisonous to human society. Moreover they are a supreme dishonor to God.
Humans are reflections of God’s glory, not just due to our reason, creativity, speech or self-determination, for our very being reflects the image of God. In understanding this truth this is where our self-worth is found. Created in the image of God to reflect his glory, human beings male, female, children or infant should not be subjected to the oppression and exploitation of human trafficking.
Each man, woman, and child is equally deserving of love, respect, and dignity
GOD AND SEXUAL ASSAULT