Today marks the official launch of the End It Movement, an initiative from Passion 2013 to bring awareness to the 27 million people currently enslaved around the world and encourage efforts that set captives free. We are glad to be among those combating this global evil. She Is Safe partners with local ministries to prevent, rescue and restore women and girls from the horrors of all kinds of abuse and exploitation.
80% of those trafficked into all kinds of slavery are women in girls, and 98% of sex slaves are female. Obviously, we have a big part to play in this effort. We pray for the women and girls who are enslaved, and we seek the answers to two questions:
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How can we prevent girls from being vulnerable to slavery?
There are many different factors that make a girl at-risk for slavery. The root cause is that in many countries, girls are not valued as sons are. In practical terms, a son is seen as able to build the assets of the family, while a girl is seen as weak and a financial burden. As a result, millions of girls are treated with criminal neglect from birth, and those that survive childhood are barely educated. Parents will marry their daughters early or sell them to traffickers posing as job recruiters who promise “work” in other cities.
We have seen that when a girl is given the opportunity to show her worth to her family, through education and generating an income, she is much less likely to be married early or sold. When she shows her family and her village what she is capable of, the culture of her community begins to shift. This paves the way for other girls in her community to break the cultural bonds that have kept them oppressed.
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How can we restore trafficked women to new life in Christ?
For women who were trafficked as children, life inside of the brothel is all they know. Someone who is helped to escape, and is in a safe, nurturing environment must gain a way to earn a living in something that she enjoys, or she may see no viable option than to return to slavery. A support network can also provide the love, encouragement, and accountability she needs to throw off the chains of her former life for good.
At She Is Safe, we have seen the healing power of Christ working through faith-based groups of indigenous women to transform lives. This led us to the formation of economic empowerment initiatives with discipleship for women and girls, such as our Transformation Group program. Women are invited to join a group led by an indigenous woman that SIS has helped to train. The group meets each week and women gain literacy, vocational skills, health and trafficking prevention while they contribute to a group savings account and learn about Christ. We have seen over 45,000 individuals equipped to thrive through this truly transforming program – with many thousands waiting for their opportunity to join a group.
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Over the coming months, we invite you to join us in aligning our hearts with God’s heart concerning the enslaved. We’ve launched an initiative called “Restore” that will bring awareness to the power of God to make lives new. We’ve put together a brief Bible Study called “God’s Heart for the Enslaved” to explore just how much God cares for the oppressed. This Bible study contains key scriptures, discussion topics, and action items that will help you get involved in speaking for the oppressed in your community. Please take a look at the Bible study, and prayerfully consider going through it with a group of friend to join us in raising awareness of slavery. Click here to download the study.
Click here to learn more about the End It Movement.
For forgotten girls,
Michele Rickett
President & Founder
She Is Safe