The Injustice

God knows right where to hit me to make it count. He shows me truths in this world in such a way I can't help but feel compelled to act. One of the easiest ways to make me empowered is to provide statistics. For me, statistics is a way to see the truth. Numbers don't lie. They can be interpreted and twisted in various ways, but they never lie.

According to the IJM stats, India forces more children into sexual slavery than any other country. Everyday, 200 women and girls enter into the sex-trade in India (United Nations Center for Development and Population Activities). When I try to put this into terms that hit closer to home, I think of it this way...

There are 700 students in my school. Let's assume that of those 700, half are girls. That means, 350 students at my school are girls. If I take the information from the UN's report and apply it to my school's population, that means it takes only 2 days for my entire female population to be forced into the sex industry. Thank God the girls in my school don't face the harsh reality that those in India do. 200 girls a day. That means in a week 1,400 girls enter into the sex trade. In one month more than 42,000 girls and women are sex trade victims. Every year a staggering 50,000 women fall victim to the sex-trade in India alone. This means that every year we lose well over 50,000 promising women to an industry that perpetuates sexual exploitation.


Before now, how much did you know about the sex-trade in our world? Do you know what exactly it means or is? Do you know who is affected by this industry, or how much money it makes each year?

Human trafficking refers to any modern day human slavery. This could mean labor trafficking, where young children are forced into labor. It might mean organ cultivation, where children are used for their vital organs, which are then sold on the black market. It also means sexual slavery, a person being forced into prostitution. Trafficking refers to any transfer of a human, forcefully, to fulfill a specific job or service.

Sex-trafficking is the fastest growing industry on the planet. What does this mean? Well...more and more "customers" are searching for labored sex around the world, making it the most sought after product on our globe. Not even drugs or illegal arms trumps it. (US Dept. of Human Services)

To fuel this quickly growing industry, nearly 200 million children work in the commerical sex trade (UNICEF). That doesn't count the women above the age of 18 who are also providing services in this industry.

Seeing how much the sex-trade profits each year is not information readily available. Because this is an illegal industry that involves trafficking peoples against their will, the numbers are not very clear or accessible. Some statistics suggest that billions of dollars are generated, globally, from this "product."

The sex-trade has become a very popular industry in places like Rome, Taiwan, India, and Greece. Most sex-trade victims are young women trafficked from Nepal, Moldova, and Laos. Often times these women are "sold" by their parents or family members for money. Some are promised a job then forced into prostitution.

Obviously, these statistics churn your insides. As an American woman, from an upper-middle-class family I never have to worry about being sold or forced into sexual slavery. However, each year this industry grows and the demand for women continues to increase. If we don't start focusing on this global epidemic the numbers will keep rising and more women and children will be lost.

 I encourage you to visit www.ijm.org and learn more about human trafficking and the sex trade. Those of us who have a voice and the power to make change need to step up and help our brothers and sisters who aren't being given a choice. Jesus expresses many times in the bible the sacredness of women. We, as His disciples, need to work to make sure that all women are treated as the beautiful gift they were created to be.

We need to act now before too many children lose their futures and our culture accepts the reality of this injustice. I am reminded of Romans 12:2. God tells us not to conform to the world. We need to reject its truths and trust in His. We can't accept this injustice as "just apart of our world." We need to use God's greatness to move and change this reality. I invite you to join me and others in the fight against modern day slavery. Together we can help women and children around the world gain the lives God intended for them to have. Praise our heavenly father for in the end His Will is going to Reign.