Prostitution and sexual issues may be uncomfortable topics to discuss in church settings, but experts say Baptists must become more informed about these matters to combat sex trafficking in America.
“It seems like the kind of problem that would exist in other countries, not in our neighborhoods,” said Jean Cullen, ministry consultant for national Woman’s Missionary Union, which has been addressing sex slavery and human trafficking in Moldova. “So coming to that realization is a reorientation of your perspective. It’s a matter of opening your eyes to it.”
Cullen said there is speculation that this crime is more common than both drug and arms trafficking.
“It’s maximum benefits and minimal penalties because humans are a renewable resource,” she said. “You can sell a person 50 times a night and 50 times the next night, but if you use a drug, it’s gone. And that’s exactly what’s happening. Kids are being sold 30 times a night every night. It’s a darkness that is beyond understanding.”
Like Cullen, Barrett Duke, vice president for public policy and research with the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), calls sex trafficking modern-day slavery.
“Most young girls brought into prostitution are trafficking victims,” he said. “They almost always have pimps that move them from one place to another. … Most of them are essentially held captive.”
Duke and the ERLC have noted some success in fighting this crime by assisting with writing legislation like the End Demand for Sex Trafficking Act, which became law in 2006 and addresses sex trafficking in America. “We are pleased that the bill focuses not principally on the prostitutes but on the pimps and traffickers who use these women and girls in sex slavery,” Duke said. “We feel that is a very important component in ending the sex-trafficking problem that we have right here in the U.S.”
In the future, he said the ERLC plans to offer a conference to help Southern Baptist leaders provide ministry to women who have been trafficked.
“We will continue to educate Baptists about the problem and encourage churches to develop ministries to trafficked girls and women,” Duke said. “We still have a long way to go, but I do believe some churches are concerned.”
While some Baptists have become more active in the fight against international sex trafficking, he believes there is much to be done to combat this crime in the United States.
“These are women and girls whose lives are being stolen from them, who are being sold and then discarded as worthless, and the church cannot tolerate that kind of abuse of another human being,” Duke said.
The very nature of sex trafficking has led Cullen to call it “a dark evil pit.”
“It is a true spiritual warfare, which is all the more reason why churches need to start talking about it, praying about it and getting involved,” she said. “It is as much a spiritual warfare as it is a violation of human dignity.”
Although some existing organizations offer victims a way out of this lifestyle, it’s hard for them to escape their traffickers. And when they do escape, it’s difficult to find an environment that will help them reclaim their lives, according to Duke.
“They are human beings in God’s image who have been viciously savaged and sold,” he said. “They don’t know that there is anybody out there who even cares, and the church needs to show that it cares.
“They (churches) could provide shelter; help them get job training so they can have a way to make a living; introduce them to a loving, caring environment where they can feel safe perhaps for the first time in years; and help them reclaim their dignity and their value as human beings.”
Global Women, an Alabama-based group, fights sex trafficking through partnerships, education and various projects in America and abroad. Executive director Cindy Dawson, a member of Crosscreek Baptist Church, Pelham, in Shelby Baptist Association, encourages churches to investigate their communities for opportunities to minister to victims.
“It’s all about the individuals praying where they are and seeing what’s going on in their area, then praying about how God wants them to get involved,” Dawson said. “When you pray, God will show you ways that you can make a difference and He will equip you so that your efforts, no matter how small they seem, can make a difference.”
She said it is also important to educate boys about the sex-trafficking industry. “Boys in the U.S. grow up to be men who buy and exploit women here in the U.S. and around the world,” Dawson said. “Pray … and talk with one another so we as Christians will continue to be open to God’s leadership in bringing hope to His many lost daughters around the world.”
For more information about how to help, call Cullen at 205-991-8100, Duke at 202-547-8105 or Dawson at 205-663-0505.
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