Last week I mentioned in a comment that I’d been to a training on human trafficking and some of you wanted to know more about what I learned. I thought I’d give a brief overview of what human trafficking is and how it affects us. The following is not for the faint of heart, but it’s something we can no longer ignore. I learned that it has come to my small town of 15,000, and if it can come to my town, it can come to yours.
Human trafficking comes in two forms: (1). Sex Slavery (forced prostitution) (2). Labor Slavery (working long hours for little or no pay).
Human trafficking is a $6,000,000,000 plus industry. Yes, that’s 9 zeroes. The average entry age into prostitution in America is 12-14 years old. There are between 100,000 to 300,000 children prostituted annually, and I-10 is the favorite corridor used to move them from one place to another. Most of the Johns (clients) do not care that the girls are underage.
And how are a lot of these girls sold? The Internet. For a long time, Craig’s List was the favorite site, but now Backpage is #1 since Craig’s List shut down their “escort” page. To learn more check out the Advocate for Freedom website.
Here in our area, we’re looking for a place to house girls who have been rescued from human trafficking, but housing is only the beginning. The girls have been drugged and getting them off the drugs is the first obstacle. We’ll need counselors, house mothers, and retraining since most only know prostitution as a way of life.
It’s a very difficult and painful subject to wrap your mind around. But talking about human trafficking–making people aware of it–is the first step to doing something about it.
And now for last week’s Mystery Question. One of the following statements given to a policeman is FALSE. Unfortunately, three of them were actually spoken to police officers…
- “Would you hold my beer while I look for my license?”
- “Can you come back in five minutes? I’m in the middle of a telephone conversation.”
- “There’s no way I was going 85. I had the cruise set at 80.”
- “Look, Officer, I’ve been wearing this girdle all day and I was trying to get home and get out of it.”
And the answer is: #4. Several of you guess correctly! 🙂 And the winner of the $10 Amazon gift card is…Lisa!
Now for this week’s Mystery Question.
- “Whoops, that’s the fake one… here you go; this is the real one.”
- “Would you hold my gun so I can get my license out?”
- “What? You need a license to drive?”
- “What’s wrong, Ossifer? I swear to drunk I’m not! And really, there is no blood in my alcohol.”
So Mystery Sleuths, which is the FALSE answer? Leave a comment and be entered in this months drawing. It will be for a copy of Susan May Warren’s Wild Montana Skies!
[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]Did the driver ask the policeman to hold his gun while he retrieved his license? #giveaway[/tweet_box] [tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#giveaway”] Which is the FALSE statement? Enter the drawing for Susan Warren’s Wild Montana Skies![/tweet_box]
Here’s the back cover blurb for Wild Montana Skies:
Search and rescue pilot Kacey Fairing is home on leave in Mercy Falls, Montana, twelve years after she joined the military to escape the mistakes of her past. With a job waiting for her as the new lead pilot of Peak Rescue in Glacier National Park, Kacey hopes to reconnect with the now-teenage daughter she sees only between deployments. What she doesn’t realize is that someone else is also back in town.
Ben King has been building his country music career since the day Kacey shut him out of her life. Now all of that’s on hold when his injured father calls him home to help run Peak Rescue until he’s fully recovered. It doesn’t take long, though, to discover his father’s ulterior motives as Kacey Fairing walks into the house and back into his heart.
With Mercy Falls in a state of emergency due to flash floods, Kacey and Ben are forced to work together to save lives. But when floodwaters turn personal, can they put aside the past to save their future?
Discover more from Patricia Bradley
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Comments 20
I’m going with #4. That sounds like a line from Foster Brooks. We always enjoyed the Red Skelton Show. Besides Red, Foster Brooks was one of my favorites on that show.
Author
I loved Red Skelton and Foster Brooks, too! Have one of Red’s dvds. And we’ll see next week which is the false statement.
I love the cover of Wild Montana Skies! Looks like a great story! Would love to win a copy. I sure hope all of these choices are false! Oh, my! I’m going to have to go with #3. I sure hope by now everyone knows you need a license. But that doesn’t say much for the choices left lol. Human trafficking hit our small southwest Va town recently. A guy everyone knows in the small community would post bond for girls. And it went from there. This had been going on for quite a while and no one knew. It’s opened my eyes to things that can go on because no one pays attention. We just think it can’t happen here. It’s now here. What could we have done. What can we do? Those are now the questions. Thanks for sharing, Patricia!
Author
Suzie’s cover is gorgeous! And by the way, here in Mississippi, guns are open carry–which means you don’t have to have a permit to carry a gun. 🙂
It’s so hard to believe that human trafficking has come to so many small towns and communities. And as for what we could have done, I don’t know. Most people aren’t aware of how big an industry it is. Hopefully, as word spreads about this horrible crime, the law will crack down on it.
There was an author, Kathi Macias, who did a lot with human trafficking. Deliver Me From Evil was one of her book series on it. I hadn’t read them, but she had a lot of information on the subject when those books came out.
Author
I will check them out! Thanks, Sally.
I’m going w. #2, asking the officer to hold his gun, as much as I hope it’s not true.
Author
We’ll see, Delores, we’ll see.
And the human trafficking info. is absolutely chilling. You presented that well and we need to know. Consider more posts adding to our understanding, including what can be done and how.
Author
Yes, it is chilling, Delores. And sad. Awareness will help, but I’m not sure what it will take to stop it.
Thank you for sharing the information on human trafficking, Pat. This is an issue that God has really burdened my heart with. I’ve been involved in many fundraisers for this cause internationally, nationally, and more recently locally, as the first home for sex trafficking survivors in our city will hopefully be opened this summer. There is such a need for greater awareness, as well as engagement in fighting this atrocious crime and aiding its victims. The media sure doesn’t help, with shows like the new one I just heard of, “Harlots.” Such progamming only serves to encourage and prolong the suffering of real-life sex trafficking victims by glamourizing a sickening “industry” that only destroys lives. But enough of my soap box. 🙂 I thank you for contributing to awareness and education by sharing this info on your blog! As for the mystery question, I’m going with #4 again. Thanks, Pat!
Author
Jerusha, I believe the media should be held accountable for the way they promote sex. So glad you are speaking out and it’s awesome that you have a home for rescued girls. Of course, there are quite a few boys who are also trafficked. I’ve just gotten involved in this and I’m not sure exactly what my role will be.
Makes me sick and angry that people would target such young, innocent girls!!! And it’s hard to believe that is a 6 BILLION dollar industry, how tragic! It’s one thing if a grown woman chooses to prostitute herself but an entirely different matter when a young inocent girl is FORCED to do it…argg!! I’m glad you are taking such an interest in this Patricia, what steps are you taking to help get rid of this blight (if any)? Are there ways we can get involved? I’d love to know, thanks for making me aware of this issue.
For this weeks question: I’ll go with #2 but I had to laugh at the person who would say “what, you need a license to drive”? I say, just as long as you get it out of the Cracker Jack box…haha!
I forgot to add: I’ve alreay read and enjoyed Wild Montana Skies and am looking forward to A Matter of Trust coming out in July!
Author
If your name is drawn, Trixi, you (or anyone who has already read Susie’s book) can choose another book from my library. 🙂
Author
Yes, it makes me sick as well. One of the things I’m doing is writing about human trafficking, here on my blog, and the 4th cold case novel will deal with it. Eventually, I will be speaking out about it at churches and where ever I can. We had an incident with one of our cheer teams in Mississippi down in Jackson where someone tried to snatch one of our girls at a mall. The advisor with them managed to keep it from happening, but it’s so scary knowing these things are happening. Be on the lookout wherever you are. Next week I’ll post a few of the signs to look for if you suspect a girl is being held against her will. It’s not always easy to tell.
I was stunned to learned how profitable human trafficking is. I know we all look forward to the day when our Lord returns. Until then we occupy and finish our assignment. I’m guessing #4.
Author
It stunned me too, Caryl. Thanks for stopping by!
Number4 is false
Author
Hi, Charolette and welcome to my blog! We’ll see tomorrow if #4 is correct…er, false. 🙂