HER NUMBER WAS
i
“
We found ourselves standing shoulder to shoulder with predators in a small room, looking at little girls through a pane of glass.
ALL THE GIRLS WERE WEARING RED DRESSES with a number pinned to their dress for identification. They sat, blankly watching cartoons on TV. They were vacant, shells of what a child should be. There was no light in their eyes it has been taken from her, no life left.
THE CHILDREN, RAPED EACH NIGHT.
SEVEN, TEN, FIFTEEN TIMES EVERY NIGHT. They were so young. Thirteen, eleven… it was hard to tell. Sorrow covered their faces with nothingness. Except one girl. One girl who wouldn’t watch the cartoons.
HER NUMBER WAS 146
She was looking beyond the glass. She was starting out at us with a piercing gaze. There was still fight left in her eyes. There was still life left in this girl… All of these emotions begin to wreck you. Break you. It is agony. It is aching. It is grief. It is sorrow. The reaction is intuitive, instinctive. It is visceral. It releases a wailing cry inside of you. It elicits gut-level indignation. It is unbearable. I
remember wanting to break through the glass. To take her away from that place. To scoop us as many of them as I could into my arms. To take all of them away, I wanted to break through the glass to tell her to keep fighting. To not give up. To tell her that we were coming for her. Be we went in as part of an ongoing, undercover investigation on this particular brothel, we were unable to immediately respond. Evidence had to be collected in order to bring about a raid and eventually justice on those running the brothel. It is an immensely difficult problem when an immediate response cannot address an emergency. Some time later, there was a raid on this brothel and children were rescued. But the girl who wore #146 was no longer there. We do not know what happened to her, but we will never forget her.
SHE CHANGED THE COURSE
OF ALL OUR LIVES. – Rob Morris (President and Co-Founder)
”
ii
LOVE146 c r e a t e d b y J a c k i e Tu c k e r
TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction
ii
About Love146
1
Human Trafficking
7
Survivor Story
11
ABOUT LOVE146
1
I n September 2002, the founders of
Love 146 traveled to Southeast Asia on an exploratory trip to determine how they could serve in the fight against child sex trafficking. In brothels they saw young children being sold for sex and in safe homes they witnessed the miracle of restoration as they sang and danced with survivors. From this first trip, the spark of abolition was ignited. The goal of this trip and other trips were to find out where the greatest needs were and how they could be most helpful in filling those needs. After 18 months of research, networking and other foundational work, Love 146 became an official Public Charity in March of 2004
Reduce risk for children, strengthen “prevention networks, empower youth, and empower advocates. �
under the name Justice for Children International. These projects since the beginning have expanded to many
areas of Asia, Europe, and the United States. The countries within which they work are among the predominant centers of the child sex trafficking and slavery industry. They work to reduce the risk for children in high traffic areas, strengthen
prevention
networks, empower youth, and empower advocates. The
aftercare
programs
subscribe to the biopsychosocial model of treatment and care, assessing the biological, psychological, and social aspects of survivors.
2
Love146 has been responding to this
issue with researched, international, and
effective
programs.
The
organization believes that child sex slavery will end when it is prevented
from happening and enslaved child
can be freed and restored only if effective aftercare is waiting. They work
to
help
prevention
from
exploitation by educating people and reintegration of survivors as they ways to prevent children from by training law enforcement, service move from the Round Home into becoming victims of slavery, rape, providers, and community leader to the next chapters of their lives, and exploitation. One thing they identify and intervene in exploitation. and by researching what leads to have come to fully understand and They work to sustain the operation long term, successful reintegration embrace is that this effort is not of the Love146 Round Home, a of survivors. Prevention work is best accomplished alone. Love146 safe home that provides holistic essential, they continue to examine partners, networks, and helps to aftercare to survivors, supports the the most effective and diversified nurture the abolition movement. 3
have come to fully understand and embrace “isOnethatthingthistheyeffort is not best accomplished alone.
�
4
Justice at the best is love correcting “everything that stands against love. - Martin Luther King Jr.
In
October 2007, the organization
drive to end child sex slavery and
the girl that still had fight within her,
Their decision was based on what
the foundation of real, sustainable
impact on this organization. The
decided
to
change
their
name.
sparked them, what motivated them,
and
what
they
believe
brought
change. Love146 became the new
name of this growing organization. Love
is
the
stability
of
this
organization, it is the motivating
5
”
exploitation. They believe love to be change. Martin Luther King Jr. once
said, “Justice at the best is love
correcting everything that stands
against love.” This statement is what
Love146 stands by and fights for. The girl that wore the number 146,
was the girl that has left the most
number was taken to remind us why
this all started and why we fight. The number 146, is worn with honor, sorrow, and with growing hope. We
must tell her story and hope that her story can be a different for others.
6
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
7
estimated that trafficking generates “ It isaround $32 billion dollars annually. ” Human trafficking is an illegal trade
of human beings, which is a form of
modern
day
slavery. Victims
are forced, defrauded, or coerced
into labor or sexual exploitation. Human trafficking is the second
most lucrative and fast growing
crime in the world, second to drug trafficking. It is estimated that
trafficking generates around $32 billion dollars annually.
The majority of female victims are
trafficked into the commercial sex
industry. Sexual exploitation and abuse have major consequences on any person’s well being, especially a
child’s. Unprotected sex, gang rapes, forced abortions and manipulation
can cause severe psychological and physical damage, including HIV/
AIDS and other infectious diseases or conditions.
8
C
ommercial sexual exploitation is a
fundamental violation of children’s rights. The child is treated as a sexual
object and as a commercial object. Commercial sexual exploitation
of children is a form of coercion and violence against children is
a contemporary form of slavery.
The main purpose of commercial sexual exploitation of children
are
prostitution,
trafficking,
and
pornography,
sex
tourism.
Children are often kidnapped or
orphaned, and sometimes are even sold by their parents. There are on
average two children sold every minute and about 27 million people
enslaved. This is the information behind our fight and the chilling reality of the world. 9
“ There are on average two children sold every minute. �
10
SURVIVAL STORY
11
Long Pross, a victim of commercial
sexual
exploitation,
shares
her
story to the world in the help fight
against this horrible act. From her left side she’s a pretty girl, but from
her right side she bares the mark
of 21st century slavery. She was kidnapped from her village at age 13 and was trafficked and was forced into prostitution and pornography
for years. Long Pross talks about her experience in the brothels, “If
you resisted, they electrocuted you, sometimes they would electrocute me two or three times a day, if I
argued too much. They would wet
your shirt and tie you up so you don’t try to run away. Then they put
a live wire inside of you.” Below brothels there were dungeons for
a sole purpose to torture people, which included electrocution.
12
you resisted, they electrocuted you, “ If sometimes they would electrocute me two or three times a day. ” Long Pross, a victim of commercial
at age 13 and was trafficked
three times a day, if I argued too
story to the world in the help fight
and
and tie you up so you don’t try to
sexual exploitation, shares her
against this horrible act. From her left side she’s a pretty girl, but
from her right side she bares the mark of 21st century slavery. She was kidnapped from her village
13
and was forced into prostitution pornography
for
several
years. Long Pross talks about
her experience in the brothels, she says, “If you resisted, they
electrocuted you, sometimes they would electrocute me two or
much they would wet your shirt run away. Then they would put a live wire inside of you.” Below
brothels there were dungeons for a sole purpose to torture people, which included electrocution.
14
She was staring out at us with a piercing “ gaze. There was still fight left in her eyes.
There was still life left in this girl... LOVE146
�