THE NEEDS: SEX TRAFFICKING

Need #1: Prevention of Slavery/Sex Trafficking of Women

Sex trafficking is one of the largest industries in the world and affects women drastically. “Victims number from 700,000 to 4 million annually. Police statistics indicate that less than 0.5 percent of these are male...every nation in the world is involved (Meroff 174).”

Many women are kidnapped and forced into labour or prostitution. Some women are deceived into thinking that a legitimate paying job awaits them in a new location. Also, a father, uncle or stranger might sell a young girl to brothel. Once there, she is told she has to work off her “debt”. Girls are beat and threatened until they comply.

The story of Srey Rath, who traveled from Cambodia to Thailand to work as a dishwasher, took a dark turn when she was turned over to gangsters who operated a karaoke bar/brothel. Rath and the girls who were with her were told that they had to work off a debt for the money the gangsters had paid for them. Rath was beaten and forced to take drugs. She was told that if she did not obey, she would be killed. She was required to smile at customers, be naked at all times to make it difficult for her to run away, and work fifteen hour days, seven days a week. The girls were not allowed to keep any money or ask a customer to use a condom.

Rath was able to escape from the brothel and when she arrived at the Thai border, she was sold into another brothel by a policeman. She eventually escaped from there and made it home safely (Kristoff xi- xvii). Many other women are not so fortunate. Brothels often use drug addictions to lure the girls back to them should they escape, or hold babies the girls give birth to as hostages.

The girls in the brothels are also at high risk for HIV AIDS because their sexual intercourse is unprotected and often forced. “Sex trafficking is an engine of the global AIDS epidemic (IJM).”

Help On The Way:

International Justice Mission (IJM) is an organization which lives by Isaiah 1:17: “Seek justice, protect the oppressed, defend the orphan, plead for the widow”. God's heart is that these needs be met and IJM works to meet the need of preventing slavery and sex trafficking. Gary Haugen, a United States lawyer, founded the organization in 1997 as a way to provide authoritative intervention in the cases of individual women in the sex trafficking industry (IJM). The mission is one of the leading organizations working against this huge problem, but there are many others who cropping up to do their share in the fight against slavery.

Apne Aap is one of these. The name means “self help” in Hindi. “Apne Aap prevents sex trafficking by building the capacity of girls, women and children in red-light areas and slums to get access to education, livelihoods other than prostitution, and safe housing by organizing themselves in small co-operatives (Apne Aap).” The organization works across India to assist women coming out of prostitution or to prevent sex trafficking through education and support.

There are even smaller movements that work to discourage the sex-trafficking practice. My father works for a military contracting company that will not hire anyone unless they sign a statement saying that they will not endorse sex trafficking in any way. This means that their employees can not participate in it, nor endorse it with their money when traveling on business.

Final Thoughts:

These needs cannot be ignored. They are so prevalent in our world today that one only needs to step outside their door to meet marginalized women longing to tell their stories of how they are being affected by these five issues and more. This is not even the beginning of the suffering that is not being spoken by women across America, and the immense trials of women who are silenced across the world. These needs are not being ignored, by a great deal of concerned people, both in the Christian and secular worlds. Awareness is being raised through publication of statistics and stories and organization of people who are willing to help make the change. However, there is so much more that needs to be done. People need to be made aware of the issues and the solutions. Please feel free to use the information on this blog to help inform others. If you want to learn more, I recommend "Half The Sky" by Kristoff and WuDunn. Many of the stories I used are from this recent, well-researched, and powerful book. And don't forget to pray for these women, and that above all, they will receive the strength and hope that comes from a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

What Do You Think?

Works Cited:

Apne Aap, www.apneaap.org

International Justice Mission, www.ijm.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.

THE NEEDS: EDUCATION

Need #4: Equal Education for Women

In families that don't have money to send all their children to school, parents will make sure the boys get an education first. For example, if a school charges for books or admission, and the family doesn't have much money, they will send the boys in the family to school first. Out of the 300 million children in the world who do not have access to an education, 200 million are girls. In Yemen, for example, twenty percent of students were females and ninety-two percent of women over 25 can't read (Meroff 55-56). Even if a girl is able to go to school, she may be forced to leave to get married, do chores or make money for the family.

Even if she is exceptionally bright, if the family begins to suffer economically they may pull her out to save money and may even sell her or marry her off to save themselves the cost of feeding her. Or a daughter may feel it is necessary to find work to help her parents through their financial crisis. For example, Srey Rath of Cambodia, traveled to Thailand when she was promised a job as a dishwasher (Kristof xi). Girls are often promised jobs in locations far away from their families, which end up being a trap. I will cover more on this practice in Need #1. This works in a circular motion against women. They are denied education so they can't get work, so they can't pay for their daughters to get an education. Although there are still high numbers of illiterate men across the world, it is much easier for men to exit this cycle by engaging in physical labor, plus they can make more by doing the same amount of work as women and they are more likely to be sent to school than their sisters. This reinforces the belief that men are better than women.

Help On The Way:

When it comes to education, there are organizations that are working to provide schools, as well as perform initiative programs, or bribes, to get girls to go to and stay in school. In 1993, Ann Cotton started the Campaign for Female Education, also called Camfed. According to their webpage, “Camfed has fought poverty and AIDS by educating girls and empowering young women. More than 645,400 children in impoverished areas of Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Ghana and Malawi have benefited from our innovative education programs.” Their results show that the girls they educate are likely to make up to 25 percent more money and invest ninety percent of it into her family, making Camfed's work a circle of empowerment for women.

What Do You Think?

Works cited:

Campaign for Female Education, www.camfed.org

Kristof, Nicholas and Sheryl Wudunn. Half the Sky. New York: Knopf, 2009.

Meroff, Deborah. True Grit: Women Taking on the World, for Christ's Sake. City: Authentic Media, 2004.