Grace as justice Premier Issue

GRACE AS JUSTICE inspire

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empower

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educate Volume 1, Issue 1 M AY 2015

DESTINY RESCUE A safe place for the rescued to live, grow and experience the unconditional love of Christ.

PATRICIA KING Interview with XP Media co-founder and pioneer of anti-human trafficking initiatives in Thailand and Cambodia.

Shiloh Shelter. The vision of one 12 year-old girl.

WAR Int'l. Rescued women producing professional products

There is something that each one of us has in our hands.

GRACEASJUSTICE.COM

from the desk of the

EDITOR Welcom e t o t he first edit ion of Grace As Just ice. Beginning t his m agazine w as an effort of love as I considered w hat I could do t o help st op hum an t rafficking and slavery. I have been involved m any years in financially helping t o st op and prevent t his at rocit y, but I alw ays ask m yself w hat else I can do.

Grace As Just ice w as a t it le chosen very deliberat ely. While t he m agazine does not present it self as a fait h only m agazine, not hing is m ore im port ant t o m e t han m y fait h.

M y personal belief is t hat Jesus died for m y sins and in ex change gave m e His right eousness so I can have direct com m unicat ion w it h God. His ex t ravagant gift of grace ( unearned and undeserved favor) saved m e in fact from just ice, w hich He t ook upon Him self. M y desire is t o ex t end t his grace t o ot hers t o bring hat red and violence t o just ice, t hereby set t ing t he capt ives free.

Wor ds, photos and videos ar e a power ful for ce in the w or ld.

Gr ace As Justice seeks to use these power ful tools to end human tr afficking and slaver y .

We ar e intent on show ing how the w or ld is w or king together to destr oy the atr ocity of slaver y .

Hum an t rafficking is an im port ant issue of our t im e. It is t he dehum anizat ion of an ent ire group of people ? largely w om en and children. It affect s every count ry and group of people in t he w orld, even in places one w ould never im agine it could ex ist .

Probably t he m ost im port ant t hing I can say is--you do not have to be overwhelmed. No one can do everyt hing, but everyone can do som et hing. Rem em ber, t here are 27 m illion people in slavery and over 7 billion people in t he w orld. Even if you break it dow n t o only 1 billion of able-bodied people w ho care, t hose out side of slavery largely out num ber t hose w ho are in slavery. This m eans t he fight is feasible ? but it is impossible w it hout you.

It is m y hope t hat t his m agazine w ill help you realize not only t he nat ure of t rafficking, but also just how m uch you are able t o do. Every person is able t o do som et hing, even if w e have not all been called t o break dow n doors, volunt eer, bring vict im s hom e, or t ravel overseas. You can use w hat ever is in your hand. Just go and ex t end grace and bring hat red and violence t o just ice.

Rachael Williams-M ejri, Editor follow me on Tw itter @graceasjustice

Ma t t he w Fr ie d ma n

CONTRIBUTORS

BREAKINGTHELINKS BREAKINGTHELINKS.ORG

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Che r y l

J e nn a Cha p ma n

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Ma lin Roux

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SUBM ISSIONS Ke r sley F it zge r a ld

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S hiloh Fox

SHILOHSHELTER SHILOHSHELTER.COM

Grace As Justice publishes a bi-annual magazine.

We seek articles, interview s, photos and book review s that show individuals or organizations successfully fighting against human trafficking and slavery.

Our three areas of focus are Inspiration, Empow erment and Education. We particularly like to hear how each of us can help, no matter w ho w e are, w here w e are or w hat insignificant thing w e have in our hand.

Regular Features include interview s, photo collages, and book review s.

Ay n Rig g s

SLAVEFREECHOCOLATE

Full guidelines are available on our w ebsite: GraceAsJustice.com

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ADVERTISING Ha r mony D ust

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As a new periodical, w e have no statistics on our readers, but are interested in corporate sponsorship to offset our publishing costs.

Our marketing is targeted to w omen betw een the ages of 30 and 55.

Ka ilie He im

W.A.R.INT'L

Please contact us if you w ould like to know more about advertising in the magazine. ads@graceasjustice.com

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PUBLICATION Pa t r ic ia K ing

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Me lissa Wa r d

WIPEEVERYTEAR WIPEEVERYTEAR.ORG

EDITOR

Rachael Williams-M erji

PUBLISHER

Belinda Strotheide, Seed Stock M edia

PHOTOS

Photos are credited to contributing organizations as noted.

CONTACT:

PO Box 2616, Bay City, TX 77404 info@graceasjustice.com

Cover

CONTENTS

7 Destiny Rescue 46 Patricia King: Interview 8 Shiloh Shelter 26 W.A.R. Int'l 48 What Can You Do?

Fea tures Interview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Patricia King, XP Ministries 46 Scrapbook. . . . . . . . . . . . . .Shiloh's Scrapbook-India, Shiloh Fox 10 Book Reveiw. . . . . . . . . . . . Slave, by Mende Nazer & Damien Lewis 12

educa te

What Can You Do?. . . . . . Rachael Williams-Merji 48

inspire 7 Daring to Dream--Povert y is a

32 Traffic Statistics--Anot her look at

em pow er

dream killer but Dest iny Rescue helps.

8 All About a Girl

by Shiloh Fox --

t he current num bers, w hat t hey m ean and w hat Rest ore Innocence is doing t o change t hem .

34 Not My Life film --The film t hat is changing response t o hum an t rafficking.

22 Free Vacation for Bar Girls

36 In Plain Sight film by David

Can one fourt een year-old m ake an im pact ?

by Melissa Ward-- Vacation is a first st ep

13 Victims in the Spotlight

24 Unlikely Dreams--How one girl

by Harmony Dust--Your st ory m at t ers but it doesn't define you.

beat s t he odds w it h t he help of m any people and Red Window Project .

16 Modern Day Slavery

26 The Art of Empowerment

42 Dark Side of The Digital Age

by Susan Munsey--Em pow ering

by Kailie Heim--W.A.R. Int 'l provides

by Monique Emser--The link bet w een child

t rafficked w om en t o discover a fut ure.

sust ainable fut ures for survivors.

t rafficking and online sex ual ex ploit at ion.

18 Restoration Ministries

by Candace Wheeler-- Helping survivors'

48 What Can You Do? -- Act ions t hat 28 Fighting Human Slavery anyone can t ake t o m ake an im pact .

by Matthew Friedman-- Educat ing young people t o end slavery.

50 Importance of Involving Corporate by Malin Roux-- It st art s w it h 30 Red Thread Movement

connect w it h God t o heal.

19 Dreams without Borders

by Diana & Eugen Krahn--Responding t o ISIS t ort ure of w om en & children.

t o a hom e & college educat ion.

2000 rescues, Fair Trade Incom e and safe hom es for girls in Nepal.

Trotter--St ories of hope and freedom .

40 Victim-Centered: A New Response by Jenna Funkhouser Policing in a new w ay.

t he dem and and buyers.

Please be aware some of the stories depict actual violence against women and children and may be disturbing to some.

DARING TO DREAM She knew the w or k w as unsafe and Poverty is a dream didn? t likekiller it, and an all too familiar part of the story for many girls that come through Destiny Rescue, including Noo*. but could not see any other Noo?s st ep-fat her w as t he only one w orking w hen her m ot her w as diagnosed and under t reat m ent option. for cancer.

To help out her fam ily w it h ex penses, Noo dropped out of school and st art ed w orking as a w ait ress in a karaoke bar w hen she w as 15. She knew t he w ork w as unsafe and didn?t like it , but could not see any ot her opt ion.

Posing as cust om ers, t w o m en from Dest iny Rescue m et Noo w hile she w as w orking at t he bar. The first t hing t hey asked w as if she w ant ed t o go back t o school. She said yes and w as happy, but deep dow n she w as scared because she did not know w ho t hese m en w ere. Short ly aft er, Dest iny Rescue began support ing her t o go back t o school and Noo st opped w orking at t he karaoke bar. Noo becam e involved w it h Dest iny Rescue?s out side program but in July her m ot her passed aw ay from cancer.

Her fat her had passed aw ay w hen she w as very lit t le and she had never had a close relat ionship w it h her new er st ep fat her. Noo only has one older sist er and felt very alone aft er her m ot her passed aw ay so she decided t o live at t he Rescue Hom e.

Noo has a very sw eet , gent le nat ure, likes t o learn new t hings, and is a very sm art girl. She has done w ell in school in t he past and eager t o go back t o school nex t year. She is t hankful for Dest iny Rescue and everyone w ho has m ade it possible for her t o cont inue her st udies and have a chance at a bet t er life. Wit h t heir help, she no longer feels alone. It is ex cit ing t o see Noo dream ing about her fut ure as she st art s t o t hink about going t o Universit y t o st udy English aft er graduat ing. * This is t he t rue st ory of a rescued child. To prot ect her ident it y, nam es and im ages have been changed.

Phot o used w it h perm ission of Dest iny Rescue Writ t en By Cheryl | Dest iny Rescue Cont ribut ing Writ er

Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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ALL ABOUT A GIRL

BY SHILOH FOX

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I am a gir l. In 2010, when I was twelve, it br oke my hear t to lear n that gir ls ar e not wanted in India. I lear ned that it is illegal to find out the gender of your baby in India because, if it is a gir l, they will have an abor tion. In villages when a baby is bor n, if it is a gir l, they will often kill the child at bir th.

Baby gir ls ar e abandoned in tr ash bins or sold into slaver y, which includes domestic and sexual slaver y. All of this is because they ar e consider ed a financial bur den. When you go to sleep, by the time you wake up, over 200 babies will have been abor ted in India, just because they are girls. Some estimates ar e close to one million a year .

After lear ning of this, God bur dened my hear t to make a differ ence in their lives.

When I was four teen God allowed me to star t the pr ocess of getting a shelter for these baby gir ls to Page 8 |

be anonymously dr opped off. Or iginally my plan was to take in baby gir ls fr om being killed and abandoned, but by the gr ace of God, the daughter s of pr ostitutes [ar e now being taken in]. We wer e able to par tner with a man who has been doing a ministr y in the r ed light distr ict for over 12 year s.

He has a r oom wher e the childr en of these ?wor ker s? come. Ever y day he feeds them and tells them Bible stor ies. They sing songs, and he gives what little of an education he can.

Sex slaver y and pr ostitution is an immense pr oblem in India. NGOs estimate that 12,000 50,000 women and childr en ar e tr afficked into India year ly fr om bor der ing states for sex. In India, once sold into pr ostitution, whether willingly or not, families no longer accept [the women back].

So these young gir ls who ar e sold, even if they

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wer e to leave, would have nowher e to go. By the time they ar e older , they don?t know any other lifestyle. That is why our par tner is also a par t of a ministr y that teaches these women other tr ades, such as sewing, cooking or cleaning so they can have a better chance of star ting over .

The stor y of ever y gir l in the Red Light Distr ict var ies. Some wer e kidnapped and sold ther e. Some had father s who owed money or needed money, so they sold their own daughter s. Some wer e wives of alcoholics who for ced them to go to br ing home money. Some may have been bor n ther e, and ar e sadly for ced to follow their mother ?s footsteps.

I have been to Tour be (the r ed-light distr ict in our city) sever al times with our par tner . Ever y time I go, my hear t deepens for those women and childr en. When things r eally star ted to pr ogr ess with Shiloh Shelter , I wr ote a jour nal entr y about one of my tr ips.

As I wal ked down t he al l ey of t hat r ed-l ight dist r ict , I decided t hat I woul d have no f ear , and I coul d f eel God?s hand of prot ect ion over me. I was hear t broken as I saw t he women seat ed al l al ong wher e we wal ked, groups in cer t ain sect ions. As we sat in f ront of one room, t al king wit h some women, I t r ied t o ignor e t he sounds of t he women cal l ing out t o t he men t hat pas[ sed] by. Some men woul d not even say anyt hing, t hey woul d j ust l ook at t he women, wal k int o t he room, and t he gir l woul d fol l ow. I sat t al king t o one of t he ?madams?t hrough a t r ansl at or . This madam was sol d t her e when she was t hir t een.

She is now in her sixt ies.

After two and a half year s of pr ayer , r aising funds, finding the r ight par tner ships and having the r ight legal documents, we wer e finally able to get the shelter up and r unning. October 1, 2014 was the opening day of Shiloh Shelter .

We par tner ed with a man who has been doing a ministr y in the r ed light distr ict for over 12 year s.

We now have two pr ecious gir ls, each the daughter of a sex wor ker . Our fir st little gir l was ther e opening day. She is thr ee year s old and her mother gave her up to Shiloh Shelter to pr event her fr om living a life of pr ostitution. Our second little gir l came a few months later . She is two and a half and was owned by one of the pimps in the r ed-light distr ict. Her mother , who is also ?pr oper ty? of this pimp, became pr egnant, and when the child was bor n, she became pr oper ty as well. This pimp got ver y sick, and our par tner , who knew the mother , went to her and told her she knew what would happen if she died. That little gir l would be sold, abused and when older would be put into sex wor k. By the gr ace of God, the mother gave her up and that little gir l now lives at the shelter . I pr ay that as mor e gir ls star t to come, the shelter will continue to r un smoothly. I am so thankful to God for allowing me to be involved in giving these gir ls a better life; a life of love wher e they gr ow up and hear of Chr ist.

Find out mor e about Shiloh Shelter .

Between the time y ou go to bed tonight and w ake up tomor r ow mor ning, over 20 0 babies w ill have been abor ted in India.

Just because they ar e gir ls.

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Photos contributed by Shiloh Fox

SLAVE BOOK REVIEW

BY RACHAEL WILLIAM S-M EJRI Slave by M ende Nazer and Dam ien Lew is recount s t he life of a young Nuba w om an from t he m ount ains of Sudan.

The book begins Nazer?s life st ory in t he Nuba m ount ains w here everyt hing appears t o be com fort able and pleasant .

She goes t o school, is t he baby of a dot ing fam ily, and is busy enjoying her ex t ended fam ily and friends. While t here are som e ugly set backs in her life including an incredibly painful circum cision, she is largely happy.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing

Nazer gives a t horough descript ion of her life as a child.

The reader has an incredible look int o a largely rem ot e area and people. She describes not only her childhood, but also t he w ay of life t his nat ion lives out even t oday. Nazer does not perm it t he out sider t o view her or her people as a prim it ive group, but as a com plex people w ho love and cherish t heir children, ex t ended fam ily and friends as m uch as any ot her people. Addit ionally, she t alks of dress and fun act ivit ies and relat ions bet w een her people-nat ion and ot hers. Not everyt hing is beaut iful, as she ex plains w hen relat ing her ex perience w it h circum cision, and som e Nazer is finally sent t o England t o live and w ork for her ow ner?s sist er. She finds out lat er t hat painful occurrences due t o t he birt h of her sist er?s first she is w orking for a Sudanese am bassador. child.

This sm all w orld is com plet ely dest royed w hen Arab raiders arrive in her village and burn it t o t he ground, rounding up all t he children t hey find. Aft er being kidnapped, and ex periencing an at t em pt ed rape, Nazer is t hen delivered t o slave t raders w ho sell her t o a w om an t eet ering bet w een m om ent ary sanit y and ex t rem e violence.

Her life as a slave begins at t he age of eit her t w elve or t hirt een ? ages being largely unknow n am ong her people.

Due t o her young age, lack of educat ion and naivet y, she is easily bound t o her ow ner and never seeks escape. She keeps hoping she m ight one day see her fam ily, but is uncert ain if t hey are even alive aft er t he village raid.

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Slave is an int erest ing book full of bot h laught er and horror. Am ong t he m om ent s of incredible violence t hat som et im es leave her in t he hospit al, Nazer also m akes t he reader laugh w it h her discovery of cert ain com m odit ies like running w at er. The book reads m uch like a novel, but w it h t he t ension t hat t his is in fact an aut obiography. It is a page-t urner, so t he reader should be prepared not t o set it dow n.

M oreover, it show s t he insidiousness of hum an t rafficking; how it is not only a ?t hird w orld? problem ; how it infilt rat es t he hom es of t hose sw orn t o prot ect ; and w hy t raffickers prefer children.

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GraceAs AsJustice Justice(c) (c)2015 2015 Grace

VICTIM S IN THE SPOTLIGHT YOUR STORY MATTERS--BUT IT DOESN'T DEFINE YOU

BY HARMONY DUST I st ill rem em ber t he first t im e I w as get t ing ready t o share m y st ory in a church set t ing. Just as t he congregat ion w as get t ing ready t o t rickle in, a w om an looked at m e and said, ?Are you sure you w ant t o do t his? People w ill never look at you t he sam e again.?

Panic set in. Was I m aking t he right choice? M aybe she w as right ? M aybe a st ory like m ine w as fine t o share in t he st rip clubs, but not w it h t he general public, and cert ainly not in t he church.

I ran t o t he bat hroom hoping t o w ard off an anx iet y at t ack.

Thankfully I ran int o a friend w it h a different opinion. ?Who cares w hat t hey t hink? If t hey have a problem w it h your st ory, t hat is bet w een t hem and God.?

She rem inded m e t hat w e overcom e by t he blood of t he Lam b and t he w ord of our t est im ony ( Revelat ion 12:11) . She t old m e t hat God w as going t o use m y st ory t o set ot her people free.

The t rut h is, it w as only a few years prior t o t his m om ent t hat I had been set free as a result of Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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som eone bravely sharing t heir st ory. I had been at t ending church and learning about Jesus, but I st ill found m yself st uck in an abusive relat ionship w it h a boyfriend w ho essent ially becam e m y pim p. Every night , I cam e hom e from w ork at t he st rip club and gave him all of m y m oney. A childhood filled w it h sex ual abuse, rape and abandonm ent left m e feeling hopeless and w ort hless. He sim ply validat ed all of t he negat ive t hings I already believed about m yself. So no m at t er how dest ruct ive t he relat ionship becam e, I st ayed.

One night , I found m yself at a Christ ian hip-hop concert in San Diego. During t he show , a m an st ood up and briefly shared his t est im ony. He t old us t hat he had been living on t he st reet s, a hom eless drug addict , and Jesus changed his life. I had never heard som eone publicly t alk about t heir past w it h such confidence and t ransparency. Up unt il t hat point , I w as pret t y convinced ( as t he enem y w ould have it ) t hat I w as t he only one in t he church dealing w it h brokenness. It is t his sort of lie volume 1 issue 1

t hat keeps us bound and silent .

The m an w ent on t o share t he script ure in John 15:5, ?I am t he vine; you are t he branches. If you rem ain in m e and I in you, you w ill bear m uch fruit ; apart from m e you can do not hing.?

That night , I realized t hat I w as like t he w it hered branch, cut off from t he Vine, t rying t o live life m y w ay. I began t o w onder, if God could love and rest ore a hom eless drug addict , t hen just m aybe he could love and rest ore a girl like m e.

I decided I w as going t o do w hat ever I could t o connect m y life t o t he t rue Vine, Jesus. It w as from t hat resolut ion and ex periencing His relent less love, first hand, t hat I gained t he st rengt h t o leave m y abusive ex and st ripping behind.

St anding w it h m y friend in t he church bat hroom a few years lat er, I w as faced w it h anot her decision. Would I be generous enough w it h m y ow n st ory t o share it ? Or w ould I shrink back in fear of w hat ot her people m ight t hink? ( cont inued)

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In som e w ays, it w ould have been

voices heard, now adays, t here

st ill believe it brings freedom . I

easy t o go about m y m erry lit t le

seem s t o be a spot light w ait ing

believe it hum anizes t he w om an

life, healed and w hole, yet silent .

Recalling t he im pact one m an?s st ory had on m e, I m ade a choice t hat day t o surrender m y st ory t o God. If He w ant ed m e t o share it , I w ould. The m inist ry of Treasures, an out reach and support group for w om en in t he sex indust ry w as birt hed out of m y st ory. I can?t even im agine w hat life w ould look like if I hadn?t shared m y st ory t hat day.

for anyone w ho w ill com e forw ard w it h a st ory of vict im hood.

on t he ot her end of t he dollar. It is a pow erful t ool in bringing aw areness, educat ion and hope.

Recent ly I did a docum ent ary shoot in w hich I spent about t w o hours recount ing m y hist ory of t raum a, abuse, and w orking as a st ripper. The direct or w as get t ing ready t o w rap up t he int erview and asked if t here w as anyt hing else I w ould like t o cover.

But I also believe m y st ory is bigger t han t he pain of m y past .

That part of m y st ory is just t hat , ?part of m y st ory.? It isn?t w ho I am .

For t he nex t several years, m ost of t he w om en I encount ered w ere deeply asham ed of t heir st ories. I encouraged t hem t o break t he silence because t heir past doesn?t have t o define t heir fut ure. ?M y St ory M at t ers? has been a Treasures m ot t o. We believe in t he pow er of st ory. And it 's not just people w ho have w orked in t he sex indust ry w ho second-guess t heir st ories. We all have a st ory, and it m at t ers. The very t hings t hat w e m ay be t em pt ed t o t hink disqualify us from God?s plan for our lives are t he very t hings t hat He can and w ill use for good if w e let Him .

Things have changed over t he past decade. The issues of sex t rafficking and com m ercial sex ual ex ploit at ion ( CSE) have gained public at t ent ion. Aw areness is spreading. These are good t hings.

Whereas survivors of t rafficking and CSE used t o have t o break t hrough barriers of silence, sham e and st igm a t o have t heir Page 14 |

?Well, w e didn?t t alk about Treasures and t he w ork I do t oday. Or w hat has happened in m y life since I left t he sex indust ry? I not ed.

M y ident it y is in Jesus. I am not defined by w hat I have done, but by w hat He has done.

M y st ory m at t ers, but it does not define m e.

He paused and pondered t his for a m om ent . ?That ?s okay. I t hink w e?ve got w hat w e need.?

M y concern is t his, w it h so m uch at t ent ion being given t o t he ?vict im hood? part of CSE and t rafficking survivor st ories, t he underlying m essage is t hat t hey are st ill defined by t heir past .

And if survivors begin t o see t heir value solely t hrough t he lens of t heir ?vict im hood? and people?s desire t o hear t heir st ories, w hat happens w hen t he spot light m oves on t o a new cause?

What happens w hen w e aren?t invit ed t o share our st ories anym ore?

I st ill believe t hat st ory m at t ers. I volume 1 issue 1

Pixabay Grace As Justice (c) 2015

VICTIMS IN THE SPOTLIGHT (cont)

If you are in a posit ion w here you invit e people t o share t heir st ories, I w ould like t o leave you w it h som e pract ical quest ions you can ask t o em pow er people as t hey share from t he plat form you offer.

If you are a person w ho shares your st ory publicly, t hese are som e t hings you m ay consider.

Em pow er ing Quest ions 1. What do you hope t hat people w ill learn from your st ory?

2. What is one t hing you w ould like people t o know ?

3. Who are you t oday?

4. What are you looking forw ard t o?

5. What is your hope for your fut ure?

6. What do you t hink t hat surv iv ors of sex t rafficking and CSE need?

7. Where are t he gaps in serv ices?

8. What fact ors m ake people v ulnerable t o t rafficking and CSE? 9. What can w e do t o m ake a difference?

Harmony Dust is the founder and executive director of Treasures, an outreach and support group for women in the commercial sex industry and victims of trafficking.

Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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MODERN DAY SLAVERY

BY SUSAN MUNSEY, LCSW

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In just t he last year several gangs have had m em bers arrest ed for sex t rafficking across t he Unit ed St at es. M any individuals have also found t his t o be a lucrat ive ?business,? and an easy w ay t o m ake m oney, w it h low risk and lit t le pot ent ial for st iff charges. Trafficking happens around t he w orld, but m ake no m ist ake, it is happening at hom e as w ell. It ?s been called m odern day slavery and t hat is ex act ly w hat it is.

Young w om en, oft en st art ing as early as 12 years old, are being t ricked, lured, forced and coerced int o being sold on t he st reet s or m ore oft en on t he int ernet for sex . Their innocence is st olen, as is t heir chance at a fut ure. M any of t hese w om en com e from fost er care or low er socioeconom ic backgrounds, but it can happen t o anyone w ho spends t im e on t he int ernet , shopping m all, public t ransport at ion or even m iddle and high schools? som e of t he t raffickers favorit e places t o recruit .

They end up t rapped, sham ed, hum iliat ed, helpless and hopeless. They have PTSD at t he level of ret urning m ilit ary vet erans from w ar, low self-est eem , depression, anx iet y, night m ares and day-t im e int rusive t hought s. They need help t o get on t heir feet w it h housing, clot hing, educat ion, job Page 16 |

skills, m edical, dent al and psychiat ric care, t herapy, love and accept ance. They need t o not be seen as ex -prost it ut es, but as young w om en w ho w ere t aken advant age of and now need som e assist ance t o st ep out of t heir night m ares and int o t heir dream s of becom ing self-sufficient , of having a decent job and a place t o call hom e.

At Generat eHope t his is ex act ly w hat w e do, st art ing w it h love and accept ance for w ho t hey are and w here t hey are. We provide t hem w it h a loving hom e and a program t o address t heir needs including academ ics, group and individual t herapy and m any adjunct t herapies such as art , Pilat es, dance and surfing t o balance t hings out and norm alize som e aspect of t heir lives. Beyond t hat , w e part ner w it h our com m unit y for m edical, dent al, opt om et ry, t at t oo rem oval and m ore.

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Our 75% success rat e show s t hat w e are hit t ing t he m ark, but w e can?t st op t here. Our count ry has only about 500 beds for t rafficked w om en, if t hat , few t o none for t rafficked m en and just a handful of program s for our yout h under 18 years of age. We m ust also change law s so t hat t he t raffickers and buyers are held account able and w e m ust educat e our public t o know t hat t his is not t he oldest business in t he w orld, it is t he oldest abuse in t he w orld. Just ask yourself if you?d like t o w ork seven days a w eek having sex w it h 10 ( oft en abusive and disgust ing) st rangers a day and t o add insult t o injury, you?ve got t o hand all t he m oney you m ake off t o som eone else. Truly, lit t le girls don?t grow up hoping for t his t ype of life.

So, t ruly, how can w e sit by and let t his kind of ?life? go on?

Speak up, st and up, donat e, pray, vot e, call your

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represent at ives, volunt eer, educat e yourself and share w hat you learn. One day w e w ill look back at t his and w onder how it ever happened. I for one w ant t o be one of t hose w ho can say t hat I did som et hing about it . You can look aw ay, but you can?t pret end t hat you didn?t know .

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Susan Munsey is the founder and Executive Director of GenerateHope. She is passionate about rescuing and rehabilitating women from sex trafficking, so much so that in addition to her other duties, she has lived on site with the women at GenerateHope from day one as a house mom.

Susan sits on The San Diego Regional Human Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Advisory Counsil and co-chairs the HT/CSEC Service Provider Committee. Susan has a Masters degree in social work from Smith College in Massachusetts and is licensed in California as a clinical social worker. She has 25 years of clinical experience in the community, in hospital setting, and in private practice. She loves her beautiful daughter, adorable grandson and her troublesome Basset Hound.

Photos contributed by GenerateHope.

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Restoration Ministries

BY CANDACE WHEELER, Founder and Executive Director

Since 2003, Rest orat ion M inist ries ( RM ) has been building relat ionships w it h t rafficked w om en and girls t hrough Bible st udies, spirit ual ret reat s, m ent oring and support groups. Only t he Lord can heal t he w ounds t hese young girls bear. Our hope is t hat as w e respect fully com e alongside t hem , t hey feel draw n t o t he love of Jesus.

M any w onder w hy our logo is a shepherd w it h a lam b around his neck. Before t he m inist ry began, t he Lord oft en spoke t o m e about t he parable of t he lost sheep in Luke 15.

4 ?What man of y ou, having a hundr ed sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety - nine in the w ilder ness, and go after the one w hich is lost until he finds it? 5 And w hen he has found it, he lay s it on his shoulder s, r ejoicing. 6 And w hen he comes home, he calls together his fr iends and neighbor s, say ing to them, ?Rejoice w ith me, for I have found my sheep w hich w as lost!?? Luke 15:4- 6 N KJV At RM w e go searching for t he ones w ho have st rayed aw ay. We m eet t hem in det ent ion cent ers, jails, psychiat ric hospit als, group hom es and on t he st reet s. The average st ay at t he det ent ion cent er or

psychiat ric hospit al is about t hree m ont hs, so w e have plent y of t im e t o slow ly build t rust ing relat ionships.

Spirit ualit y plays a very large part in survivors? healing. It helps t hem m ake m eaning of t heir t raum a, and like so m any of us, t hey deeply desire t o develop a spirit ual life. We are oft en able t o help t hem m ake t hat life-changing connect ion t o God. Each w eek t he girls have t he opport unit y t o w rit e out t heir prayer request s. We t ake t hem back t o our drop-in cent er and place t hem on a board w e call our " Wailing Wall." It is a privilege it is t o lift t hem up in prayer and int ercede on t heir behalf. When t heir prayers are answ ered, w e rejoice t oget her.

We st rongly believe t hat t he role of t he church is t o w alk alongside t hose w ho are hurt ing. It is very im port ant t hat w e do not t ry t o " fix " anyone, as t hat is t he Lord?s job. But w e are called t o be vessels of love so t hat t he Lord can bring healing and rest orat ion t o t hose w ho are suffering. Ours is a m inist ry of presence, one of being and not of doing.

It is a joy t o see a girl or w om an?s face light up w hen she has received revelat ion of God?s love for her!

There are m any w ays t hat you can be part of t he solut ion and bring healing t o survivors of sex t rafficking. Please visit our Get Involved and Give pages t o see t he w ays you can becom e a part of our w ork. We deeply value w hat ever t alent s or resources you have t o share w it h us, and look forw ard t o get t ing t o know you.

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?Our cur r ent mission, together w ith our par tner s, is to pr ovide medical, emotional car e, shelter and other suppor t to w omen w ho have managed to escape their ISIS captor s.?

DREAMS WITHOUT BORDERS

BY DIANE & EUGEN KRAHN Diana and Eugen are a new breed of m issionary, abandoning prest igious professions m id-career t o t ackle w hat is at once an ancient and uniquely 21st cent ury horror? t he sex ual t ort ure of w om en by Islam ist ex t rem ist s.

Pixabay Diana, a lively m arket ing and public relat ions m anager of Danish-Indian descent , st art ed her hum anit arian w ork at a very young age. She w as ex posed t o m any of t he w orld?s harsh realit ies w hile t raveling w it h her diplom at ic parent s on developm ent project s t hroughout Europe and Asia. It w as in t hose early days, playing w it h t he children in t he slum s of India t hat her com passion for t he needy w as birt hed. Wit h t he help of her fam ily, she st art ed an orphanage at t he age of 17.

Today, Diana and her husband Eugen are dedicat ed t o t ransform ing t he lives of t he oppressed and defenseless t hrough t he hum anit arian organizat ion t hey founded: Dream s Wit hout Borders.

Eugen is a t ow ering Germ an-Russian pilot w ho left his posit ion as general m anager and capt ain of a m ajor airline t o follow God?s call int o full-t im e m inist ry. He has been personally t rained by evangelist Daniel Kolenda and m ent ored by Reinhard Bonnke. Eugen ex plains: ?Our current m ission, t oget her w it h our part ners, is t o provide m edical, em ot ional care, shelt er and ot her support t o w om en w ho have m anaged t o escape t heir ISIS capt ors.?

The road t o recovery for t hese severely t raum at ized w om en is ex t rem ely difficult . M ore t han oft en, t hey face a second w ave of violence, reject ion and discrim inat ion at t he hands of t heir ow n com m unit ies, as t hey ret urn t o a cult ure t hat blam es t hem for ?brining sham e? upon t heir fam ilies by having been defiled at t he hands of t heir rapist capt ors.

Every form of sex ual ex ploit at ion is inherent ly and equally despicable, yet m odern-day Islam ist ex t rem ist s, em boldened by t heir ideology of dom inat ion, are abusing w om en and girls on a m ind-boggling scale. M ost of it is hidden from view , played out daily in count less rem ot e desert villages, w hile t he w orld?s at t ent ion is focused on t heir m ore infam ous t errorist act ivit ies.

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DREAMS WITHOUT BORDERS (cont)

As ISIS?s brut al killing m achine sw eeps t hrough large part s of nort hern Iraq, syst em at ically t arget ing m em bers of non-Arab and non-Sunni com m unit ies, t hey have singled out one part icular et hnic group: t he Yazidi? especially t heir w om en and children.

In August 2014, ISIS began t heir rut hless hunt for t he Yazidis in and around t he Sinjar M ount ains. During w hat has been called ?forced conversion cam paigns,? t his genocidal persecut ion lead t o brut al m assacres of Yazidi m en and t he abduct ion of t heir w om en and children. ?Som e of t he w om en and girls as young as 9 years old w ho m anaged t o escape, gave us horrific account s and show ed us gruesom e pict ures of t he cruelt y t hey have endured,? report s Diana. ?The m en w ere beheaded, shot or buried alive, w hile t he w om en w ere raped and sold int o slavery. Even infant girls are being snat ched out of t heir m ot hers? hands t o be given as spoil t o high ranking ISIS fight ers.?

In Decem ber, Dream s Wit hout Borders int erview ed a large num ber of w om en and girls w ho had escaped.

The organizat ion w as given t he rare privilege t o st udy t heir files. M any of t hese w om en have sist ers and daught ers st ill in capt ivit y. ?Ism ael Khalid, advisor t o t he Iraqi governm ent and m em ber of t he Yazidi genocide com m it t ee t old us t hat ISIS cont inues t o hold about 5,000 w om en, including children,? says Eugen.

This t ype of host age t aking and sex ual violence const it ut e w ar crim es and crim es against hum anit y, including t ort ure, rape and sex ual slavery.

Dream s Wit hout Borders has ent ered int o part nership w it h t he Yazidi Genocide Com m it t ee t o bring hum anit arian relief and t o set up safe houses, aft er care and educat ion for m edium and long t erm support of t hese devast at ed w om en and girls, m any of w hom suffer w it h sex ually t ransm it t ed diseases, infect ions and ot her serious condit ions. ?Providing shelt er, m edical and psychological care are our t op priorit ies,? report Diana and Eugen. The need is urgent , t he sit uat ion vast and crit ical. They cannot do it alone.

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RANIA'S STORY

Rania is 12 years old. M ost girls her age w ant t o look

pret t y. But t oday, Rania w ant s t o look ugly and sick. Inst ead of brushing her t eet h and doing hair, she sm ears dirt on her face, cut s her forehead w it h a sharp object and put s on baggy clot hes t hat are dirt y and sm elly. She?s t rying t o m ake herself as repelling as possible because w ord has it t hat ISIS soldiers are approaching her village on t heir m et hodical ?sex jihad.?

On August 6, 2014, t hey arrived. First t hey m assacred Rania?s fat her and brot hers. Then t hey rounded up t he w om en of t he house and shipped t hem t o a hospit al for ?cleaning? and a m edical checkup. ?They cannot t ouch sick girls, so m y 14-year-old sist er t old t hem she has cancer,? says Rania. ?They t hreat ened t o severely punish her if she w as lying.?

Rania?s sist er w as spared by t he pit y of t he ex am ining doct or w ho falsely t est ified t hat she indeed had cancer. Rania w asn?t so fort unat e. Her capt ors did w it h her as t hey pleased. ?I can?t even rem em ber how m any m en raped m e t he first day.?

Som e of t hem w ould recit e passages from t he Koran during t he abuse t o just ify t heir act ions.

The t errorist s t ook Rania t o M osul. She w as held in a school building w it h m ore t han 100 ot her w om en w ait ing t o be ?allocat ed? t o t heir fut ure m ast ers. ?We spoke about com m it t ing suicide all t he t im e but no one act ually did it , unt il a 10 year old girl m anaged t o cut her w rist s and hang herself in t he

bat hroom ,? she recalls.

Rania w as able t o escape and has now found shelt er, t oget her w it h t hree ot her ladies, in a leaking t ent at t he side of a dirt road near t he Syrian/ Turkish border. M edical care is scarce and em ot ional support non-ex ist ent . Rania m anaged t o escape t he m ilit ant s only t o get reject ed, accused and subject ed t o furt her violence at hom e for bringing ?sham e? int o t he fam ily.

She refers t o her t hree t ent m at es as her aunt s, but t hey aren?t relat ed. Init ially, her surviving ex t ended fam ily accept ed her as long as she denied having been sex ually violat ed by her capt ors. When she w as no longer able t o do so, she w as ost racized as punishm ent for bringing disgrace upon t he fam ily, losing her only rem aining source of social and financial support . Like m any ot her w om en and girls w ho m anaged t o escape t he horrors of capt ivit y, Rania needs t o be closely m onit ored as t he t raum a she suffered could st ill drive her t o suicide. ?She suffers t errible night m ares and can hardly sleep, says one of Rania?s t ent m at es. ?She is depressed and barely says a w ord. I am afraid for her safet y; I can?t leave her alone, not even for a short w hile. I fear she m ay harm herself.?

Gir ls and w omen w ho suffer in the w ay Rania has desper ately need the help of gr oups like Dr eams Without Bor der s to ensur e a hope for their futur e. To suppor t this effor t go to Dr eamsw ithoutbor der s.vision

DIANA KRAHN, founder & president

EUGEN KRAHN

Diana Krahn, a marketing & PR manager by profession started humanitarian work at a very young age. Being exposed to the harsh realities through extensive travels during which she accompanied her diplomatic parents on development projects, it was in those early days while playing with the street children in the slums of India that her compassion for the needy developed. She started an orphanage with the help of her family at the age of 17. Today she is dedicating her life to transforming the lives of the oppressed and defenseless.

co-founder & vice-president Eugen Krahn, a commercial airline captain by profession has extensive experience in humanitarian work. Which encompasses a two year full time involvement with street children in Brazil, leading rescue and medical intervention teams into Sumatra in the wake of the South East Asian Tsunami catastrophe and the construction of mobile hospitals and schools.

Photos contributed by Dreams Without Borders.

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FREE VACATION FOR BAR GIRLS

BY MELISSA WARD In June of last year, Wipe Every Tear, an anti-human trafficking organization, invited women from Walking Street for a free five-day vacation called the ?Girls Getaway.?Vacations are normally grand gestures to those we know well and hold dear. They are a time of restoration when we leave the burdens of every day life behind and spend time with one another. This was exactly the spirit behind the Girls Getaway. There was one requirement for entry to the vacation: the women must be currently working in the sex trade. Walking Street in Angeles City, Philippines is a booming sex tourism hot spot where ten to fifteen thousand women work in a mile long stretch that looks like a third world Vegas strip.

Girls Getaway Outreach teams composed of local Filipinos and Americans went bar to bar and extended invitations personally to hundreds of women in Angeles City. The teams had fun, dancing, singing and making friends in the most unlikely of places. They made such a wave that some women left the bar for good the very night they received an invitation. They were able to leave because Wipe Every Tear offers homes, a college education and a family of Filipino house moms and other women now free from sex trafficking.

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FREE VACATION (cont)

From the outreach, 26 women arrived bright and early for the trek to a beach resort. All of them anxious and some even fearful. Managers and pimps in the bars told their workers that the Girls Getaway vacation was a trick. They were told they would be murdered by the people from Wipe Every Tear if they went with them. One woman said that she was willing to take the risk, because she already felt dead inside.

At the beach resort the guests from Angeles City were met by women living in the Wipe Every Tear homes who were once in the sex trade. Now the entire group included 75 people. Everyone had a polite and cordial dinner together then went to bed. Day two beach and water sports were all the rage.

Personalities began to surface and friendships were beginning to form and by day three women all over the resort were linking arms, braiding hair and painting fingernails. That evening one brave woman from Wipe Every Tear gave her testimony of being trafficked for years. There was not a dry eye in the place and other women began to share stories about their lives. Hugs, tears and healing began to take place.

On day four the barrier was fully broken and women began believing that promises of a future were real. Without conducting an alter call or leading anyone in a sinner's prayer, 32 baptisms took place. That night everyone worshiped together on the beach. Every heart in attendance was transformed.

Over the weeks following the Getaway almost every woman who attended the vacation came into the care of Wipe Every Tear. As would be expected, some of the women entering the homes brought issues of alcohol abuse, meth addictions and traumatic nightmares. One by one the women reported that they no longer had the desire to drink or do drugs. After praying for trauma to be healed the night terrors in many stopped. Facebook was filled with the women proclaiming their thankfulness to Jesus for the healing He was doing. In the homes, the women nightly worshipped, prayed and encouraged each other.

Today, all of the women at Wipe Every Tear are eager to take the journey back to Angeles City to tell their friends and even strangers about this new hope that they have found. As a result, many of them have returned with outreach teams.

Amazing stories of freedom have led to more women being rescued. This year Wipe Every Tear is hosting its second annual Girls Getaway. They anticipate three to four times the number of women to join the vacation. With so many new women in the homes, the guests from last year will be planning and hosting this year's entire event. They will experience the joy of leading their friends into freedom.

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Wipe Every Tear RESCUES PRECIOUS GIRLS.

WE CAN CHANGE HER WORLD.

UNLIKELY DREAMS FROM FAIRY TALE TO NIGHTMARE & BACK AGAIN

by Mark Fisher While st ill in elem ent ary school, Gina had a dream . Like m ost w ild childhood aspirat ions, Gina?s dream w as a grand one. Gina?s bold dream w as t o earn a college degree.

She w as one of seven siblings grow ing up ?dirt poor? in Cebu, Philippines, t he count ry?s second largest m et ropolit an area w it h over 4,000,000 people. Tw ent y-t w o percent of t he populat ion lives in ex t rem e povert y, st ruggling t o survive on less t han $1.25 per fam ily m em ber each day.

Children in povert y around t he w orld face a daunt ing m inefield of obst acles com pared t o t hose w ho are m ore affluent . They are m ore likely t o suffer developm ent al delay, m alnut rit ion, poor healt h, illness, childhood disabilit y, m ent al disorders, and accident al deat h. They are also m ore likely t o be vict im s of neglect , abuse, physical assault , rape and hum an t raffickicking.

Girls born in t he bot t om 40% of t he econom ic class are 8 t im es m ore likely t o be under-educat ed at 23 t han girls born int o t op 40% . By t he t im e Gina t urned 23, unem ploym ent in Cebu w ould be over 30% and m ore t han 90% of ent ry level jobs w ould require educat ion beyond a high school degree.

Gina didn't know t hose st at ist ics about educat ion, but she knew t hat no one in her fam ily had ever gone beyond 6t h grade. Whet her naive Page 24 |

or det erm ined or bot h, Gina becam e t he first in her fam ily t o ent er high school and t hen graduat e. She even enrolled in college unt il t he t uit ion fee cam e due.

And t hat ?s w hen Gina?s glorious goal w as ex posed for being just a silly schoolgirl?s dream .

The realit y check cam e in t he form of a bill she could not pay. Gina?s cherished dream shrunk t o a t iny shard of hope t hat she st uffed int o a secret corner of her heart . Then she follow ed her m ot her int o t he labor m arket as a m aid.

Girls w ho are poor and idyllic dream ers occasionally get an opport unit y t hat seem s t o rew ard t heir opt im ism . Such is t he glit t ery st uff of princess t ales.

And if you ever m et Gina, you?d w ish her t he bright est glass slipper and t he happiest of ever aft ers.

Gina?s chance w as an advent ure overseas in a gig t hat w as just perfect for her. A neighbor said she could join a band w it h four ot her Filipino girls and perform in M alaysia, m aking t hree t im es w hat jobs in Cebu paid. Gina loved t o sing and dance; she w as even in a dance t roupe at school. She quickly agreed, joined her band-m at es, and rehearsed rout ines for a m ont h before flying w est .

They arrived in M iri, a cit y t hat t hrives on t he pet roleum indust ry and t ourism . Despit e t he ex cit em ent of becom ing professional perform ers, ?st age jit t ers? on t he first night w ere t o be ex pect ed. Those jit t ers w ere ex acerbat ed w hen volume 1 issue 1

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t heir em ployers t ook aw ay t heir passport s and

Thousand Window s also provides scholarships for

ret urn t icket s.

high school. Encouraged t o ?dream big," m any of

Jit t ers becam e t error w hen t hey learned t heir singing and dancing w ere just preludes t o w hat cust om ers act ually cam e t o purchase. Gina and her friends had been rut hlessly t rafficked.

The Int ernat ional Labour Organizat ion ( ILO) est im at es t hat 4,500,000 w om en and girls are vict im s of sex t rafficking around t he w orld. The prim ary vulnerabilit y fact or is povert y.

Gina's goal of graduat ing from college had becom e less and less likely since childhood. From t he fant asy of a poor schoolgirl t o t he hope of a penniless graduat e, now , as a m odern day slave, it w as sim ply im possible. Yet w hile her dream w as st ill a glim m er, she refused t o let a slaver-t rader snuff it out .

t heir st udent s also pursue college, t oo, a dest inat ion m ost never considered before.

When Gina learned she could earn a scholarship during t he career program , her suppressed dream t ook w ings. She w as grant ed a scholarship in 2011.

In 2012, Gina w as persevering in school despit e dire povert y. She praised 10 Thousand Window s st aff for believing in her abilit y t o overcom e: ?som et im es I feel w eak w hen t here are obst acles, so I am t hankful for t heir support .?

Then she assert ed: ?Not hing is im possible for God.?

Just five m ont hs lat er, she w as aw arded her universit y degree in hospit alit y m anagem ent .

She needed t o ret urn t o t he birt hplace of her dream .

Despit e t hreat s from t heir capt ors, an inabilit y t o speak t he local language, and a lack of m oney or passport s, t his heroic t roupe of five songbirds fled.

Their escape w as perilous as M alaysian officials refused t o help t hem . But sym pat het ic Filipinos helped t hem finally reach Cebu.

Gina w as referred t o 10 Thousand Windows, an innovat ive nonprofit based in Liverm ore, California, t hat specializes in equipping Filipino survivors of sex t rafficking t o find and succeed in prom ising careers.

Recognizing t hat povert y is t he leading fact or for re-t rafficking, 10TW em pow ers survivors reach econom ic self-sufficiency. In t hree years, t he organizat ion has served over 300 survivors.

Gina is a psuedonym in accordance with policies of 10 Thousand Windows and IU. Photo credits: 10 Thousand Windows.

Because educat ion is crit ical t o em ployabilit y, 10

10 Thousand Windows encourages survivors of trafficking and exploitation to dream big, then we lovingly equip them to make those dreams come true.

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R esc ue isEN f ar AT RISK INT' L WOM m or e t h an c ov er t

m issions

THE EMPOWERMENT and ART c our tOF r oom

BY KAILIE HEIM

d r am a.

The road t o rest orat ion is not easily t raveled. The t raum a of hum an t rafficking and abuse runs deep. It ent raps bot h body and m ind, keeping vict im s from hoping for or even underst anding t he realit y of rescue. Once released from sex ual ex ploit at ion, w e ex pect survivors t o break dow n int o t earful grat it ude. We hope for beaut iful st ories of t ransform at ion and dream s of new beginnings. But in t he w orld of t rafficking relief, t his is not alw ays a realit y.

F illing t h at

gap

b et w een ?r esc ue?

The Gap

and

In Cam bodia, w here ent ire villages of children are sold for sex , 90% of rescued w om en are re-t rafficked ( IJM ) . This single st at ist ic reflect s t he global sit uat ion of m odern-day slavery, w het her in developing count ries or here, in ?t he land of t he free.? The painful t rut h is t hat survivors are slipping t hrough t he space bet w een ?rescue? and ?em pow erm ent .? Hope for t he fut ure is darkened by painful past s, t rapping w ounded w om en in t he belief t hat t he sex indust ry is w here t hey belong.

Filling t hat gap bet w een ?rescue? and ?em pow erm ent ? is a lifet im e journey. It requires a holist ic perspect ive? an underst anding t hat som eone?s ent ire life m ust be t ransform ed, not only t heir locat ion. Rescue is far m ore t han covert m issions and court room dram a. Rescue is t he pilgrim age bet w een physical libert y and psychological freedom . The m ission of Wom en At Risk, Int ?l ( WAR, Int ?l) is t o close t his gap. The U.S.-based nonprofit w orks in over fort y count ries, including t he Unit ed St at es, developing project s and part nerships t hat lead t o life-long em pow erm ent on a sust ainable level. Across oceans and across st at e lines, business plans are developed, schools are built , physical w ounds are healed, skills are t aught , and m uch m ore. From cosm et ology scholarships in Pakist an t o coffee farm s in Peru, WAR, Int ?l is det erm ined t o offer w om en a hand-up, not a handout .

?em p ow er m ent ? is a lif et im e j our ney.

A c r oss oc eans... b usiness p lans ar e d ev elop ed , sc h ools ar e b uilt , p h ysic al w ound s ar e h ealed , sk ills ar e t augh t , and m uc h m or e.

Beyond Skills Training While t he abilit y t o live w it h dignit y and independence has an im m easurable value, it m ay not alw ays be enough t o help vict im s see t heir t rue w ort h. Along w it h m ent al and m edical care, WAR ensures t hat every w om an in t heir program s sees personal pot ent ial and can begin t o dream about her fut ure.

Trainers are oft en sent t o t he far corners of t he eart h, personally t eaching w om en skills for success. The jew elry craft ed in WAR program s is m ade t o be w orn w it h pride? t he st ories t o be shared. Rich coffee, grow n on fair t rade farm s, t ravels t o nat ional fest ivals. And part nering bakeries, w here rescued w om en w ork, receive sensat ional review s for t heir professional product s. When cust om ers buy and brag on t he w ork of her hands, a rescued w om an learns t hat she can add value t o her new w orld. This is t rue em pow erm ent . Wom en begin t o m ake t he st eps from ?vict im ? t ow ard ?survivor? and ult im at ely t ow ard ?t hriver.?

At t he WAR Chest Bout ique, w here handcraft ed it em s are sold in U.S. st ores and online, one w om an w at ches her product s fly off t he shelves. M onique, w ho once w orked in t he red light dist rict of w est M ichigan, now craft s high-qualit y necklaces, earrings, bracelet s, and soaps. ?I can?t believe t hat people like som et hing I m ade,? she says, ?That m akes m y heart so happy! ?

For over a year, M onique has w orked at t he new ly est ablished U.S. Training Cent er, a program locat ed at WAR?s headquart ers.

In t hat short t im e, she has developed t he dream of ow ning a business and now learns t hose skills alongside a st aff w ho can t rain and encourage her t hrough every st ep. She has also invit ed friends t o join her at t he Cent er, becom ing an act ive voice for freedom and hope. As t he U.S. Training Cent er program develops, M onique w ill cont inue t o find holist ic care t hrough counseling, childcare, healt h services, and m ore.

A Community of Healers The WAR, Int ?l m ission of em pow erm ent reaches not only t he rescued and at -risk, but also t hose w ant ing t o t ake act ion against injust ice. WAR founder and president , Rebecca M cDonald, lives w it h t he sim ple philosophy t hat w e, ?m ay not all be called t o run safehouses, but w e are all called t o be safe places.? To help advocat es do just t his, WAR offers a variet y of opport unit ies? w het her at headquart ers or in t he com fort of a const it uent ?s hom e and com m unit y. Everyone has t he abilit y t o offer t im e, t alent , or t reasure, and w hen t hey join WAR, Int ?l t hey m ake it possible t o offer w om en places of safet y and dignit y. Those seeking t o learn m ore about t he global crim e of hum an t rafficking can also connect w it h Wom en At Risk.

Through t he organizat ion?s Civilian First Responder Conferences, com m unit y m em bers gain an underst anding of t rafficking, hidden w it hin t heir ow n neighborhoods. Field ex pert s and t rafficking survivors share, first hand, t heir ex perient ial and professional know ledge, preparing all people from all w alks of life t o see and t ake act ion against sex ual ex ploit at ion. As our local and global fam ilies join t his process of filling ?t he gap,? m ore w om en w ill find t rue em pow erm ent .

Heart -w arm ing t ales of t ransform at ion w ill t ake t he spot light and ?re-t rafficking? can becom e a t hing of t he past . These w om en and children w ill not only becom e t he subject of sw eet st ories, but also cont ribut ing m em bers of societ y? people, like M onique, w ho join t he w orld of just ice and break generat ional cycles of povert y, abuse, and hopelessness. This m et am orphosis is a com m unit y affair, and Wom en At Risk, Int ?l is passionat e about t hat com m unit y and finding a place for all people t o give a voice t o t he silenced.

WARINTERNATIONAL.ORG Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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Photos contributed by Woman At Risk International. | Page 27

Fighting Human Slavery Breaking the Links

By Matthew Friedman

An American Road Trip Last M ay, as I w as helping t o set up a USA-based count er t rafficking cam paign, ent it led Breaking the Links, I had a crazy idea. Inst ead of a t ypical sum m er vacat ion w it h m y t w o sons hiking and fishing and hanging out , w hat if w e t ook a road t rip t o different locat ions in t he USA and w orked as a t eam t o inform Am ericans about t he issue of hum an slavery, learn from t hem and raise som e

Empow ering youth as peer leaders in the movement to end human trafficking & modern slavery.

m oney for t he cause. Arm ed w it h idea, I w ent t o m y t w o sons ( Brandon 17 and Dam ien 15) and proposed t he idea. Not know ing w hat t o ex pect , I braced for t he w orst . But t o m y surprise, t hey agreed im m ediat ely, w it hout hesit at ion.

Bet w een July 29 and August 6, t he t hree of us visit ed seven cit ies and did t w elve present at ions int roducing t he Breaking t he Links cam paign. The venues included schools, libraries, churches, a t heat er, a golf club and a m anufact uring cent er. In addit ion t o reaching nearly a t housand people w it h our m essage, w e w ere also able t o raise nearly $10,000 t o help cont ribut e t o t he cause.

For m uch of t he t rip, I w as a dad beam ing w it h pride. The ex perience offered a chance for us all t o Page 28 |

see new sides of each ot her. On t he one hand, m y sons got a t ast e of m y w ork and m y w orld. On t he ot her hand, I had t he privilege t o see t hem ex perience new t hings and grow in t heir roles.

Brandon, m y oldest , has a nat ural speaking gift . He is com fort able on st age and really know s how t o engage t he crow d. He and I co-present ed t oget her.

Dam ien, m y younger son, act ed as our road t rip m anager. He m anaged t he t able, t ook care of all of logist ical arrangem ent s and kept everyt hing m oving. His w arm , friendly personalit y helped t o convince people t o get involved.

One of t he m ain object ives of t he road t rip w as t o gain insight int o how t he Am erican public felt about t his issue. We learned a lot from each sit e w e visit ed. First , few people t o w hom w e present ed act ually knew m uch about t he issue. While everyone had a lit t le know ledge, t here w ere m any t hings t hey sim ply didn?t know or underst and. The fact t hat hum an t rafficking ex t ended beyond prost it ut ion, w as a surprise t o m ost .

Second, m any people w ere shocked by t he m agnit ude of t he problem . When t hey w ere t old t hat t here are m ore slaves in t he w orld t oday t han ever before, t his left people st unned. Third, m any felt t hat t he issue w as som et hing t hat w as far aw ay and unrelat ed t o t hem selves. Nepal and Thailand w ere oft en cit ed as t he locat ion w here t his problem prevailed. Few underst ood t hat it w as som et hing t hat ex ist ed in t he US. We also learned t hat once inform ed, Am ericans really do care about t his issue. Once t heir heart is open, t hey w ant t o get involved and do som et hing t o help. At every place w e visit ed, people st epped up and offered t o help.

The Breaking the Links Campaign

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Grace As Justice (c) 2015

Breaking the Links invit es st udent s, educat ors, and st udent organizat ions t hroughout t he Unit ed St at es t o join t he fight t o end m odern slavery. By forging part nerships and com bining effort s, w e w ill help yout h becom e m odern-day abolit ionist s in t he ant it rafficking m ovem ent . Breaking t he Links aim s t o educat e young people about hum an t rafficking and em pow er t hem t o get involved in t he m ovem ent t o end it . Part icipant s follow four sim ple st eps, w hich include w at ching Not M y Life, w earing a cam paign bracelet t o inspire conversat ion about hum an t rafficking, educat ing ot hers about t he issue, and sharing on social m edia. It is our hope t hat Breaking t he Links w ill inspire young people t o t ake act ion against hum an t rafficking and give t hem t he know ledge t o prot ect t hem selves and t heir peers from being t rafficked.

To learn m ore about t he cam paign, or follow t he st eps visit Breaking t he Links .

If your school is int erest ed in becom ing involved in t he cam paign, or if you w ould like t o learn m ore about part ner opport unit ies, please w rit e t o bt lslavery@gm ail.com .

1. Teach young people about modern- day slavery and human trafficking 2. Provide young people with an entry- point to becoming effective agents for social change through this easy guided activity 3. Help raise money for anti- slavery programs 4. Expand and nurture the global community of anti- slavery and human rights activists 5. Ultimately, help free people who are enslaved so they can lead meaningful and productive lives

involved, t he approach is sim ple, t he ex pect at ions are not overly am bit ious and t he pot ent ial im pact is w ort h invest ing in. But m ost im port ant , t he issue is so im port ant t o t hem .

Aft er t aking t his road t rip, I am convinced t hat t he Breaking t he Links cam paign w ill t hrive.

It has all of t he elem ent s of a successful vent ure ? st udent s care about t his issue, t hey are ready t o get

Matt Friedman is an international human trafficking expert with more than 25 years of experience as an activist, program designer, evaluator, and manager.

Based in Hong Kong, he is the Founder and CEO of the Mekong Club, a coalition of private businessess which aims to guide and support the private sector in their efforts to achieve slavery-free supply chains.

He launched the Campaign in the summer of 2014 in a Summer Roadtrip over ten days in seven locations with his two teenage sons.

Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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The Red Thread Movement

by ABBY YOUNGBLOOD Hello, my name is Gita. I am fr om N epal and am 13 y ear s old. Recently a family member sold me to a tr afficker . I did not know this is w hat he w as doing. I thought I w as going w ith him to Kathmandu to find a good job. Instead, I w as taken to the bor der of India. I w as saved fr om sexual slaver y by staff member s of Kingdom Investments N epal. ( Gita is the y oungest gir l to be r escued fr om tr afficking in N epal.)

How do you at t ack an issue w orldw ide and one of t he w orst hum an crim es? Povert y, gender inequalit y, and lack of educat ion m ake girls in Nepal ex t rem ely vulnerable t o being t rafficked int o Indian brot hels. It is est im at ed t hat 7,000 girls are t rafficked across t he border t o India each year and t hat 200,000 are current ly w orking in Indian brot hels. ( UNICEF) What if t here w as an organizat ion t hat addresses t his t ragedy on m ult iple levels? Rescuing girls at t he border, offering skills t raining in nurt uring safe hom es, raising aw areness and providing t raining and educat ion in rural villages are only som e of t he st rat egies our part ner ( Kingdom Invest m ent s Nepal, KI Nepal) uses t o com bat t he issue of sex t rafficking. Thanks t o KI Nepal, over 2,000 girls are rescued at t he border every year. ( KI Nepal) Those w ho choose t o go t o a safe hom e receive six m ont hs of skills t raining such as t ailoring or beaut ician w ork. They graduat e w it h ex perience and confidence. How can you get involved? Red Thread M ovem ent ( an init iat ive of Et ernal Threads, 501c3 nonprofit ) part ners w it h KI Nepal t o help support t hese girls. The rescued girls m ake Red Thread bracelet s w hile t hey live in t he safe hom e. The bracelet s are t hen sold in t he U.S. t o provide t hem a fair t rade incom e and funds for KI Nepal project s.

These $3.00 bracelet s help in pow erful w ays: - Providing a Fair Trade income for girls that make them.

- Rescuing and restoring girls who have been trafficked.

- Raising awareness for the millions in bondage to modern-day slavery.

We ask support ers t o w ear a Red Thread bracelet t o proclaim hum an t rafficking and m odern-day slavery as hum an right s? crim es and show vict im s t hey are not alone.

Bracelet s m ay be purchased at et ernalt hreads.org and ordered t o sell at redt hreadm ovem ent .org Photos contributed by Red Thread Movement.

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Grace As Justice (c) 2015

An Initiative of Eternal Threads

"The

heart of Eternal Threads is the love of the Lord."

Watch what Eternal Threads is doing today.

TRAFFIC STATISTICS ANOTHER LOOK

By KERSLEY FITZGERALD It 's been about t hree years since I w rot e t he series on hum an t rafficking. I st ill volunt eer w it h a m inist ry t hat helps girls rescued from sex t rafficking recover, but I t hought it w as t im e for som e updat es. What recent st at ist ics are t elling us: The 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report gave a list of im provem ent s t he US needs t o m ake t o rescue and support t rafficking vict im s. First is vict im ident ificat ion ? figuring out w ho is t rafficked and w here t hey are. Along w it h t hat is t raining for law enforcem ent and prosecut ors in regards t o labor t rafficking. Vict im s are desperat ely in need of recovery and rest orat ion services, w hich require a lot of m oney. Specific vict im s w ho need m ore at t ent ion include Nat ive Am erican sex t rafficking vict im s and dom est ic w orkers brought in by foreign diplom at s.

How are kids pulled in?

A graphic from t he Universit y of New England gives som e int erest ing dat a on how t rafficking vict im s are draw n int o t he life. Just over half of all vict im s w ere t rafficked by som eone w ho show ed a rom ant ic int erest in t hem . Anot her 18% by som eone w ho offered t o provide necessit ies, such as food, a place t o st ay, or m oney. The m ost com m on set t ing ( 32% ) in w hich vict im s w ere recruit ed and sold w as social ? t hrough a friend or acquaint ance.

Rem em ber t hat hum an t rafficking can occur t hrough force, t hreat , or coercion. * Force is used in t rafficking ( 11% of vict im s are kidnapped out right ) , and t hreat is t he m ain com ponent of " sex ploit at ion," but m ost vict im s are brought int o t rafficking t hrough coercion ? by a " boyfriend," an acquaint ance, or som eone w ho provided care and assist ance in a t im e of need, t hen uses em ot ional and m ent al m anipulat ion t o cont rol t he vict im .

This sounds like a t enuous hold, and it w ould be for Page 32 |

a rat ional, object ive adult . But w e're t alking about children and t eens w ho don't have t he foresight t o st ay out of com prom ising sit uat ions, let alone be able t o recognize t he t rafficker's groom ing t echniques. Com bine t his w it h t heir super-charged em ot ions, and t hey becom e especially vulnerable.

But t he # 1 reason t hey fall for coercion?

This isn't their first time being a victim.

Traffickers are hum an nat ure ex pert s. They know w ho w ill fall int o t heir t raps. The first t hing t hey look for is som eone w ho has been sex ually abused in t he past ? 85% of t rafficking vict im s w ere sex ually abused before t hey w ere t rafficked. They also know t o look for som eone from t hefost er care/ group hom e syst em ? 60% of t rafficking vict im s nat ionw ide spent som e t im e in fost er care and/ or group hom es. Alt hough t heabuse rat e in fost er care is report edly low , t he reason fost er children are in governm ent care in t he first place is m ost likely abuse. M ost of t hat abuse is sim ple neglect , but of t he 676,569 kidsreport edly abused in 2011, 9.1% of t hat abuse w as sex ual in nat ure. And t hat only account s for t he cases t hat w ere invest igat ed and confirm ed by social services.

So fight ing abuse in t he hom e is key in fight ing child sex t rafficking ? but not only for t he vict im s.

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Restore I nnocence

Pixabay Grace As Justice (c) 2015

An incredibly high percent age of

Cust om s Enforcem ent 's ( ICE)

happen t o dest roy t he child

t raffickers grew up w it h sex ual

Hom eland Securit y Invest igat ions

t rafficking indust ry.

abuse ( 75% ) and/ or physical abuse ( 85% ) . And t he m achine is self-perpet uat ing; about 70% of t raffickers w ere vict im s before t hey st art ed t rafficking ot hers. ( Which leads m e t o suspect far m ore w om en are t rafficking ot her w om en and girls t han w e realize.)

Who is com m it t ing t his abuse ? neglect , physical, and sex ual?

About 37% is m ot hers alone.

Fat hers alone com m it anot her 19% , as do m ot hers and fat hers t oget her. In t ot al, m ot hers are involved in about 64% of abuse cases. As far as sex ual abuse goes, 87% of t he vict im s w ere abused by a m ale. Of sex ual abuse perpet rat ors, 93% w ere at least acquaint ed w it h t he child, w hile 47% w ere relat ed.

( HSI) has ident ified 585 child vict im s, 430 in t he US. Tradit ionally, 4 out of every 5 sex

We have to teach parents how to raise their children.

We need t o help m ot hers and fat hers learn how t o prot ect t hem from sex ual predat ors. We have t o m ake sure dads don't becom e sex ual predat ors. We have t o t each t hem not t o beat t heir children.

How are child trafficking victims rescued?

Aut horit ies are at w ork ident ifying and rescuing children.

The FBI coordinat ed w it h t he Nat ional Cent er for M issing & Ex ploit ed Children and local aut horit ies again t his year for t heir 2014 Operat ion Cross Count ry. They rescued 168 m inors and arrest ed 281 t raffickers. Since 2003, t hey've rescued 3600 yout h. So far t his year, US Im m igrat ion and

Daniel Davis' st at ist ics are clear:

Pixabay

t rafficking vict im s have been fem ale. The HSI result s show a shift in t he t rend ? 288 of t he vict im s w ere girls and 264 w ere boys. That 's on t op of t he day-t o-day local aut horit ies pulling kids off t he st reet and helping t hem st art a new life.

How can child trafficking be prevented?

Aw areness about child t rafficking has ex ploded in t he last few years. The Nat ional Cent er for M issing and Ex ploit ed Children has a great w ebsit e t o t each children, yout h, parent s, t eachers, and law enforcem ent about t rafficking.

- 85% : approx im at e percent age of t rafficking vict im s w ho w ere sex ually abused before.

- 75% : approx im at e percent age of t raffickers w ho w ere m olest ed as children.

- 85% : approx im at e percent age of t raffickers w ho w ere physically abused as children.

- 70% : approx im at e percent age of t raffickers w ho w ere t rafficking vict im s before t hey sw it ched.

- 55% : am ount of child pornography t hat is produced in t he Unit ed St at es.

Cont act Rest ore Innocence for m ore inform at ion.

Looking at t hese st at ist ics, I see one m ajor st ep t hat needs t o

Whenvictimsarerescued, they normally havenoplacetogoand end upill equipped sheltersor treatment programsand eventually may end upback onthestreets. The Cinderlla Houseprovidesa safeenvironment specialized for theuniqueneedsof these Pixabay victims. RestoreI nnocence.org

NOT M Y LIFE: CHANGING RESPONSE TO HUM AN TRAFFICKING

By JENNA CHAPMAN Not M y Life is t he first film t o depict t he cruel and dehum anizing pract ices of hum an t rafficking and m odern slavery on a global scale.

Film ed on five cont inent s, in a dozen count ries, t he film feat ures st ories from survivors, depict ions of t rafficking, ex ploit at ion and slavery in all part s of t he w orld, and various form s of child enslavem ent and abuse. " Hum an t raffickers are earning billions of dollars on t he backs and in t he beds of our children," says t he film 's direct or, Oscar nom inee Robert Bilheim er, " and yet not nearly enough people know t his is happening. We have a huge responsibilit y, right now , t o t ell t he t rut h and share t he t rut h unt il t he public discourse on t his issue is ongoing and universal.?

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Not M y Life is being used as a t ool t o educat e com m unit ies w orldw ide about t he m illions of children w ho are ex ploit ed, every day, t hrough an ast onishing array of pract ices, including forced Pixabay labor, dom est ic servit ude, begging, sex t ourism , sex ual violence and child soldiering. Since 2012, Not M y Life has been seen by m illions of people at public screening and com m unit y event s, t elevision broadcast s, classroom s and hom es around t he w orld.

Using t he film as a cat alyst , t he goal is t o radically alt er, across a very broad set of global dem ographics, aw areness as t o w hat hum an t rafficking act ually is?w ho it affect s?and t he syst em s of st ruct ural violence t hat cont ribut e t o it s proliferat ion.

Because m any, if not m ost , hum an t rafficking vict im s are children, aw areness- raising effort s focus largely on t he ex ploit at ion of our planet ?s yout h, and t he correlat ive need for great er prot ect ion st rat egies w herever such ex ploit at ion t akes place. ?Now t hat Not M y Life has proven t o be an effect ive, even t ransform at ive, global com m unicat ions t ool, t he need t o m ake use of t his t ool t o st im ulat e, enhance, and broaden global dialogue around t he ex ploit at ion of m illions children and adult s around t he w orld is bot h com pelling and self evident ,? says Bilheim er.

In an effort t o st ay engaged on t he issue and furt her Not M y Life's reach, t he Not M y Life Act ion Cent er w as form ed. Here, visit ors find current and inform at ive m at erials t o ensure successful Not M y Life film screenings, m eaningful discussion, as w ell as encourage involvem ent in t he issue.

For visit ors t o t he Not M y Life Act ion Cent er w ho w ant t o learn even m ore about hum an t rafficking, t here is an educat ion resource cent er.

For m ore inform at ion cont act : Not M y Life Act ion Cent er

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NOTMYLIFE.org Pixabay

Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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EMMA'S STORY: THE REDEMPTION Interview by DAVID TROTTER Despit e having a college degree and w orking as a pharm acy t ech, Em m a w as vulnerable t o t he schem es of a sex t rafficker due t o t he brokenness of her yout h.

Rape, m olest at ion and a longing for love set her up t o be lured in by a pim p w ho pret ended t o be her boyfriend.

What w as supposed t o be just a m ont h in t he gam e t o help t hem ?get a roof over t heir heads? soon t urned int o over six years of being sold for sex . At a m om ent of desperat ion, Em m a called her cousin w ho w as referred t o Redeem ed M inist ries. Rem oved from t he dangerous sit uat ion, she?s rediscovering w hat it ?s like t o st ay sober, laugh and ex perience t rue love.

DT: Talk to me about what life was like growing up.

Emma: M y m om w as a single m om and I grew up in church m y w hole life. I didn?t really cat ch on t o God t hen, but I knew about God and Jesus and st uff. So, I did everyt hing I w as supposed t o do in church. I w ent t o church cam ps and t o all t hat ot her st uff. And t hen, as I got older in high school, m et t his guy and lost m y virginit y w hen I w as fift een, and lat er on t hat sam e guy raped m e.

Right aft er t hat m y st epfat her m olest ed m e. That ?s w hen m y life st art ed kind of changing. I w as st ill going t o school, and t hen Grace As Justice (c) 2015

m y senior year in high school I got w it h m y child?s fat her. We w ere t oget her for about six years, and during t hat t im e, I had m y daught er at eight een. I got m y Associat e of Science degree as a pharm acy t echnician and did t hat for about six years or so. Then, t hat ?s w hen I m et m y ?folks? also know n as m y pim p.

I t hought he w as m y boyfriend, and w e w ere t oget her before I got in t he gam e for about six m ont hs.

Then, it kept going on w it h him saying, ?You don?t w ant t o live w it h your m om anym ore, and you don?t w ant t o, you know , keep driving t his car. If w e do t his, t hen w e can get our ow n place, and t hen w e can pay off your car and t hen w e can do t his.? It w as just t his great fant asy. It ?s t his great life t hat he paint ed for m e.

DT: You?re with a guy who you?re assuming is your boyfriend. How did that conversation even come up?

Emma: I t hink w e w ere t alking about his kid?s m om . One of his kid?s m om s w as a prost it ut e and how he w ould be w it h her - how he w ould go w it h her w hen she w as w orking and he w as a pim p, t hat ?s w hat he w as. You know he t old m e lat er on t hat he had been a pim p for like fift een years. He grew up in t he hood. A couple of his aunt s w ere prost it ut es so volume 1 issue 1

t hat ?s w hat he grew up w it h. He?s good friends w it h one of t he w ell-know n pim ps in California, so t hat ?s w hat he grew up around.

DT: When he brought that up to you, what was your reaction?

Emma: At first , I didn?t believe it , because I didn?t w ant t o believe it and t hen I w as like, oh, he is not going t o get m e. That ?s not going t o happen. So, I didn?t t hink it w ould happen t o m e.

DT: What was the process that ended up leading you to get in the game?

Emma: Pret t y m uch, m y back w as against t he w all. I had bills and didn?t w ant t o live w it h m y m om . He had a t rust t hat he had got t en from his fam ily - from his grandm a and his m om . They had bot h passed aw ay, and t hey gave him a t rust and he said t hat he m ade a bad decision w it h his cousin. He had a conversat ion on t he phone w it h a w ell-know n drug dealer in anot her st at e. And, t hey had a conversat ion, so t hey froze his asset s, so he has been dealing w it h t hat .

He show ed m e bank st at em ent s, he show ed m e papers t hat , you know , t he DA is dealing w it h. He show ed m e all kinds of t hings t o w here it w asn?t just like he w as just t elling m e, he w as show ing m e t hings. So, I w as like, oh, | Page 37

EMMA'S STORY (CONT) okay.

Well, it w as supposed t o st art off for a m ont h.

Then, he said, ?I st ill haven?t got it ? - so it w as anot her, ?I need you t o keep doing t his for anot her couple of m ont hs.? Then, I w as like, w ell, if it ?s just a m ont h, t hen I can just t ake a leave of absence from w ork, and t hen I can do t his really quick for about a m ont h, and t hen I can go back t o w ork t o keep m y life going, but t hat didn?t happen.

A year w ent by, t w o years w ent by, t w o and a half years w ent by, and t hen I got int o a fight w it h one of his kid?s m om . I left , and I w as gone for 30 days, and during t hat 30 days, I got a job ? a part -t im e job just t o get m e going. I just needed som et hing t o get m y feet going. I got a place t o live and got anot her car and just , you know , I w as doing fine, and t hen he calls m e. He?s like, ?I?m sorry. I love you? - blah, blah, blah, lip crap.

DT: Tell me what it?s like during that six, seven years. What is it like to be in the game? Is it exciting? Is it something you want to do? Is it overwhelming?

Is it scary? Tell me as somebody Page 38 |

anym ore, and I?ll st art drinking.

I shut m y day dow n.

who doesn?t have a clue.

Emma: It ?s all of it . It ?s ex cit ing, because you see t his quick flow of m oney com ing t o your hands.

But , it ?s overw helm ing, because you have t o keep t hat up, and it ?s scary because you don?t know w ho?s com ing t o your door, you don?t know . I w orked t he Int ernet t he m ajorit y of t he t im e, so I never knew w ho w as com ing t hrough m y door. I just knew w hat I knew on t he phone. So, you know , it ?s everyt hing. It ?s ex cit ing, it ?s lonely, it ?s everyt hing, - just about every t ype of em ot ion you can feel about som et hing.

DT: What was the breaking point for you?

Emma: The w hole t im e I w as in Arizona - all I can t hink about w as - t here has t o be m ore t o m y life t han just t his. I can?t do t his anym ore. I w as depressed, I w as m iserable; I w as drinking every single day just t o get m e t hrough t he rest of t he day. I?d be up, and t hen I?m like I can?t do t his volume 1 issue 1

At prim e t im e of everybody get t ing off of w ork, I?ll just shut m y day dow n, because I couldn?t handle it anym ore. I?d just st art drinking. And t hen, I cam e t o Tex as, and I w as alm ost raped in Tex as. Obviously, it didn?t happen, but m y folks w ere ex t rem ely upset at m e. I didn?t know if I w as going t o get beat . I didn?t know . I didn?t know w hat he w as going t o do. For m y punishm ent , since I hat ed w orking t he t rack, I had t o w ork t he t rack, and I w as out t here for a couple of days. I w ould go int o m y room if I couldn?t get a t rick t o pay for an hourly. That ?s w hen I w as able t o t ake a quick show er, change m y clot hes, but I w as right back out . When I w as w orking in Tex as, it w as very long, because I w as w orking t he t rack and t he Int ernet . I w ould be out all night , com e in, t ake a quick show er, put m y ad up on t he Int ernet , and I couldn?t go t o sleep unt il noon. So, I had very lit t le sleep, and I w as t ired. It w as very, very ex haust ing.

DT: Why did you end up reaching out for help?

Emma: I w as at a point w here no m at t er how m uch m oney I brought in, no m at t er w hat I w as doing, it w asn?t enough.

Everyt hing I did w as w rong, I left Tex as and w ent back t o California, but he had a friend t hat he w as paying t o w at ch m e.

Grace As Justice (c) 2015

EMMA'S STORY (CONT) And so, no m at t er w hat I did, I couldn?t do anyt hing right , and I knew it w as just a m at t er of hours t o w here he w as going t o have his friend do som et hing t o m e w hich I didn?t know w hat it w as, and I w asn?t going t o have t hat . So, no m at t er w hat , I just I had t o leave.

I didn?t know w hat w as going t o happen. I called m y cousin one day, and I just t old her ? I called her crying like I don?t know w hat ?s going t o happen t o m e. I don?t know if I?m going t o get beat . ?I don?t know w hat ?s going t o happen, but I?m at t his hot el and I?m in t his room and I don?t know w hat ?s going t o happen.? I called her frant ic, because I didn?t know . So, t hat w as m y breaking, because I didn?t know w hat w as going t o happen.

DT: What happened next?

Emma: I called t he 800 num ber, and t hen I w as back and fort h in cont act w it h t hem t hrough t ex t m essages and phone calls. M y cousin w as get t ing a hold of ot her places and t rying t o figure out how t o get m e out of Tex as. So, she w as recom m ended t o Redeem ed and t old m e t o call. I called Redeem ed and spoke w it h Bobbie, and I decided t o m ake m y decision t o really com e t o t he m inist ry and st ay. Now I?ve been here seven and a half m ont hs.

The beginning w as crazy. I didn?t know w hat t o ex pect . I w alked int o t he house, and I saw t he ot her girls t here and m y first react ion w as, ?I w ould never be friends w it h t hese girls. There is Grace As Justice (c) 2015

not hing in t he m illions I w ould ever really just be friends w it h t hese girls.? [ laughs] And, you know , now w e?re best of friends like w e?re sist ers. If it w asn?t for m e being at Redeem ed, I don?t know w here I w ould be at right now . You know if I had t o go back hom e w it hin 30 days, I?d be back on t he st reet s. If I had t o go t o a shelt er, w it hin a day or t w o I w ould have been back on t he st reet s. If I w asn?t here, I w ould be back on t he st reet s no m at t er w hat .

Emma: I just hope, honest ly, I hope t he best for m yself. Right now , I?m in t he process of t rying t o get m y license back t o be a pharm acy t ech. I?m doing t hat and seeing if t hat ?s w hat I w ant t o go back t o. And t hen, just t rying t o get m y feet underneat h m e and know w hat it ?s like t o be on m y ow n again. Just see w here God leads m e and see w here I?m supposed t o be in m y life. That ?s all I can really do.

-------

DT: What have you been learning over the last six or seven months at Redeemed? What are the things you?ve been learning about yourself and about life?

Emma: I?ve learned a lot about m yself - t hat I act ually enjoy m yself, I act ually enjoy a life, I act ually enjoy ot her people.

Laughing again, know ing w hat it ?s like t o st ay sober and laugh like joke w it h som ebody.

Learning how t o love God and realizing everyt hing He?s done for m e t o t his point .

DT: What have been some of the challenging things about being a part of this program?

David Trotter is the Executive Producer of IN PLAIN SIGHT: Stories of Hope and Freedom and the author of ?Start Something to End Trafficking?

You can listen to the IN PLAIN SIGHT Podcast to End Human Trafficking to enjoy weekly interviews with leaders in the anti-trafficking movement. This interview is an excerpt from a collection of interviews entitled ?Heroes of Hope: Intimate Conversations with Six Abolitionists and the Sex Trafficking Survivors They Serve.?

Emma: Sharing a room . [ laughs] That ?s a challenge for m e sharing a room , sharing t he bat hroom . [ laughs] Got t o coordinat e your t im es for everyt hing. [ laughs] That ?s t ough for m e personally.

DT: What are your hopes and dreams for the future? volume 1 issue 1

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VICTIM-CENTERED: A NEW RESPONSE

BY JENNA FUNKHOUSER

Prost it ut e. Sex w orker. Rape vict im .

Each of t hese t erm s brings a different im age int o our m inds, and carries w it h it a variet y of assum pt ions. While t he first t w o oft en convey a lifest yle by choice, t he last t erm brings a pict ure of assault and helplessness. How do you cat egorize w hich w om en in escort ads fall int o each cat egory?

Which w ould you say applied t o a fift een year-old girl w alking dow n 82nd Avenue?

For t he Port land Police, t his w as a crucial quest ion for t hem t o address in 2008. Unt il t his point , all crim es relat ed t o prost it ut ion fell under t he responsibilit y of t he Drug and Vices Depart m ent --even underage ?prost it ut es.? Yet it w as clear t hat t his approach w as not successfully confront ing t he grow ing problem of sex t rafficking.

A proposal w as m ade t o reorganize t he depart m ent al response t o t he issue. Inst ead of seeing t hese cases as a ?prost it ut ion? crim e, t hese cases w ould now be processed by t he sex crim es unit , w hich handled cases of sex ual assault , rape, and abuse. It w as a huge st ep in recognizing t hese girls and w om en as vict im s, not law breakers.

Inst ead of im m ediat ely t hrust ing vict im s of sex t rafficking int o ?a just ice syst em t hat she?s fright ened of,? t he focus w as on t he vict im ?s w ell-being, ex plained ret ired Sergeant M ike Geiger. ?If she?s hungry, w e feed her. If she needs clot hing, w e clot he her. If she needs com fort , w e connect her w it h people w ho w ill care about her.

And t hen let her know t hat w e w ill be here w hen t he t im e is right .?

Sim ilar t o any ot her sex ual assault vict im , t hey Page 40 |

also t ook im m ediat e st eps t o ?connect [ t hese vict im s] w it h an advocat e, som ebody t hey could t alk t o and im pose no burden or com m it m ent on t heir part . What t hat allow ed [ survivors] t o do w as have a safe place t o t alk, and allow ed t hem t im e t o get t o t he place of w illingness t o report and m ake disclosures. All of it w as predicat ed on t he idea of est ablishing priorit ies. The priorit y w as always her rest orat ion.?

This new vict im -cent ered approach becam e t he foundat ion for all of t heir m et hodology. ?If your long-t erm goal is her rest orat ion, t hen you build everyt hing else around t hat . You st ruct ure everyt hing around t he goal t hat she is not going t o be ex ploit ed anym ore,? said Geiger. The depart m ent began learning m ore about t he signs and im plicat ions of com plex t raum a, t raum a bonding, and ot her cont ribut ing fact ors. ?If t hey run aw ay, or refuse t o cooperat e, w e don?t just t urn our backs and w ash our hands,? ex plained Geiger. ?We m aint ain an open-door policy, w here w e never reject t hem . It ?s never t oo lat e now -- w e w ould never say, ?We gave you a chance, and you blew it .? It ?s like t he prodigal son, or daught er--you?re alw ays w illing t o w elcom e t hem w it h open arm s.?

The depart m ent has seen an incredible am ount of success w it h t his approach. Their prim ary goal, vict im safet y and rest orat ion, has been possible t hrough m ult iple part nerships w it hin t he com m unit y. As an addit ional benefit , num bers of prosecut ed cases also skyrocket ed.

When vict im s feel safe and have t heir needs genuinely cared for, t hey are m ore likely t o disclose inform at ion w hich could increase convict ion rat es and even prison lengt hs.

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I don't t hink it should be t he focus,? he rem inds us. ?When w e t hink in num bers, w e lose sight on t he people t hat represent t hose num bers. I prefer t o focus on t hat .?

How ever, Geiger w as quick t o point out t hat t his is an im port ant , but purely secondary benefit . The m ost im port ant focus is t hat t hroughout t he w hole process, t hese w om en are not harm ed and can begin t he process of healing.

This vict im -cent ered approach also drives Geiger?s resist ance t o defining local sex t rafficking w it h st at ist ics. Because sex t rafficking is not a crim e report ed in t he sam e w ay as a t heft or m urder, it ?s very hard t o define ex act num bers.

His dedicat ion t o rem aining vict im -focused and keeping t hem a t op priorit y is represent at ive of t he ent ire Port land Police?s ant i-t rafficking unit . Their crucial decision in 2008 w as w hat Geiger describes as a ?value-based decision?--m ade sim ply because t hey felt t his w as t he right t hing t o do.

Rat her t han t rying t o claim t he lim elight , t hey quiet ly st epped up and just began m aking t he change. Hardly anyone out side t he depart m ent even knew such a m ajor shift w as happening. ?Det ect ives from t he Port land Police Hum an Trafficking Unit don?t ever get credit for t he great job t hat t hey do, because t hey don?t run around t elling everyone how great t hey are,? ex plains Geiger. ?They?re just t rying t he best t hey can, t o respond in t he best w ay t hey can.?

?This is a significant problem t hat m ust be addressed. It ?s a m anagem ent necessit y t hat w e t ry t o underst and t he scope. But it ?s not som et hing w e are accurat ely able t o quant ify, and

Mike Geiger retired as Sergeant of the Portland Police Bureau's Anti-trafficking Task Force in November of 2014 and is currently working as Local Development Director with Compassion First in Beaverton, Oregon.

With over 20 years as a Portland Police officer? the last 13 years in Sex Crimes, Homicide and Human Trafficking, Mike is a recognized leader in the field of anti-trafficking collaboration efforts in the U.S. and worldwide. He is also a speaker of numerous conferences and events. He can be reached at mgeiger@compassionfirst.org.

Photo contributed by Compassion First.

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The Dark Side of the Digital Age: The Link between Child Trafficking and Online Sexual Exploitation

By Monique Emser[1]

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The 2014 UNODC Global Trafficking in Persons Report suggest s t hat t w o t hirds ( 66.6% ) of all vict im s of hum an t rafficking on t he African cont inent are children. This figure is support ed by t he Lex isNex is SA Hum an Trafficking Index Report ( 2011 ? 2013) . Children are m ost com m only t rafficked int o forced labour, dom est ic servit ude, forced recruit m ent , sex ual ex ploit at ion ( including child pornography, prost it ut ion and child sex t ourism ) , forced m arriage, illegal adopt ions, and for body part t rafficking ( or rit ual sacrifice) . The m ost prevalent form s of child t rafficking are for forced recruit m ent , forced labour and sex ual ex ploit at ion. The dem and for sex w it h children rem ains persist ent and appears t o be grow ing. It is underpinned by an environm ent of social t olerance, com plicit y and im punit y, and dem and for t his aberrant pract ice is not lim it ed t o pedophiles.[2] Of grow ing concern is t he online recruit m ent and sex ual ex ploit at ion of children t hrough t he use of t he int ernet and online net w orks, part icularly it s int ersect ion w it h child pornography ( t he product ion and dist ribut ion of child sex ual abuse im ages) . According t o t he UN Special Rapport eur on t he sale of children, child prost it ut ion and child pornography: ?The w orld has undergone significant changes t hat have had a far-reaching im pact on t he ex t ent and nat ure of t he sale and sex ual ex ploit at ion of children.?[3] The cont inued ex pansion and accessibilit y of t he int ernet and digit al ( m obile) t echnology is a significant fact or w hich has affect ed children?s vulnerabilit y, even in t he m ost im poverished part s of t he developing w orld. There are 635 m illion m obile subscript ions alone in Sub-Saharan Africa. ?Through t he int ernet , online predat ors can gain access t o children fast er and in higher volum es, using chat room s, em ails, online gam es and social net w orking sit es [ such as Facebook, Tw it t er or Snapchat ] t o find and groom vict im s.?[4] It is believed t hat a num ber of m issing children m ay have been abduct ed aft er m eet ing t heir t raffickers or capt ors on social net w orking sit es, or t eens sold int o prost it ut ion aft er answ ering post s on online job boards.[5] The Int ernet Wat ch Foundat ion ident ified 13,182 child sex ual abuse w eb pages globally in 2013, 24% of w hich w ere com m ercial in nat ure. M ore dist urbingly, cont ent analysed indicat ed t hat a st aggering 81% of child sex ual abuse im ages w ere of children younger t han 10 years; 3% appearing t o be aged 2 and under. Fift y one percent of all im ages show ed sex ual act ivit y bet w een adult s and children including rape and sex ual t ort ure. Sevent y six percent of t he vict im s w ere girls; 10% w ere boys; 9% im ages w it h bot h genders.[6] The Int ernat ional Child Sex ual Ex ploit at ion Page 42 |

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im age dat abase, m anaged by INTERPOL, included dat a on m ore t han 5,600 ident ified vict im s from m ore t han 40 count ries, as w ell as dat a relat ed t o num erous unident ified vict im s, w hose cases are yet t o be invest igat ed by Decem ber 2014.[7] Tw o t rends have em erged in online child sex ual ex ploit at ion in recent years: first ly, t he increasing prevalence of hom e-produced abusive m at erial as w ell as live video st ream ing of children being forced t o perform sex ual act s in front of a w ebcam . This rapidly grow ing new form of child pornography allow s t he user t o direct and m ake online request s for part icular sex ual act ivit ies t o be carried out on t he vict im in real t im e. Secondly, predat ors are t aking sophist icat ed securit y m easures t o share files direct ly bet w een users inst ead of dow nloading t hem from a w ebsit e. P2P is m ost frequent ly used for sharing im ages of very young children or of im ages port raying violence against children.[8] Out of t his has em erged a relat ively new form of t rafficking: cyber-sex -t rafficking. In addit ion t o being able t o sell children on diverse w ebsit es, t raffickers can now provide child sex ual services via live t ransm issions such as w ebcam , chat room s, and social m edia sit es. The anonym it y and global reach offered by cyberspace, t hrough t he use of prox y soft w are, disguised or hacked w ebsit es t o prot ect t he ident it y of producers or users of child sex ual abuse im ages and cyber-sex , has not only reduced t he risk and increased t he abilit y for offenders t o access child sex abuse m at erial, but has also m ade it harder for governm ent s t o det ect and address online child sex ual ex ploit at ion. ?Organized crim inal net w orks also ex ploit t he void, profit ing from t he com m ercial child pornography and child sex t rafficking m arket s.?[9] In t he Sout h African cont ex t , it has been not ed t hat online child sex ual abuse im ages, under w hich current ly cyber-sex falls, are t ypically view ed as form s of child pornography and t he link t o child t rafficking is oft en overlooked.

This has result ed in t hose involved in t he supply chain of t his form of t rafficking ( product ion, dist ribut ion and end-users) oft en only receiving suspended sent ences. [10] Cyber-sex t rafficking needs t o be acknow ledged and m ore st ringent ly prosecut ed. M ore research is required t o develop a deeper underst anding and aw areness of t his form of t rafficking and w ays t o prevent and address it .

---------[1]Dr. Monique Emser is a research associate in the Department of Criminal and Medical Law at the University of the Free State, and is writing in her own personal capacity.

[2]United Nations General Assembly, ?Report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, Najat Maalla M?jid?,Human Rights Council, A/HRC/25/48, 23 December 2013.

[3] Ibid.

[4] UNODC, ?UN Crime Body to Combat Online Child Abuse?, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2013/September/un-crime-body-to-combat-online-child-abuse.html [5] MTV EXIT, ?The new cyber trend in human trafficking: How to stay safe online?, http://mtvexit.org/blog/human-trafficking-goes-cyber-stay-online/ [6] Internet Watch Foundation, ?IWF Operational Trends 2013?,https://www.iwf.org.uk/resources/trends [7] http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Crimes-against-children/Victim-identification [8] The Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime, ?Stolen innocence: the online exploitation of children?, http://www.globalinitiative.net/stolen-innocence-the-online-exploitation-of-children/ [9]UNODC, ?UN Crime Body to Combat Online Child Abuse?, http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/frontpage/2013/September/un-crime-body-to-combat-online-child-abuse.html [10] Iyavar Chetty, ?Are courts failing victims of online sexual abuse??, http://blog.netclean.com/south-africa-courts-failing-victims-online-sexual-abuse/, 10 March 2015.

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SLAVE FREE CHOCOLATE A coalition to bring an end to child slavery and the worst forms of child labor in the cocoa industry.

SLAVEFREECHOCOLATE.ORG Pixabay

THE NATASHAS PROJECT

The Natashas Project

Website

Facebook

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PATRICIA KING XP M ISSIONS It is inter esting w ho inspir es a per son. Sometimes the per son inspir ing can be so differ ent than the one being inspir ed. Such is the case of Patr icia King w ith me. While she may not know me, I have been so inspir ed by her over the y ear s for tw o pr imar y r easons: her incr edible love, and her consistency . When I am tr uly unable to see my self like Jesus, I just ask to love like her .

What an honor for me to have Patr icia King fill out my questionnair e for Gr ace As Justice?s fir st edition.

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Interview by Rachael Williams-Mejri

Q. What inspired you to get into the fight against human trafficking?

Patricia: I saw it first hand in the lives of young girls and children in Bangkok and Pattaya during a trip there in 2008.

Q. How did you start fighting? What were your first steps?

Patricia: I went into the streets and asked the Lord for ?divine encounters.? This is when we met girls who were sex slaves. From there we prayed with them and connected them with an organization we worked with in Pattaya who rescues and disciples girls coming out of sex slavery.

We then planted a full-time worker in Pattaya and discovered that many Cambodian children (some as young as infants) had been trafficked from Cambodia into Thailand. We started reaching out to see them rescued.

Q. What are some of the obstacles you faced when starting?

Patricia: We had problems with corrupt police officers, social workers, and attorney?s? .we would rescue children and then find that they were given back to the traffickers.

Q. How did you overcome them?

Patricia: Our worker, confronted and connected with local governments, UN, etc. and eventually built a team of Christians to help her.

Q. What kind of need did you perceive at the time of beginning the fight?

Patricia: We needed wisdom, connections, and favor.

Q. What kind of need do you perceive now (is it the same, different, more complex)?

Patricia: In many ways it is easier for us because of the connections and the awareness that has grown since we began. There are more laborers helping.

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Q. What do you do personally to combat human trafficking?

Patricia: I personally am a voice and I oversee an onsite team in Cambodia who ministers in the slums, the bars, and who is re-building lives through faith, education, job development and care-giving.

Q. What is the greatest obstacle to fighting human trafficking?

Patricia: The enormity of it ? it is in every nation and because of pornography and sexual addictions it is growing? but if we all put our hands to the task we can abolish it in our lifetime.

Q. Are you afraid of the opposition? M eaning, the mafia, the pimps, the police, etc.?

Patricia: No. Q. If there were one thing you would want people to know about human trafficking, what would it be?

Patricia King is a respected minister of the gospel, successful owner of four flourishing Patricia: It is a real problem ? it is not exaggerated ? it needs businesses, and an inventive entrepreneur. attention and focus.

She is an accomplished itinerant speaker, Q. What is the greatest need you/your agency have/has? author, television host, and media producer Patricia: Two significant needs: QUALITY laborers and Finance. and has given her life fully to Jesus Christ and to His Kingdom?s advancement in the Q. What do you believe is the solution to sustainable change earth. She is the co-founder of XPmedia.com and overseer of Christian in this area?

Services Association. Patricia has worked Patricia: Persistent effort? not backing down. extensively in nations around the world to Q. If you could have people do one thing other than giving, establish justice through prayer, awareness, and project implementation and has what would it be? pioneered anti-human trafficking Patricia: Go. Work or volunteer with an organization [that] is initiatives in Thailand and Cambodia. helping the afflicted.

More information on these efforts can be found on XP Missions.

Q. What are the most important ways people can help if they cannot volunteer or travel?

Patricia: Pray, Give, or Bring awareness.

Q. What grieves you the most when dealing with victims?

Patricia: Their stories break your heart. They have suffered so much abuse and pain.

Q. What makes you the happiest when dealing with victims?

Patricia: Knowing that there is hope for them no matter how broken they have been.

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WHAT CAN YOU DO? TALK - Talk t o your friends.

- Talk t o your fam ily.

- Talk t o anyone w ho w ill list en. Don?t w orry about people w ho don?t w ant t o hear.

FAIR TRADE - St art looking at w here your product s com e from . There are a lot of com panies t hat m ake chocolat e and act ually pay t heir people. There are som e t ex t ile places know n for t heir at rocit ies.

Do your research.

- FAIR TRADE USA is a good place t o see w hat product s com e w it h slavery, and w hich ones com e w it hout .

WRITE - Writ e let t ers t o your senat ors and congressm en or w om en asking t hem w hat t hey are doing and asking t hem t o cont inue m aking changes.

- Writ e w om en and girls pulled out of t rafficking and encourage t hem .

BE SOCIAL - Use social m edia t o diffuse inform at ion on hum an t rafficking. You can like cert ain pages and pass t he inform at ion along on Facebook, Tw it t er, Inst agram and ot her social plat form s.

- St art your ow n page t o inform people on your passion t o end t rafficking.

- Begin a blog.

- Creat e a board on Pint erest .

- Alw ays m ake sure t o include t he posit ive: people w ho are rescued, prevent at ive t act ics, progress, et c. Don?t leave people depressed and w it hout hope.

EDUCATE - Educat e yourself on t his issue. Be ready t o answ er quest ions.

- Educat e ot hers. M any people don?t realize t his even ex ist s or t hey don?t w ant t o hear about it or care. Don?t let t hat st and in t he w ay of t he few w ho w ill be int erest ed in m aking a difference.

SEND STUFF - Send t hings t o groups. You can creat e a drive at your place of w orship, in your neighborhood, at your high school or universit y or even at w ork. Alw ays m ake sure t o check on t he legalit ies.

- Even if a part icular group doesn?t necessarily have som et hing post ed on needs, you can bet t hey probably need som et hing. Writ e and ask! One group t hat specifically asks for t hings as w ell as m oney is St ella?s Voice locat ed in M oldova.

JOIN A GROUP - There are a plet hora of groups t hat st rive t o fight hum an t rafficking. Find one in your area.

START A GROUP - If a group doesn?t ex ist in your area, st art one! You do not have t o w ait t o be im port ant , organized, or not busy t o do som et hing. St art som ew here and see w here it goes.

VOLUNTEER - M any groups offer volunt eer posit ions m aking choosing som et hing m ore difficult t han act ually going. Volunt eer posit ions ex ist at hom e and overseas and can be open even t o t eens ( w it h parent al perm ission) .

- Volunt eering can be incredible as you t ouch t he abused com m unit y in som e w ay; but it can be difficult , dangerous and heart breaking. It is im port ant t o realize t hat t he people w ho are recovering need a kind and non-judgm ent al t ouch. They need posit ive role m odels, and t hey need people w ho w ill alw ays be t here t o love t hem .

- Volunt eering can also be m ore hands-off for t hings like adm inist rat ive w ork. This is incredibly im port ant and needed, and can be som et hing for som eone w ho w ant s t o m ake a difference but m ight be having som e problem s dealing w it h t he concept of t he at rocit ies.

GIVE FINANCIALLY - We?ve t alked about giving t im e and t hings, but finances are also im port ant . Think about som et hing you m ight be able t o give in t erm s of finance every m ont h. Can you spare $10, $20, $30?

- Think about it --if 1 m illion people gave $10 every m ont h. That is $10 m illion a m ont h! That could m ake a difference!

Check out our Grace As Just ice w ebsit e t o dow nload t his list as a rem inder.

The Importance of Involving the Corporate Level in Combating Human Trafficking.

by Malin Roux

Since RealSt ars w as founded in 2010 by init iat ive t aker M alin Roux , t he Sw edish-based non-profit NGO has been w orking w it h spreading t he m essage of ?Fair Sex ? as a posit ive force in societ y. Fair Sex is a concept t hat uses t he pow er connect ed t o sex , and st at es t hat sex in all sit uat ions should be on equal t erm s, w it h m ut ual respect . Consequent ly, prost it ut ion, sex ual abuse and sex t rafficking is t he direct opposit e of Fair Sex .

While RealSt ars is w orking w it h spreading t he m essage of Fair Sex in societ y, t w o m ore levels in t he com bat against hum an t rafficking m ake part of t he focus. First , t here is t he legislat ive level, w here Realst ars has t aken a firm st and on prom ot ing t heNordic M odel. This m odel seeks t o st ifle prost it ut ion on a legislat ive level by crim inalizing t he sex buyer and hence t he Nordic M odel t arget s t he perpet rat or rat her t han t he vict im . The sex buyer should t ake responsibilit y for his act ions and t he vict im s should be grant ed just ice. Anot her out com e of t heNordic M odel is t hat it dist urbs t he dem and for prost it ut ion and t hus sex t rafficking.

On t he t hird level ? t he corporat e and business level ? a radical change m ust occur. Hum an t rafficking is a severe violat ion of hum an right s t hat has increased during t he last decades. Ent erprises should incorporat e ex plicit st ands against hum an t rafficking as a part of t heir ow n CSR-w ork.

Through ?Business Against Trafficking,? an init iat ive st art ed by M alin Roux , RealSt ars is w orking on raising corporat e aw areness on t he issue of hum an t rafficking. Ent erprises t hat t ake a clear st and ? by policy-im plem ent at ion, educat ion of st aff and by ot her m eans m inim ising t he risks of Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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The Importance of Involving the Corporate Level in Combating Human Trafficking (cont)

unint ent ionally support ing t he t rafficking indust ry ? are encouraged t o ?boast ? about t heir CSR-w ork.

Oft en, t here?s an init ial uncert aint y and unw illingness t o confront any t opic relat ed t o sex t hat needs t o be surpassed w hen addressing t he issue for t he first t im e. Present ing fact s such as t he global scale of hum an t rafficking along w it h local ex am ples highlight ed by m edia oft en help t o relat e t he problem t o t he corporat e. The fact t hat m any Sw edish m en, as w ell as m en w it h ot her nat ionalit ies, buy sex w hile on a business t rip is also an eye-opener.

?Ther e?s no sustainable development in a w or ld w her e a per son is being sold ever y minute.

It star ts w ith the demand and buy er s.?

M alin Roux, founder of RealStar s.

A sect or part icularly suscept ible t o hum an t rafficking is t he lodging and t ourism indust ry.

Here, an init ial aw areness of t he problem is com m on, but t ools for handling it are oft en lacking. Wit h ?Hot els Against Trafficking,?

RealSt ars is w orking w it h special focus on assist ing t his sect or, and response has so far been very appreciat ed. One ex am ple of t his is Hot el Flora in Got henburg, w hich now uses t he label Fair Sex Hot el and com m unicat es t his ex plicit st and on keycards and t hroughout t he booking procedure.

Anot her project recent ly init iat ed gat hers act ors in t he t ourism indust ry as a w hole in w est ern Sw eden for innovat ive w orkshops in order t o find com m on st rat egies for t ackling hum an t rafficking in t he region.

Grace As Justice (c) 2015

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I think the biggest thing is that people need to say : ?This is not acceptable.? Janet Weiner

Don't miss the interview with Janet Weiner about the work they are doing in France. graceasjustice.com/ justiceacts

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Wa t c h f or our up c omin g in t e r vie w w it h Ay n Rig g s who br ing s sup p or t a n d hop e f or imp a c t ing c hild sla ve r y in t he c hoc oloa t e in d ust r y . gr a c e a sj ust ic e.c om

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