The Shocking Truth Behind Child Sex Trafficking Amanda Siebold - 27 Oct 2010
International relief organisations estimate there are 300,000 – 400,000 children working as prostitutes in the United States and the average age of someone entering into prostitution in the US is just 12 years old.
I’d like to take a moment to share my heart with you about a particular trafficking issue that has been a growing passion of mine over the last three years.
The issue is hard to spot – these girls don’t often parade around on street corners looking for a car to jump into. They are most often sold on the Internet - a safe haven of virtual reality, where you can’t get busted for posting an ad for underage sex because you haven’t actually done anything illegal in the ‘real world’!
Some label this “Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking” or DMST. My friend and colleague S calls it like he sees it - Child Rape for Profit. Many of us assume that this kind of thing happens on the streets of Bangkok, not Grand Rapids or Kansas City. Sadly that assumption is wrong.
One of the largest hotbeds of activity for DMST has been the website Craigslist. Craigslist is a website where you can buy or sell just about anything! Furniture, cars, houses, DVD’s… you get the picture! The idea that you could buy a child for sex on the same website where you could buy a used television or sofa is sickening. Craigslist brings in about $36 million in annual revenue from the erotic services portion of their website.
As this truth began to circulate, many thousands of people joined together to call the CEO of Craigslist, Jim Buckmaster, to take action. He responded seemingly well and said they would raise the level of security of the site and agreed to cooperation with local law enforcement in prosecuting individuals who were misusing the website.
Two years passed little changed. But over the last few months, my inbox has been filled with articles and emails encouraging communities and law enforcement officials to take action. One of the most compelling turns of events was when two survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking wrote their stories to Craig Newman, the founder of Craigslist, and took out a half page advertisement in his hometown newspaper, the Washington Post.
So, what came of all of that mobilisation to prayer and action? Last month, Craigslist removed the erotic services portion of its website! Under fire from 17 attorneys general, a host of advocacy and law enforcement agencies, and the thousands of individuals who prayed, signed petitions, emailed and wrote, Craigslist has finally given in to the voice of the public - we want to buy couches on Craiglist, not children. This is by no means a definitive solution to the problem, but it is unspeakably encouraging to witness the reality that our voices and prayers count and have the power to change culture and society.
Child sexual exploitation is an overwhelming and staggering issue facing the global community. What should our response, as followers of Jesus be to this issue? It is complicated, from start to finish – there are no easy answers, no quick fixes. This is the result of a broken justice system, broken family structures and broken communities. But, before we all shut down our computers to go wallow in hopeless despair, please, continue reading.
Today, some of the leaders working on a better solution for caring for rescued victims of DMST in the U.S. are followers of Jesus. In Phoenix, a ministry called Street Light are up to something quite amazing. Through street evangelism, prayer and political lobbying, they are calling the city of Phoenix to account. In the coming months, Street Light will open a safe house that will double the number of beds available for exploited children in the U.S. (Currently the United States has just 50 beds available nationally for victims of DMST!) Working together with law enforcement and social service agencies, they will house and provide Christ centred aftercare to exploited children in Phoenix.
To make it even more exciting, a dear friend who has worked with 24-7 Prayer USA on the Campus America project, has recently been hired to work full time with Street Light to develop a network of night and day prayer among the churches of Phoenix both for the safe house and unto the ending of child sex trafficking in their city. I cannot overstate how incredible it is to see the Body of Christ respond through prayer and sacrifice while meeting the practical needs of these forgotten ones.
If you have been moved or challenged to pray and act by this article you might like to join an evening of Prayer for the issues raised here. Source Boiler, are hosting a multi-site Prayer Rally on the 2nd and 3rd of November, for more details read the blog post or visit the Source website.