"I was in high school when it started. I was involved in sports, getting good grades, and just enjoying life. Then he showed up. He was very kind to me, accommodated to my needs, and showed me 'love'. We started dating and that all changed. He was no longer the person I thought he was. It was a cycle of breaking up and getting back together. Every fight he made me think that it was my fault, so I would come crawling back to ask for forgiveness. School was no longer a joy for me, and I started doing poorly. I didn't even graduate from high school. We soon got married under his command but there was no joy in this commitment. No white dress, no family or party, just a court room marriage with nothing else. Life at our house was no better, he would keep me locked up in a closet until I agreed to have sex with him. He would yell and threaten and abuse me till I was too afraid to argue. I wasn't ever happy anymore. People at my work could notice something was wrong and would ask, but I would only reply with, 'I'm fine, I'm just tired.' My dad would call me and ask when will be the next time we could visit each other. I could only say, 'I'm really busy dad, maybe later, bye.' And I would be left alone to deal with my pain."
Jenna McKay endured this life far too long. Her encounter did not take place in a far away land, it was local and came from an unexpected face. Unlike a lot of victims, she has been freed from her prison and is sharing her story and restarting her life by going back to school. There are millions of men and women just like her that are forced into this lifestyle of being sold or trapped for sex. With the growing sex trafficking industry, it becomes even more vital to end this suffering and enslavement.
Trafficking has been in existence since the first person was willing to use other humans as sex slaves. That idea caught on and has spread across the globe. It can come in forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, servitude, or the removal of organs. There are nearly 21-30 million enslaved globally ranging from pre-teens to older adults; two million of which are children while women and girls make up 98 percent of sex trafficking. The country with the highest sex trafficking rate is Bangladesh. There, approximately 400 women and children are victims of sex trafficking each month. With nearly 300 thousand victims per year in the United States alone, many will start at the entry age of 12-16 years. According to multiple sources, nearly 600,000 victims will cross international borders. Globally, the average cost of a slave is $90, making sex trafficking a whopping $32 billion dollar industry. That’s more than Nike, Google, and Starbucks combined! And out of the money made by pimps or sellers, the victim gets nothing.
California has the most cases for sex trafficking than any other state in the United States. There are around 804-840 cases reported annually; this is apart from the other 172 trafficking cases that involve labor or other forms. Where it seems to appear unexpectedly is at home. Yuba City doesn't strike me as a crime-infested town like I would think of Los Angeles or Chicago, but it happens more often than one would imagine. In an investigation not too many years ago, there was a fake ad for a prostitute sent out on Craigslist by local police and Restoration Railroad. After it was sent out, men responded to "her" and were instructed to meet her here in the Yuba-Sutter area. Men came as far as Sacramento and Chico to come for this "lady" and the police ended up with 35 arrests.
I questioned that race could possibly be a factor in who becomes a victim of trafficking and would they be treated differently? Back in 2013, a residential brothel was found here in Yuba City; it served Hispanic men and the victims were Hispanic women. Generally speaking, pimps and traffickers don't discriminate because if they can get their hands on anybody, it's more money for them. Age does not discriminate either for a pimp. Many teens are kidnapped right from their local neighborhoods and malls because they thought they were going to meet a new 'friend'. According to Meredith Curry, back in 2006 the youngest case she has seen locally was a student who was seven! And if can go that young here, imagine how much worse it can be overseas in third world countries. 
(https://oag.ca.gov/transnational-organized-crime/ch2)
A more recent investigation in December of 2016 involved three Yuba City teens, Madison Gonzalez, Jamie Bobb, and Malcolm Lartigue, who were accused of forcing a woman into prostitution. The woman claimed she was offered a job by giving massages but instead was told she would be having sex with clients. She escaped and the police have arrested the teenagers while one other accomplice is still on the loose. This goes to show that the most unexpected person can trick or be tricked into trafficking or perform heinous acts, this is why it is so important to be aware and protect those around you. "Since June 2013, Restoration Railroad has received 21 calls requesting assistance for people being exploited in our community. Thirteen of those 21 calls were for human trafficking and 12 of those 13 were for sex trafficking; six of those 12 were minors." After someone has been put in distress from being sold into a brothel or forced to do lewd acts, he/her is scared, shaken, and not likely to just go back to how they used to live. Many trafficking victims develop depression post escaping their enslavement. In fact, they can have the same level of PTSD as a war veteran. Their levels of anxiety go up as well, almost like they are constantly looking over their shoulder and always on edge .
In the mid-1900's, parents used to let their children run around during the summer with their friends without a worry in the world. The term 'pedophile' wasn't often used nor was it common to be afraid, until a boy, Johnny Gosch, was kidnapped in 1989. His disappearance, as well as other boys', started an epidemic fear of what we call now trafficking. Throughout the course of time, parents became more aware of what was going on around them and the struggle to keep their children safe increased. What is the price we have to pay to keep the ones we love unharmed?
Amidst this terror of unfortunate circumstances, God has not forgotten his children. It is known that "He will get His justice" and we are not to fear because He is with us. Even in Biblical times, there were stories of prostitutes and slavery amongst nations. Those women were shunned and ridiculed by fellow Christians, but not many churchgoers stopped the horrible acts. Joel 3 talks about the nations judged, and the sins they committed. "They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes; they sold girls for wine to drink." Not much has seemed to change between then and now in the sense that trafficking is still an active crime. The world is an even more terrible place to be. Slavery in the book of Exodus, God clearly states "Let My people go!" through the mouth of Moses; you could say he is an advocate against trafficking. The Bible is aware that kidnapping is evil, that is why Deuteronomy 24:7 says, "If someone is caught kidnapping a fellow Israelite and treating or selling them as a slave, the kidnapper must die. You must purge the evil from among you." Another verse that is in scriptures, is that God hates abuse. Psalm 11:5, "The Lord tests the righteous, but his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence." And most importantly, His business is freedom. We are bound by the chains of sin but His grace and love break that barrier. Isaiah 61:1, "...He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..." When we do the work of God, it pleases Him. We are called to perform service to the poor and hurt, and that is honoring Jesus.
Sex trafficking is a horrendous act against God; in fact, it insults his work of our bodies. We were meant to belong to Him and to Him only; He is a jealous God who fights for our hearts. Christian churches have always been against this issue and it has never changed. I would say that their response toward this subject has slightly changed though. In the times of Jesus, it was a sin to be sleeping with a man/ woman without being married to him/ her and would get looked down upon by the church and religious leaders, now it is not as big a deal. But on that note, people were greatly judged and even persecuted because of such an act. The people involved in sex trafficking would be greatly ridiculed and maybe no one would look upon them to help, instead, they would turn their heads. Today, I believe that churches are more open to helping, some even have ministries to help prevent sex trafficking or to help the victim post-trafficking. Some still judge the fact that a member of their church was a trafficking victim or someone involved. Let God do the judging, and let us be the ones to shine a light on the hearts of the people and do His work.
The Roman Catholic Church strictly forbids trafficking. The church teaches much on the degrading of trafficking another brother for labor, sex , etc. As well as encouraging helping and looking out for victims, not turning away from them. Pope Francis said, “Human trafficking is an open wound on the body of contemporary society, a scourge upon the body of Christ…It is a crime against humanity."
In the United Methodist Church, they recognize that each person is of equal value in the sight of God. They want to spread that message to others and to make an impact on the world of sex trafficking. “We deplore all form of commercialization and exploitation of sex… to lose freedom and be sold by someone else for sexual purposes is a form of slavery, and we denounce such business…”
The Orthodox Church proclaims that prayer is the best solution to help stop trafficking, but they know that actions will also help abolish it. One quote is stated that “God brings the victory. He invites us to join him, to be the answer to our own prayers.” Praying along with actions will equal a safer world to live in. "We must be His hands and feet among men, which means getting dirty and coming into contact with the darkness we wish to abolish."
The Nazarene Church, along with many other Evangelical churches, is against trafficking of any kind. Sources from the church say that if they knew a victim of sex trafficking was in the church, they would put in mind that they are God's child and they would respond how He would. They even said that they (and everyone) should be aware and look for signs of trafficking, and put research into the topic.
In pre-Islamic Arabia, slavery was common and not considered horrible. It was regarded that having a slave was good, but it says in their religious practice that, "Your slaves are your brothers. Allah has placed them under your authority... if you burden them then help them." It seems that the slaves were treated with some respect for fear of upsetting Muhammed or their god. Islam does not have the rule to say that trafficking is not allowed, but in their faith, it is clear that it is forbidden. This simply goes against what the Muslims say and what they do.
The Mormon religion is very different from Christianity and Islam. Mormons are well known for being supporters and doers of polygamy, although this is not as popular as it was when it began. It was/ is definitely possible that they marry multiple women for the sake of money or for pimping reasons. It must be hard for a woman to live with a man who has multiple wives, so maybe some women did not want this life or hoped that their child would not enter this lifestyle. They also recruited many people from England and other countries to become Mormon. Not all were happy but some were ecstatic to live a new life. This type of recruitment is also commonly done by pimps and traffickers.
There is a way that we can stop trafficking, be aware. The more we are alert, the more lives that we will be able to save. Anyone can look for red flags in a sex trafficking victim. Change in behavior or something seems off, being aware of travel to other areas, distant, physical injuries, emotional change, etc. It is better to be safe than sorry, so if you are curious about something, do not hesitate to tell authorities. Brothels can be spotted as well, and maybe you've seen or heard of one such as a massage parlor with blocked windows and suspicious activity around it. Or even a mall is a perfect place for pimps or recruiters to kidnap women. When we come together, we make it harder for the traffickers to do their job, and that’s what we want. One example of awareness is the Uber driver, Keith Avila, who saved his passenger from sex trafficking. Listening to the two female pimps' conversation with the 16-year-old girl, he deducted that she was a prostitute. One yelled, "You need to get your priorities straight. We need to make this money." The other told her the protocol of what to do upon entering the hotel room they were going to enter. When they exited the car, Avila drove down the street and called the police. They arrived and arrested the two women and the man whom they were meeting. If you know of someone who needs help, the trafficking hotline is 1-888-373-7888. Connect with Restoration Railroad in Yuba City, they will not stop until you are safe.
Sex trafficking can happen to anyone, literally. So many victims were just walking down the street, going shopping, planning to meet some 'friends' from online or even caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trafficking does not discriminate and it does not care. After getting back surveys from seventh graders at FCS at least 50 percent did not know what sex trafficking is. I believe that just from that we need to educate our kids on staying safe and taking precaution. What we do is crucial to the survival of victims and the betterment of the world. The next steps toward freedom is the help of you and me.
(Sex Trafficking Video)
https://vimeo.com/142152603
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