Shine Your Light Wednesdays: Cyrus International/Trafficking Hope

Ever since we saw the movie, Taken, I've had a new awareness.  When I was little, I knew that people were kidnapped, and I knew that people were in slavery....but I don't think it was real to me.  In fact, it's a very horrid reality for many people in our world today.  To me, this just isn't acceptable.  It just isn't right.  I don't understand how another human being can be so insanely cruel to another....it's almost as if the cruel people behind these types of crimes have no heart, no blood running through their veins.  It shows the true depravity of man without Christ.  I mentioned on here a while ago that I wanted to do more research into organizations that seek to banish adult/child sex trafficking, and I've found many organizations, but one has stuck out to me recently.  That organization is Cyrus International, and I really want to focus on their Trafficking Hope campaign.

Cyrus International is an organization that partners with other organizations to lend support and enable them to provide relief to oppressed peoples around the world, even here in the United States, where sex trafficking of our children is at an all-time high.  Trafficking Hope seeks to make us aware of what is going on right in front of our very eyes and seeks to restore victims of sex trafficking and prostitution.  I say victims of prostitution here, because in all reality, these women and children are victims.....a lot of them have been either kidnapped or forced into this type of work, and they are the real victims.  The sad reality is, this could happen to our own children.....we may think that this only happens over in India or in Europe, but it happens right here at home.  As Linda from Shared Hope International says below in the second video, if there weren't buyers, there wouldn't be sellers.  The horrific and sad truth is that the buyers are ordinary men, maybe a dad, a brother, or an uncle, who are basically living a lie.  Through all of my study and thinking about this subject, I just can't get over how someone can just label another human being with a price tag.....especially a child, of all people.  How can we sit back when we know this is going on?  I'm getting on my soapbox just a little here, because this is a topic that gets me fired up.

Here are a few statistics for you:

• 100,000 to 300,000 children in America are at risk for sex trafficking each year.1

• 12 is the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution.2

• In the U.S. , the sale of child pornography is a $3 billion annual industry; 55% of child pornography on the Internet comes from the U.S.3

(References: These were on the Trafficking Hope website; you can read more here.)

1 http://caster.ssw.upenn.edu/~restes/CSEC.htm
2 http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/prostitution.html
3 http://www.onenewsnow.com/2007/02/bill_tackles_us_child_porn_epi.php

This whole reality just sickens me.  This is a very real evil that is present in our world today.  I'm going to post a video of an interview that the founder of Shared Hope International, a partner of Trafficking Hope, did on the O'Reilly Report.  Please keep in mind that this video is not meant to offend any, but it does show images that are certainly not appropriate for young eyes and ears.....I just feel so strongly about this subject, that I have to address it....it's not going to go away until we raise a ruckus about it.

Now that you have an idea how widespread human sex trafficking is, especially of children, you can get informed, and get involved.  If you feel God is tugging at your heart, please research this subject out....you can find articles, videos, and more information on Trafficking Hope.  You can also contact them to see how you can get involved in their outreaches or even in supporting their efforts.  

To participate in Shine Your Light Wednesdays, read this first.....then post on your blog about a ministry/outreach/volunteer opportunity that you have come across, OR you can even share about this post on your blog, so that we can spread the word!  Make sure to link back to Real Heart Prints, and come back and sign Mr. Linky with your authentic post link below.  Have a great day!