Archive for the ‘Slavery’ Category

!C//SEX Slavery Week Wrap Up

By Dan King

Most people don’t like to think about this sort of thing. And those that are confronted with it are usually outraged, but often don’t know what they can do to help. The truth is that human trafficking and sex slavery is probably happening within a couple of miles of where you live, right now.

This week was SLAVERY WEEK, the fifth of the six-week series of discussions on various sex-related topics. The contributing bloggers this week shared stories, perspectives, and prompted discussions that none of us should leave here. Something must be done…

Here’s a quick recap of the posts that we saw come in this week:

  • They Have Been Bought with a Price
    Karyn Puller shares some information on how big the problem with sex trafficking really is, and brings it close to home by asking, “what if it was my own child?”.
  • The Story of Human Trafficking…..Living In Slavery
    Karyn Puller tells a story from the perspective of a victim about a life stuck inside sex slavery. It’s interesting to consider what victims must be thinking and feeling.
  • #ICSEX: Slavery week – 146
    Seiji Yamashita shares the powerful story about how the ministry of Love 146 got started. It’s a story that should move you to compassion for the victims, and probably outrage you at the same time. Definitely a must-see video…
  • In My Backyard
    Nicole Wick googles ‘sex trafficking’ and ‘Detroit’. What she finds is pretty disturbing. She explores what living with sex trafficking in her own backyard feels like, and asks why we are so unaware of how close to home this issue is.
  • here comes the [mail-order] bride trafficking
    Dan King (that’s me) looks at human trafficking from a different perspective. Often we think of those who are forced into prostitution, but there are thousands of women from poor nations who are ‘bought’ to be wives in the richer Western nations through the legal mail-order bride business. Is that human trafficking?
  • Start an Underground Railroad…or Something.
    Jesse Giglio goes grassroots on us… He challenges people to think about what we all can do to making an impact in the fight against human trafficking by drawing parallels to the Underground Railroad. We must all consider our role in fighting slavery.
  • In Honor of those suffering from human trafficking…
    JoDee Luna shares and discusses a thesis done by her daughter that dives into how the ‘comfort system’ and the military presence in the East helped to develop a sex industry that has grown into something massive. There’s some interesting history in this one!
  • The Church and Slavery
    Suzie Lind digs into the demand-side of the sex slavery and human trafficking issue. In order to save the victims, we must also deal with those that are making this industry such a profitable one. Interesting conversation here about dealing with the roots.
  • Child Sex Trafficking is now a U.S. problem
    Sean Wrench discusses the work that he does with homeless youth, and how he (and all of us can) fight child sex slavery here in the United States. His call is to Christians who, because of the Love of Christ, must be moved by this issue.

Other posts this week not focusing on slavery:

  • Why I Almost Gave Up on Sex
    Charles Lee talks about the things that he’s struggled with regarding the upcoming Idea Camp conference in Las Vegas, and discovers why this conversation is so vitally important in the church today. I’d like to ask that everyone who reads this, please join us in praying for this important event.

Let’s keep this conversation going… Which of these posts impacted you the most? Why? What other perspectives on sex slavery do you think are important to share/consider?

Coming up next: Family – Week beginning Sunday, September 19th
This is where it all starts. All of the discussions up until now end up pointing back to the family in some way. What should a loving relationship in a marriage look like? Where does sex fit in? What’s healthy? What about the kids? When/how do they learn about sex? This conversation will not only focus on what a healthy marriage looks like, but what healthy discussion about sex in a family sounds like. If you’re interested in participating in this conversation, then let us know in the comments or contact @bibledude on Twitter.

Are you enjoying this conversation? Then consider coming to !C//SEX Las Vegas on 9.27.10. Register now!

Originally posted at bibledude.net.

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Start an Underground Railroad…or Something.

By admin

by Jesse Giglio

There’s this scene in the film Amazing Grace where hero/abolitionist William Wilberforce finds himself wavering at a crossroads. Should he continue down the road of politics or enter onto the path of his new found religious calling?

His best friend, and soon-to-be-youngest Prime Minister ever, William “Billy” Pitt, outraged at such a consideration sternly asks, “Do you plan to use your voice to worship God, or to change the world?” Mutually exclusive practices…

So Pitt calls together a group of abolitionists to convince William to stay in politics and use his persuasive place in the House to do the impossible by ending the slave trade. Their call to action is gentler than Pitt’s, “We understand that you are having trouble choosing between doing the work of God and the work of the Activist. We humbly suggest you do both.”

The story of William Wilberforce ended in triumph but unfortunately today we find the need for abolitionists as relevant as ever.  Here’s a snap shot fromFreeTheSlaves.net…

Admittedly this issue feels overwhelming and impossible.  And so we find ourselves paralyzed by enormity and excusing ourselves from action while sadly the injustice continues and beautiful human beings continue to live without a life of their own.

I believe everyone can help, some can help more.  Find a way.  Use the Google.  The underground railroad wasn’t started by special ops units but by people driven to care.  To change.  Compassionaries.

Work of God or work of an activist?  Both.  The upside in working with God is that he knows a little something about the impossible…

Where’s your community on this subject?  In the fight?  Unaware?  Intimidated?

For more join us at TheIdeaCamp in Vegas at ICSEX as we take on slavery, sex and other scary subjects… Also, you can check out the online community here.

Originally posted at jessegiglio.com.

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In My Backyard

By admin

by Nicole Wick

I wasn’t sure if I was going to post anything for the Idea Camp//Sex blog series on Sex Trafficking. Then I Googled “Sex trafficking” and “Detroit” just to see what came up. I was horrified.

I had no idea that teens in Michigan are more likely to be sold into sex slavery than die in a car crash. Here’s what a Change.org article had to say about it:

The high number of fatalities for teen drivers across America is incredibly concerning. But in Michigan, teens are actually significantly more likely to be trafficked into the commercial sex industry than killed in a car crash. That’s because child sex trafficking is growing at an alarming rate across the state.

In May [2010], 141 underage Michigan girls were forced into prostitution… And the victims, for the most part, aren’t smuggled in from foreign countries or even from other states. They are local girls, pimped by local pimps and bought by local men.

Then I saw the video below about two young girls from the Ukraine who were sold into slavery after being told that they were entering an exchange student program. Instead of participating in an educational exchange, they were forced to work 12-hour shifts at a strip club here in the Detroit area.

I mapped the distance from my house to the club and it was only 11 Miles.

Trafficking can be easy to ignore when it’s a thousand miles away or when girls are being bought and sold to men in foreign countries. It’s impossible to ignore when it’s only 11 miles away and girls are being bought and sold at your brother’s/coworker’s/neighbor’s bachelor party.

If you have seven minutes to spare, watch the video. I loved when Katya, the girl who was sold into slavery, says this about dancing in the strip club: “If I have a smile on my face, it doesn’t mean I’m here on my own will, it doesn’t mean that I appreciate this job and I want to be here, because I was kept.”

P.S. I’m facilitating a workshop at Idea Camp//Sex in Vegas. I would love to see you there. You can still register HERE.

Do you think we are generally unaware of the trafficking problem in the US? Do you know if trafficking is happening in your community? What can the church do about it?

Originally posted at nicolewick.com.

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here comes the [mail order] bride trafficking

By Dan King

I know that this one won’t make me the most popular kid on the block. And I want to start by saying that not everyone who goes this route should be classified as having the same motives. However, the mail-order bride business is a big one where abuses can often be overlooked.

Typically, there are two types of opportunities for men who are looking overseas for wives:

(1) Contact information sales
Some agencies simply sell the contact information for women that men choose on a website. These agencies typically ‘encourage’ the men and women to correspond for a period of time before meeting each other in person as a means of determining compatibility. However, many of these agencies will write letters on behalf of the women.

(2) Group tours
Other agencies offer opportunities for men to travel to other countries and attend parties and social events designed for them to connect with the women.  Men can meet and spend time with hundreds of different women in order to choose someone that they would like to pursue a relationship with.

I recently saw an amazing documentary on Current TV about this issue called Bride Trafficking Unveiled. It attempts to answer the question, “are mail order brides simply trafficked women who are being exploited by legal loopholes?”

You can watch the full episode right here (clicking the image will take you to another site to view the video)…

Here’s the deal… Not all men who meet their wives this way are sleaze-bags. Not all women who find husbands this way are victims. But there seems to be very little international regulation on this sort of activity.

Yeah, I know that there’s some regulation in the United States to protect these women from being victims of violent crimes. But that doesn’t mean that many of these women aren’t being ‘legally’ trafficked into physically, sexually, and emotionally abusive relationships.

What do you think? Should the mail-order bride industry be labeled as a form of human trafficking? What about the good relationships that result from it? Are the women victims being bought and sold while being fed (often) false hopes and dreams? Who’s doing something about this? What can/should be done?

Originally posted at bibledude.net.

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