Part 1 of a 4-part series on Trafficking Prevention as part of National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.
Damara lived with her grandmother while her parents, out of necessity, worked in a far away province. Her family struggled with poverty, which placed tremendous hardship on Damara as she was growing up.
Damara met an older woman who offered to pay her money to run away with her to have a business for a better life. She accepted the offer and was taken to live in a luxury “hotel” that was provided by the woman. Soon after arrival, she was pressured to have sex with a man to pay back her debt for living in the hotel. She w
as only 15 years old.
When Damara’s parents learned that their daughter was missing, they contacted our Anti-trafficking co-workers, who worked with law enforcement to search for her. They found Damara in a brothel on the outskirts of the city. She was rescued and given counseling to restore her life and set her on a new path.
Damara and other girls are constantly nurtured, which helps them to be vigilant and avoid being lured into sex trafficking.
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China
Issues:
- There are an estimated 3.2 million slaves in China.
- In absolute numbers, China has the 2nd highest number of enslaved people in the world (behind India)
- China has a large number of domestic migrants (some 293 million) that move around the country in search of work, mostly flowing from rural to urban areas. Migration leaves people disconnected and vulnerable, and in this flow of people, women and girls are trafficked from the countryside into the city for the purposes of commercial and sexual exploitation.
Prayer need:
As we reach out into brothel communities to lovingly offer a way out and restoration to women and girls who have been enslaved in the sex industry, pray that more girls will be rescued and restored to new life now and forever.
Indonesia
Issues:
- Prostitution is not specifically addressed by the law in Indonesia, like many predominantly Muslim countries.
- “Labor brokers are involved in sexually exploiting women and children, often facilitated through debt bondage, false marriage proposals, and violence.”
- Traffickers travel to the smaller remote islands and promise the families of young teen girls or the girls themselves, legitimate work in the cities in the thriving tourist industry. When the girls travel to the cities, they find that the jobs they have been promised amount to sex slavery. They are coerced or bound under contract to work in a brothel, with no money and do not know where to turn for help. Thus, the need for aggressive outreach to the enslaved girls.
Prayer Need:
Pray for the girls who are surrounded by a culture that does not value them as human beings. Pray that they will receive that they are loved and valued by Christ, and that they will share that love with other girls who are suffering.
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For National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, help prevent girls like Damara from being abused:
- Share Damara’s story with others
- Give a gift to She Is Safe and help equip thousands of girls in the hardest places around the globe for a brighter future.
Source: 2014 Global Slavery Index – Walk Free Foundation