The World of Human Trafficking
I found Pullinger’s book to be both fascinating and heart-wrenching. The author presented a story of intrigue, passion, and heroism in a nonfiction book detailing a portion of her life. This book is a true story about the author’s journey through a dark kingdom and the beautiful touch of God that she brought to prostitutes, drug addicts and criminals in the Walled City in Hong Kong.
The book was compelling to me, because I am doing my dissertation on human trafficking, which is also addressed in the book. The world of human trafficking is a dark world of pain and torture. Pullinger helped to bring many women out of the sex industry and into the arms of the Savior. The author did this by infiltrating the multi-million dollar sex industry and providing a safe haven for trafficking survivors. It is also a story of haunting despair for those left behind.
Human trafficking is all around us, although most people don’t believe that. It can be difficult to recognize at times and blatantly recognizable at other times. Prostitution is human trafficking because it is often handled through pimps. Pullinger not only recognized and exposed human trafficking, but she also helped individuals break the barriers that kept them locked in the world of sexual exploitation.
Human trafficking is also known as “modern-day slavery.” Most women who are being sexually exploited are not being physically restrained. In fact, it is better that anti-trafficking organizations not use pictures of girls in chains to represent those who are stuck in this life. If we believe that sexually-exploited individuals are always chained up, we may miss those who are being trafficked right before our very eyes.
The question is always asked: if she’s not tied up, why is she staying in this life? The answer to this can be hard to digest. The average age of entry into forced prostitution in the United States is 13. Think of a child being lured into a romantic relationship with a man who is intentionally preying on her innocence. A trafficker looks for a young girl whom he can easily persuade to follow him by focusing on meeting her emotional needs. Once the relationship is established, he begins to force her to sell her body. If she doesn’t give in to the demands of the trafficker, the consequences are unthinkable: extreme violence, homelessness, mental abuse, forced substance abuse, or threats to harm her family.
But there is hope! As Christians, we know that no one has experienced too much abuse for the gospel of Christ to rescue them. Jesus can restore, heal, and bring new life to anyone at any time. But it means reaching out to these victims and helping them find a new way of living away from the pimp. This was Pullinger’s focus and she helped changed the life of many young people as she journeyed through the streets of the Hong Kong. What an amazing person who was definitely walking in God’s light to accomplish her good works.
As a licensed professional counselor (LPC), I work with human trafficking individuals to help them find their way to becoming a survivor, not a victim. Serving on the board of the Kalamazoo Anti-Human Trafficking Coalition has helped open my eyes to the trafficking that is taking place in the world around us and in our own communities. As I meet individually with girls who have been trafficking, I begin to understand their pain: hurt, haunted, hopelessness, despair, trauma, PTSD, etc. The list goes on as the tears flow from the victims. Former President Jimmy Carter once said: “Everyone has a right to peaceful coexistence, the basic personal freedoms, the alleviation of suffering, and the opportunity to lead a productive life.” The human trafficking victim has none of these rights. Beating, abandonment, and death threats become routine for them. They live in a sordid, shadowy world – until someone can bring God’s light into their world.
As I work with trafficking victims, I sense their insecurities and distrust of the world around them. The defenses are hardened and their ability to accept and give love has been buried deep with them. Shame is one of their greatest barriers which prevents them from often seeking mental health services. So, breaking the barrier of shame is the first step to helping them find freedom. As a counselor, I help my clients understand that I will offer a judgment-free environment without condemnation. I am sure that Pullinger’s love showed through for her to be able to reach into the dark world of prostitution and drug abuse in Hong Kong.
Getting human trafficking victims to trust me and accept my help can be a huge obstacle. Trafficking individuals have lost all sense of trust; both in others and in themselves. A quote I once heard from an unknown author stated: “People were created to be loved. Things are created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” This is such a powerful quote to me, as our society has often become a backwards society – and many young women are paying a price because of it. You may choose to look the other way at the world around us, but you can never say again that you did not know.
I find working with human trafficking survivors is both heart-wrenching and powerfully rewarding. My dissertation focus is to help churches/individuals to reach out and help human-trafficked individuals through mentoring as the survivors walks this journey toward freedom. I see that often, trafficked victims are counseled and cared for after they are rescued, but then they are sent out into the world to navigate without a support system in place for them. My desire is to help build a mentor program, so that people can walk this journey with them as they navigate the new waters of freedom. Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Through Christ, all things are possible.
About the Author
Nancy VanderRoest
Nancy is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and fulfills God's calling on her life by serving as a Chaplain & Counselor with Hospice. In her spare time, Nancy works with the anti-human trafficking coalition in her local community.6 responses to “The World of Human Trafficking”
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I appreciate your post and your passion for this subject. Our church, and others in our denomination, have engaged with various groups in Indonesia, Thailand, and the U.S. We have found that many people believe this only happens outside the U.S. and yet the cities of our nation have a significant problem with human trafficking. Hearing the stories of the young girls who have been rescued and their lives healed and transformed gives us hope that together we can make a difference.
I especially appreciate the unknown author’s quote, “People were created to be loved. Things are created to be used. The reason why the world is in chaos is because things are being loved and people are being used.” This is so true and the perspective change starts with understanding love as God is. Pullinger lived this kind of love and the effects are encouraging at what one women with a call can do.
I agree with Tammy . . . I greatly appreciate your post. You are certainly bringing light into the shadowy world of those who you save from trafficking. I know the Kalamazoo area well and your post is a very raw read. Grateful for the work you do in a city I love so much.
Thank you, Nancy, for your post and the focus on human trafficking. I found it interesting that Pullinger’s main ministry was to young men, but through them, she did interact with young women who were trapped in the prostitution. The girls who worked in the ballrooms and owed their pimps money displays the human trafficking you described. It is amazing that through the power of the Holy Spirit Pullinger was able to confront the powers of darkness. If only we could be so bold!
Thank you, Nancy, for all you are doing on this front. You are right that we need to open our eyes to what is going on in our communities and do what we can to help break the bonds of modern day slavery.
Nancy I completely agree with your call to action in rehabilitating women who have been associated with human trafficking. I also appreciate Mary’s observation the Pullinger actually spent most of her time rehabilitating men. One of the questions I often chew on when it comes to sex trafficking in particular, is how we might do more as the body of Christ to reach out to the consumers. There is clearly a deep brokenness in someone who feels entitled to purchase these services, and they often rely heavily on anonymity in order to include this in their lifestyle. Where could we start in reaching out to this demographic? I think of how Pullinger had to introduce the young men she worked with to the idea of truth, right and wrong, integrity. Their consciences had to be grown and shaped. I wonder if it is a similar process for the consumers within the sex trade? It is a much harder ministry to grow support for, but I am convinced God is good enough to long for the redemption of the survivors and the offenders.
Jenn,
I would guess that the majority of the consumers it actually comes out of a sense of loneliness. For very many I suspect this is the path of least resistance to not feeling lonely any longer. Maybe a start would be initiatives that provide a better way out of loneliness. It seems fairly basic, but at the same time a simple enough way to start.
Nancy, I thank you for sharing your view on human trafficking for I too hold this issue close to my heart. I the past my work focused on educating the community at large on this epidemic in my home state of Florida. Through several partnerships through the I.C.E. and other human trafficking coalitions, it was discovered that few to no churches have the compassion and the resources set aside for the survivors. After building relationships with some of the survivors, I realized some of their view of the church weren’t positive. I had to now become the image of God they needed to see and sought assistance from David Grant and his daughter from Project Rescue and other organization to see how I could use the arts to help show God through the cathartic release of the creative arts. It is so rewarding to see and experience the journey with those once captive find freedom in the mind, body and spirit. Thank you for being an essential part of this fight against human trafficking.