Conclusion and Bibliography (ST: Part IV)

While I feel like I have only scraped the surface of this worldwide industry of trafficking men, women, and children for sexual exploitation, I have none the less become exposed to some of the issues.  I have been encouraged and provoked by a few ministers and ministries who are getting their hands dirty by going to the places that Jesus would be and is.  While they are radical expressions of the Kingdom of God and the Good News of Jesus, they are also simple and concrete.  May the Lord bless me and those believers I work with on a regular basis to find ways to engage in this dark abyss.  I’ll end with listing some of the ways one article encouraged Christians to get involved with the fight.

Recovery and Hope (ST: Part III)

What I have found since looking into some research and spending time in San Jose, Costa Rica, is that though much of the church seems to be a lost cause when it comes to the sex trade industry, there are still many churches and Christian organizations trying to help out.  The process of helping those in the industry escape is one that takes a lot of initiative and requires lots of psychological and social support once they get out.  Mark Crawford, one of the many who are working through this process with a number of women, says that “the miracle occurs when exploited women realize their inherent dignity and need for God.  He estimates a transition time of three to five years from life in prostitution to stable work elsewhere, while women grow in Christ and serve in a local church.” ²⁵

            

Another woman who counsels women once caught up in prostitution says that “it is very difficult for those engaged in prostitution to change their behavior overnight.  In an odd and heartbreaking twist,” she says, “some women don’t want to be rescued.  They become conditioned to the degradation.  Like battered women (who remain in abusive relationships with a partner who batters her, and often defends his actions), women in prostitution often deny their abuse if provided with no meaningful alternatives.” ²⁶

Sex Trade Industry (ST: Part II)

In an article by Wendy Zoba called the “Hidden Slavery,” she makes a parallel between sex trafficking and Henry Nouwen’s book The Inner Voice of Love.  She says Nouwen describes a “deep abyss” in every human heart.  It is impossible to fill, he says, because the needs are inexhaustible.  “You have to work around it so that gradually the abyss closes.” ²

It is similarly impossible to fill the abyss that is sex trafficking.  The drives that fuel it – both greed and sexual desire – are insatiable.  Still, local champions have arisen to work around that abyss.  “In concert, from various fronts and on differing levels here are abroad, they are working around the abyss.” ³

         

Sex Trafficking and Costa Rica (ST: Part I)

Another paper from an independent study in San Jose, Costa Rica. Enjoy!


Sex Trafficking
Dr. Robert Price
September 24, 2009


(Intro)

“There are more slaves alive today than all the people stolen from Africa,” notes Kevin Bales in his book Disposable People (Univ. of California Press, 2000).

Forces of modernization have accelerated the resurgence of this “new slavery,” as Bales calls it.  The dramatic increase in world population, tripling since 1945 (from about 2 to 6 billion), has overwhelmed some developing countries.  Rampant unemployment and underemployment give rise to masses of desperate people, producing what Bales calls “a glut of potential slaves.” ¹