The Human Face of Trafficking: What Your Church Needs to Know

Mora was 14 years old when her “boyfriend” first asked her to perform sex acts on camera for strangers. Mora was desperate for acceptance and approval, and said yes. Before long Mora’s boyfriend hooked her on heroin and began taking her to Buffalo and New York City to prostitute herself. When Mora realized she was just one of many girls trapped in this cycle, the “relationship” turned violent.

Mora’s story is just one of thousands of young women and children being sexually trafficked and prostituted in America. This is just a small part of a global epidemic of trafficking, with some estimates stating there are over 20 million victims of human trafficking in the world today. In recognition of this problem, the U.S. Senate established January 11 as Human Trafficking Awareness Day, stating that America “refuses to let human trafficking exist in the United States and around the world.” And yet according to the International Justice Mission (IJM), sex trafficking is currently generating approximately $150 billion in profits a year. So what will it really take to combat sex trafficking, and how can the church lead the way? Read More

I was involved in child welfare work in New Orleans for more than 20 years. The New Orleans' French Quarter was a popular destination for troubled teenagers who had run away from home. They often became hooked on drugs and involved in prostitution - both teenage boys and girls. Pimps hung out at the Greyhound Bus Station and the area's truck stops on the lookout for new arrivals. There was trafficking in child prostitutes from New Orleans to major cities in Middle America as well as on the East and West Coasts. Child prostitution and trafficking in child prostitutes, however, is not confined to large cities. It also goes on here in the Southern Bible Belt. It is likely going on in your very backyard.