In It to End It

I'm in it to end it … Not simply today because it is popular, but every day. I support causes that work with women who have been caught up in the sex industry and are seeking an escape. I know women who have walked away…some successfully, some unfortunately fell back into the lifestyle…

I am in it to end it.

I recently read an online article from the Washington Post (see the article here) which cited a 2011 FBI report on trafficking stating most trafficked girls are between the age of 12 and 14.

In the United States.

This isn't a statistic from Cambodia (although those are just as horrific), this is our own back yard.

I am in it to end it.

For me, it isn't just a slogan to me any more.

As disheartening as the statistics in the Washington Post article were, the treatment of the girls by the US authorities was worse. One girl, age 15 would tell her "johns" she was only 15 and being used against her will. Could they please take her to a police station?

She was eventually found by police, but rather than helping her, this 15-year old was locked up for prostitution.

America hasn't seen anything this bad since the 1800's when runaway slaves were sent back to their masters.

Today we enslave little girls, and rather than help them escape, we lock them up as common criminals or worse, sometimes we return them to their captors.

I am in it to end it.

February 27, 2014 we shine a light on slavery. It still exists today. In our own cities, towns, and villages.

This isn't' just some problem in a country somewhere across the globe. This is a problem in our neighborhood.

I am in it to end it.

We need laws protecting juveniles who are enslaved. We need transition housing for victims of sex trafficking. We need tough penalties for johns and even tougher penalties for sex traffickers.

But as good as getting tough on perpetrators sounds, my friends at Unearthed have found the only true way to end sex trafficking and the horrors that accompany it is to change the heart of men. So we also need churches to step up to help men.

Because when men's hearts change, demand diminishes. When demand declines, supply also falls off.

And when supply isn't required, women and girls become safe again.

I am in it to end it.

Will you join me?