Destiny Rescue, Sex Trafficking and You
By Ashley Mazelin
She had received more black eyes than she wanted to remember. Her arms and legs had been bruised and cut repeatedly, but these physical wounds were no match to the scars on her heart. The verbal and emotional wreckage were more than her 17-year-old soul could handle. She decided to run away from her abusive family. Little did she know the nightmare that awaited her. After meeting a cute 20-year-old guy at the mall, she thought he was her answer. He bought her gifts, and said nice things about her, making her feel loved for the first time. Slowly, however, he began demanding that she have sex with him. Eventually, he forced her into prostitution and became her pimp, taking all of her earnings. He beat her and subjected her to psychological trauma. She realized that this had been his plan all along. He had never loved her in the first place.
This is the story of a real American girl who was interviewed by Polaris project after she escaped the sex trade. Her story is happening to thousands of girls in the U.S. According to Polaris project and the Indiana Attorney General’s office, 100,000 to 300,000 children in the US are victims of sex trafficking each year, 83 percent of which are US citizens. The average age of children first used in the industry is 12-14. In the last five years the Department of Justice has opened 261 cases on human trafficking in the Midwest, and Indiana law officials have opened 58.
Most of the time, children are sold into the sex trade by people who know them, such as family friends, boyfriends, aunts or uncles, and even their parents. Most children continue to attend school and play sports while being entrapped in slavery. They are often so fearful of their pimps that they will never tell a soul what is going on in their lives.
They are beaten and branded by their pimps. They are brainwashed and sometimes drugged. Standard residential brothels charge $30 for fifteen minutes of sex. Victims are working 12 hours, seven days a week, for an estimated 25-48 men per day. This is no small number. Most guys who buy sex have first been addicted to pornography or have visited strip clubs. The average age for a first time sex buyer is 21. This is happening right here in Indiana, in Indianapolis, Elkhart, and even Warsaw. Human trafficking is the second largest criminal industry in the world, just behind the drug industry. It generates $32 billion every year.
This tears up the heart of God; it should break ours too, and spur us to act. Amos 5:24 says, “Let justice roll down like waters.” There are several ways that you can be involved in bringing the injustice of human trafficking to an end. One way is to be aware of people around you who may be victims of trafficking. For information on the signs of a trafficked person, go to http://www.in.gov/attorneygeneral/2963.htm, or call the human trafficking hotline 1-888-3737-888.
An obvious way you can prevent trafficking is refusing to buy into the commercial sex industry. Do not buy sex or pornography or watch movies and television that glorify pornography. Do not joke about pimps and prostitutes or listen to music that distorts sex. By reducing the drive in our culture to glorify such activities, we may reduce the demand for commercial sex.
Another way you can be involved is by investigating state laws regarding human trafficking. Indiana needs a better Safe Harbor law. This law protects sex trade victims from being sent to jail for prostitution. The federal law states that anyone under age 18 who is found in the commercial sex industry is a victim. The Indiana state law only protects those under age 16. This is problematic because it is very hard to prove in court that a person over this age is a victim. Most victims are so brainwashed that they truly believe they chose or deserved to be there. They are either afraid of their pimp or are extremely loyal to him. Once rescued from the industry, most victims are prosecuted for prostitution. This makes other victims afraid to run to the police, for fear of jail time.
Victims need freedom to recover, not jail! I am starting a petition, with the goal of 5,000 signatures to get this law changed and raise the Indiana Safe Harbor law to cover anyone under 18. I, along with a committee of six others and the student senate, am working to get other Indiana schools involved. We are asking you to band with us as we try to combat this issue of human trafficking. Watch for more details of when and where, and like our new Facebook page, Safe Harbor Law # DoSomething.
