You Want to #EndIt?

First, let me state I'm grateful for the voices in the End it Movement. I'm glad to see respected voices of men and women publicly denouncing human trafficking. I'm historically leery of any sort of fad or fanfare around this subject, while still maintaining a consistent gratefulness toward people who are saying something instead of nothing. So first, thank you!

Sadly though, for the vast majority of people, one day, or five days, or ten, or whatever amount of time you give to thinking about the atrocity of human trafficking, and sex slavery specifically, is not enough to End It.

You have to act. And acting on this stuff is not as hard as we make it seem—or as easy as marking a red X on your hand or buying a tshirt or retweeting a tweet. There are actual things you can do in your home and life to end slavery in our lifetime.

1. If you engage in pornography in any way, stop.

I've taken hits on my consistent linking of sex-slavery to pornography, but I will say this as loudly and consistently as I can: supply and demand. If you engage in pornography in any way, you are creating a demand for which there is a limited supply of girls to fulfill.

But, which is more, you are creating a demand in your own life and appetite for something which can not be sustained at the level at which you currently engage it. No man who flies over to Thailand to rape a five year old little girl began with that as his end goal. Somewhere back in the line of his life, he allowed a thirst for sexual sin to root in his life.

Stop watching pornography. Get Covenant Eyes on all your devices. Confess. Repent. Read this book. Stop.

2. If you want to see slavery ended in our lifetime, you have to invest in the places that are actually ending it.

It is very easy to jump on a bandwagon where gimmicky bracelets and tshirts and all manner of things are worn or won in an effort to state your position on the subject. But the reality is, those girls aren't rescued by you wearing a cheap plastic bracelet.

Sorry if I'm coming down hard here, but I will say this over and over and over again: pacifying your need to engage in a movement does not do one lick of help to a nine year old child who is stuck in a cage in Kamathipura, India.

I don't mean to be all "we need your money" but we need your money. That's the reality of rescue and rehabilitation. There are organizations all over the world who are actually rescuing and rehabilitating who need resources from people like you.

If you have five or ten dollars a month, or $100 or $200 a month, these places have staff who are going into very dark places day after day after day to rescue women and children. Most of us wouldn't last a few minutes in those situations, but these people faithfully go to build relationships with girls who have been trafficked, children who have been born in brothels, and men whose hearts have been darkened. Support these people.

Here are some of the best organizations I know of and what their specific focus is on the subject:

Project Red Light Rescue (rescue and rehabilitation) International Justice Mission (legal and political action) Unearthed Pics (raising awareness)

Sorry for going all ranty on you. But not sorry.

Image by Hazel Thompson in partnership with Project Red Light Rescue's CAGE book (which I highly recommend).