“Human trafficking is the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprise and is an estimated $32 billion-a-year global industry” (California DOJ).
The numbers are devastating. More than 27 million people spend every day as modern-day slaves, 2 million of which are children. Many of the children and adults are victims of sex trafficking. Pornography is a major factor leading to the rampant growth of human trafficking.
For this reason, filmmakers Gerald Molen, Chet Thomas and Darrin Fletcher created The Abolitionists. With combined experience on films such as Schindler’s List, Jurassic Park and others, these men along with agent Tim Ballard of Operation Underground Railroad have set out to rescue 2 million children. But they can’t do it alone. Here are four reasons you should become an abolitionist:
1. Restore value to human life
People aren’t products for sale. Pornography desensitizes. Faces are replaced by fantasy. Behind every face is a name and a story. No child should become a victim of someone else’s construed fantasy. Children aren’t born with barcodes.
There is nothing human about trafficking another human. It’s despicable, ruthless and disgusting. We must stand for what is right. We must fight against forces that belittle the human life. We must join together and say ENOUGH.
2. Remember each victim is someone’s son or daughter
Stats are cold and impersonal. Imagine if your son or daughter was being trafficked. Each victim has a face–a name–a story. Who will speak up for those who are orphaned or abandoned?
Making this issue personal hurts–it’s painful. However, the pain these children and teens face is much greater than accepting the truth and reality. Most traffickers give their victims a nickname instead of calling them by their real name. Victims and survivors are REAL people. We must offer REAL help those in need.
3. Help reduce demand
The fight against porn is tied to the fight against human trafficking. Not everyone who has watched porn is a buyer, but every buyer has watched porn. A person’s addiction drives them to do unspeakable things. No one travels the world in pursuit of having sex with a child without first being exposed to pornography.
Real men don’t buy girls or boys. Real men stand up for what is right. Traffickers would be out of business if there were no buyers. By breaking the sexual addictions, we decrease the demand, which reduces the buyers. We appreciate the effort Covenant Eyes is doing to help fight sexual addictions!
4. Be a voice for the voiceless
It’s hard to imagine that teenagers 12-18 years old and younger that may walk the streets publicly have no freedom. This is the harsh reality for the majority of those caught in human trafficking. But there’s hope.
With the rise of social media and individual influence, your voice can be heard. You can share the truth with your friends and family about why it’s important that we stand together against this tragedy. You can be a voice for those who don’t have freedom to speak. You can shine a light of awareness on the darkness of human trafficking.
Join us May 16th at 7:30 p.m. local time to hear more of our story and how we’re going to save 2 million children from the grip of human trafficking.
Visit The Abolitionists website or buy tickets for May 16th.
If you suspect someone is being trafficked, call the National Trafficking Hotline: 1 (888) 373-7888.
More about The Abolitionists: Fathom One-Night Event, May 16
On December 10th, 2013, Special Agent Tim Ballard turned in his Homeland Security badge and resigned from his employment with the United States government. He had spent over a decade rescuing children from child sex tourism both domestically and overseas. He was proud that his country was actually doing something about this problem.
However, mired in red tape and bureaucracy, Tim left to begin saving the children that fell out of the purview of the U.S. and started the organization, Operation Underground Railroad. These children constitute over 90% of those lost to child sex slavery. This is the story about the lost children and Operation Underground Railroad’s attempt to investigate and liberate them from around the world.
