Modern-Day Slavery

If you haven't noticed by now, I am passionate about advocating for human rights. After all, it is God who gave us life in the first place, so why can't we speak up for those who can't? That is why this blog exists. You may have noticed the "Stop Child Trafficking" banner at the bottom of this blog. I feel that it's very important to share the story behind that banner...

Slavery is not a thing of the past, nor is it limited to foreign countries; it is happening right under our noses!
"It is estimated that 14,500 to 17,500 people, primarily women and children, are trafficked to the U.S. annually," according to Humantrafficking.org.

According to recent reports, 27 million are currently in slavery due to human trafficking! Shared Hope has a fact sheet with some more information on human trafficking. They shared that

• At least 100,000 children are used in prostitution every year in the United States.
• The average age of entry into prostitution is 13 years old.

Pearl Alliance, a ministry of John and Lisa Bevere dedicated to ending human slavery, estimates that one person is trafficked every 30 seconds!

Human trafficking is actually a very lucrative business for the traffickers --they rake in 30 billion per year! How horrible is it that someone could care so little of a human life that they could treat them like animals and not care because they are making money off of it?

It doesn't matter if you're Christian or non-Christian; if you were going through inhumane treatment and had no way to escape, you would want someone to be your voice, wouldn't you? That is why countless organizations exist -- to make people aware of the horrors of human trafficking and to provide ways to get the public involved in eradicating it altogether.  Several of my favorite organizations are:

- Stop Child Trafficking Now
- Traffick911
- Pearl Alliance
- A21 Campaign

You can have a part in ending this atrocity -- by blogging, tweeting, supporting the victims, etc. All the information is on the websites above. But there is one way that I recently discovered, and I highly recommend it: Wear a T-shirt! That's right: wear a t-shirt that will make people aware of the atrocities of human trafficking. SCT has some good t-shirts available on their site and so does Pearl Alliance (see above for link). But I recently came across some designed by the C28 clothing store that I just might have to get for myself (C28 comes from the Bible passage Colossian 2:8):

                                                                          Front:

Back:

There are so many more statistics and sites on human trafficking and how you can raise awareness; I have only listed a few, and I strongly encourage you to advocate for these victims of injustice. So what will you do to help the victims of human trafficking? You can share your ideas here; I'd love to hear them.

"And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" ~ Matthew 25:40

"Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so." ~ Proverbs 3:27