*Christie had already spent her
9-year-old life abused by both of her parents, in 4 different foster care
homes, and plagued with the sorrowing and constant worry of if anyone would
ever come into her life and stay. She had been physically, emotionally, and
sexually abused in 2 of the 4 foster homes, the last of which I had played a
role in removing her from.
I distinctly remember the day that
I was driving her home from school and she looked at me with the eyes of a
child who desperately wanted to be loved and said, “Coral, will you adopt me?” The words broke my heart, not only for her pain that she clearly felt but also for
the pain of not being able to say, “Yes.”
I was unmarried, in college, barely had
any money of my own, and was in no place to permanently care for an emotionally
traumatized 9-year-old. I felt this child’s pain as if it were my own and it
stirred up the beginning of what has often distressed me to tears.
Christie represented the millions
of children I felt incapable of helping. How can "little old me" really do anything to help all the children experiencing abuse and abandonment in the world? Thinking about the amount of anguish
experienced by children in the world is extremely overwhelming. Along with millions of
children in her situation, who have been abused and are left without a home to call their own, there are
also millions of children who are being sex trafficked and who are victims of
child pornography.
People often think of sex trafficking as a "foreign issue" but it's happening all over the United States as well. There are over 4000 brothels disguised as massage businesses in the United States. Pedophiles who want to have sex with children can also get access to minors who are sex trafficked victims through craigslist and backpages.com. There are also many children who are victims of "webcam sex tourism," otherwise known as child pornography.
Being a mother of young children
herself, she said it was devastating to hear the facts about this issue when she asked a law
enforcement officer about the details of child pornography. She said, “Unspeakable
things happen but I’m going to speak about them because I feel like if these
kids are experiencing this, the least that they deserve is for us to hear about
what’s actually happening to them.”
She went on to explain that
children and even infants that still have the embellicul cord attached aren’t
just being touched. She said, “There is penetration. There is extreme torture
and bondage. There’s beastiality which is having an animal penetrate the child
or infant. There’s incenst. Anything that you can think of is out there.”
Children are ideal victims because
only 10% of them speak up after being abused and they don’t make great witnesses
when they do speak up.
Approximately 50-100% of the victims who watch
child pornography will end up sexually abusing a child in the future. Teresa Downing
spoke on an In Plain Sight podcast episode (you can find this episode here) and said that “many buyers who are
in committed dating and marital relationships say that they buy (sex with
victims) because they can do things to the people (including children and infants) that they purchase that they
can’t do to their every day partners. Whether that be bondage or reenactments
of some kind of violence or other fantasy. Often time it starts with pornography.
They want to enact what they see online.”
The statement that sexual abuse most often stems from viewing pornography is proven time and time again. One example of this is covered in this news article that tells the story of a man from Delaware who was convicted
of possession of child pornography, unlawful sexual contact with a child under
13, and attempted murder. The child was playing outside with her neighborhood
friends when the man started talking to her and lured her into his car. He then
sexually assaulted her and threw her into a lake. She was able to get out of
the lake and was rescued after someone spotted her walking around in very little
clothing later that day. It’s clear that child pornography is disgusting in
itself and it also frequently leads to more child abuse and exploitation by the men who are watching it.
Most victims of child pornography
in the United States are kidnapped or are exploited by someone they already
know but in other countries, including India, the Philippines, China, and
Russia, many children are sold into the sex trafficking business by their own
families who are in dire need of money.
In this article written by PRI, it tells the sorrowing account of a girl named Panshi, age 14, who thought she was going
to the mall and dinner with her mom and sister, but was instead taken to her
aunts house where she was raped for 10 days straight to earn her family money.
Her mother and aunt stood outside the door listening to her screams of protest
but her mother didn’t take her home until Panshi fell violently sick.
There are millions upon millions of stories similar to the Panshi and the 4-year-old girl's stories. I was witness to the suffering of one of these children. Every single day I saw Christie struggling as she wondered if anyone would come and save her; if anyone would come and love her. Making a difference for children who are plagued by such enormous and
sickening problems can seem impossible, but by doing a few simple things you
really can make a difference. I've found that if I spend less time worrying about the little things that don't really matter, I have more time to focus on the people in the world that need our help.
Here are 5 things YOU can do to help make a difference in
the lives of children who are victims of sex trafficking, child pornography,
and kidnapping and sexual assault:
1.
Spread Awareness of the issue and it’s prevalence:
By spreading awareness, more people will be willing to help and donate to the
cause.
2.
Donate to Operation Underground Railroad, an organization that
rescues victims of sex trafficking: Donations directly affect the lives of
children as the money will go towards rescuing more children. You can
also contribute to further rescue operations by buying The Abolitionists. (Trailer below)
3.
Listen to the In Plain Sight podcast channel that offers
additional information on the actions you can take to help the cause.
4.
Stop the demand: Fight the New Drug provides information
and articles on how pornography directly impacts the demand for sex trafficking
and adult and child exploitation. Refuse to support the demand
by watching pornography or buying sex.
5.
Start a Anti-Trafficking group in your church or
community that’s purpose will be to spread awareness and inspire people to take
a stand against sex trafficking. Don't wait for someone else to do something about this. YOU can be the one who does something about it! Starting a group or organization is a great way to spread awareness and take steps that will make a difference.
6. Teach your children to respect women and respect their own bodies. Teach your sons that they should try to have control over their thoughts and actions despite how the women around them dress and act. You can't change other people but you can change yourself. Boys and girls are both victims of sex trafficking and child pornography, so this goes both ways.
7. To help children like Christie, think of adoption as equal to having a biological child instead of thinking of it as a last resort. As long as there are orphaned children in the world, helping them should be our first priority. I believe we should be more concerned with helping the children on the earth that are without homes and families than with bringing new children into the world. These children didn't choose to be born into a life where they are abused, moved from home to home, and parentless but we CAN choose to bring them into our families as our own.
6. Teach your children to respect women and respect their own bodies. Teach your sons that they should try to have control over their thoughts and actions despite how the women around them dress and act. You can't change other people but you can change yourself. Boys and girls are both victims of sex trafficking and child pornography, so this goes both ways.
7. To help children like Christie, think of adoption as equal to having a biological child instead of thinking of it as a last resort. As long as there are orphaned children in the world, helping them should be our first priority. I believe we should be more concerned with helping the children on the earth that are without homes and families than with bringing new children into the world. These children didn't choose to be born into a life where they are abused, moved from home to home, and parentless but we CAN choose to bring them into our families as our own.
*Name of child referred to as "Christie" has been changed for privacy reasons.
No comments