THE STRUGGLE ISN’T FAR FROM HOME

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Small changes that create large impacts in people’s lives don’t only happen overseas—the need for God’s love is just as strong close to home. Even though we might think that our comparable comfort and safety keeps us from the strife Shanti saw while visiting the brothel, that fact might not be true for our neighbors. Heartbreakingly, human trafficking is on the rise throughout the world, with a large market in America, and many of its victims are children.

The first small step toward changing this reality is to get informed. While reading these statistics can be uncomfortable, knowledge of what’s going on is the first step to ending this violence.

According to Women at Risk (WAR) International, there are over 20 million victims of human sex trafficking worldwide, with over 1.2 million children trafficked every year. This worldwide enterprise earns over $30 billion annually, which affects 161 countries, including the US. In the States alone, almost 300,000 children are at the risk of sexual exploitation, with reported cases of trafficking in all 50 states. The average age of entry into prostitution is twelve years old.

We believe that the reaction of righteous anger to these statistics is a good thing, but it is not enough to bring change to people’s lives. There are  many local movements taking place in towns across the US fighting sex trafficking, and if this cause is on your heart, we urge you to join it in whatever way you feel lead. Whether by praying, volunteering, keeping an extra close eye on the children in your life and community, or myriad other ways, we are all fighting for the freedom of God’s people.

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