I have a friend, let’s call him “Russell.”
Russell is a good guy: Loyal and generous, loves his family, and volunteers at church. Russ also likes to engage in what I call “sex tourism.” When he goes on a business trip, sometimes he’ll seek out a local prostitute and… well, you know what guys do with prostitutes on business trips. At this point, Russell’s been drugged, robbed, caught a sexually transmitted infection, shamed his children, and had to divorce his wife—all because he keeps buying women’s bodies for sex.
What bothers me about this is not that my friend has been harmed by his actions—but that he has no idea how his actions have harmed the women he buys. He thinks the attention he receives is, in his words, “Nice.”
Worse yet, Russell has zero understanding of the way his “sex tourism” helps to fund the horrors of human trafficking in America. Let me show you what I mean.
The Truth Behind the People in the Prostitution Industry
Despite the innocuous, sometimes flattering, view of career sex work that’s presented in modern media, women in prostitution typically aren’t selling their bodies because they want to. If the established pattern holds true, then by the time a woman gets to my friend Russell, here’s what she’s likely lived through:
First, she was sexually assaulted as a young girl, typically around age 13 or 14, just after puberty. Most often, this first sexual assault was from a family member. Next, she was targeted by a predator (either a man or woman) who used deception, coercion, fraud, and violence to force her to perform sex acts. At some point she was also aggressively separated from those who might help her—friends, family, teachers, church workers. She was moved to a new location where she knew no one except the predator who now, for all practical purposes, owned her. This kind of relocation and/or migration happens both to American girls and foreign women lured to the US through false promises of work or economic help. When she sells herself, the predator gets the money. When she tries to leave the life of a sex worker, she cannot. She’s helpless and caught in a circle of abuse that’s funded by people like my ignorant friend, who think buying her frequently misused body is “nice.”
And so, because it’s profitable, the cycle continues. But does it have to?
Human Trafficking by the Numbers
It can be difficult to quantify the human cost of this kind of problem because, well, it goes vastly underreported (for obvious reasons). But here’s what we do know:
1. According to the US Department of Health and Human Services, 95% of criminals arrested on domestic charges of human trafficking are American citizens.
2. Sex trafficking is the most common type of trafficking in the U.S.
3. Human trafficking is the second most profitable, illegal industry in the United States., second only to the drug trade.
4. “Recent Migration/Relocation” is the most frequently reported risk factor for people caught in human trafficking, accounting for 54% of all likely victims.
5. The United States, along with Mexico and the Philippines, are ranked as the top three worst countries involved in human trafficking.
6. “Today, hundreds of thousands of human trafficking victims are thought to be working in exploitative conditions in the US.” (James Pasley, Business Insider)
7. Here in America, the sex industry, as well as hospitality, beauty, and agriculture, are the primary industries where human trafficking is likeliest to occur.
8. “Increased demand for commercial sex —especially with young girls and boys —incentivizes commercial sex venues including strip clubs, pornography and prostitution to recruit and exploit children.” (Hanna Gould, UNICEF)
9. Every US state has received reports of human trafficking. Those among the highest in reporting are Nevada, California, Texas, and Florida.
10. The top three types of trafficking reported as recently as 2021 were Escort Services, Pornography, and Illicit Massage, Health & Beauty.
11. “The top types of exploiters identified in 2021 were employers (43%), those with a familial relationship to the victim (26%), and intimate partners (22%).” (Polaris Project)
12. The most frequently used methods to force a person into human trafficking are Emotional abuse, Economic abuse, and Threats.
13. Four out of five women caught in human trafficking are forced to perform unwanted sex acts.
14. Thirty-one percent of people caught in a trap of commercial sex, or labor, or services, were enticed by the promise of a new job.
15. Roughly 18,000 to 20,000 people are trafficked into the United States every year. How many of them are in your hometown?
Jesus and Prostitutes
Apparently, sex workers were drawn to Jesus—so much so that Matthew 21:31 records him declaring to the religious folk, “Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you” (italics mine, NIV).
A few cases in point:
Matthew 7:36-50 records an event when a “sinful woman” (that is, sexually immoral) poured perfume on Christ’s feet, weeping the whole time. The Pharisee host was disgusted; Jesus was not. He rebuked the religious man in favor of the woman, declaring her sins forgiven.
Additionally, the “woman at the well” (John 4:1-42) also had a past indicative of a sex worker—someone who traded sex for economic gain. Yet Jesus went out of his way to find her, befriend her, and redeem her.
And my favorite is found in John 8:1-11. You probably know her as the “woman caught in adultery,” but cultural indicators suggest she was a sex-for-hire worker. The Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus, so they apparently pre-arranged for a man to engage the woman sexually. They spied on the encounter, then burst in to arrest her. They were supposed to arrest BOTH the man and the woman, but didn’t arrest the man, which strongly suggests he was in on the scheme (Radmacher, Allen, House, pg. 1333). It’s unclear whether they allowed her to dress before bringing her in front of Jesus and the crowd; a popular practice (from the Romans) was to shame people by parading them naked in public. Instead of condemning her, as was expected, Jesus took up her cause while averting his gaze from her to the ground.
Next, Jesus unexpectedly commanded the one without sin to throw the first stone to kill her. The common practice was for the witnesses to begin the stoning, so Jesus, in effect, was saying, if your testimony is without sin, then go ahead and kill her. But that also held a warning because if a witness was found to be giving false testimony, that person was to suffer the same fate as the accused woman (Keener, pg. 285). No surprise: the woman’s false accusers all turned and ran.
What do we see in these accounts of Jesus and prostitutes? In every instance, he gives three things: Respect. Advocacy. Redemption.
I think we would do well to give the same to those caught in human trafficking here in the United States. But how? Here are a few ideas.
Things You Can Do to Help Stop Human Trafficking in America
1. Decide you will not do nothing.
The overwhelming majority of Christian people do nothing about human trafficking. Why? Because it’s a tragedy hidden from our view. Let’s face it, unlike it was with Jesus, there aren’t many prostitutes flocking to our ministries. But if you will not act, then who will? So, your first choice must be to refuse apathy and instead follow God’s call recorded in Psalm 82:4 (NIV), “Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
2. Research and support nonprofit organizations in the United States that are working to rescue people from human trafficking operations.
I support the Polaris Project, which operates the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, but there are several respected organizations working in this effort to choose from, including UNICEF and Thorn.org.
3. Learn about how your buying habits might be contributing to human exploitation—and make some changes.
For more on this, consult the website: https://slaveryfootprint.org/
4. Watch for the signs of human trafficking, and report to authorities any suspicious activity you see.
Human trafficking has been found in all 50 of our United States. Think it’s not happing in your sleepy little town? You’re wrong. So pay attention, and be ready to intervene. For more about how to identify signs of trafficking, see the article, “Identify and Assist a Trafficking Victim,” from the US Department of State.
5. To raise awareness, consider hosting a group screening of the PBS documentary, Trafficked in America, in your home.
This eye-opening film is available to view for free on YouTube. Find it at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp9E5nkr-wQ
6. Volunteer and vocally support anti-trafficking efforts in your community.
If you’re not aware of any efforts nearby, then find more information about local services at: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/find-local-services
7. Where possible, engage your social media platforms to raise awareness of anti-trafficking messages.
Most people might post once or twice, and then forget about it. You, on the other hand, can make it a habit. Set up a calendar for yourself to remind you to raise awareness on your social media quarterly, or monthly, or weekly—whatever you feel God is telling you to do. You can use the following hashtags when you post: #endtrafficking #freedomfirst
8. Lobby your elected representatives, urging them to combat human trafficking in America, in your state, in your local community.
9. Sponsor awareness events about human trafficking at your local church, business, and community organization.
Partner with a nonprofit like Thorn.org or Polaris for help to do this.
10. Do something—and start today.
Thank you for being someone who cares—someone who loves.
“Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.” - Psalm 82:4 NIV
“Open your mouth for the mute, for the rights of all who are destitute. Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.” - Proverbs 31:8-9 ESV
“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak…” - Acts 20:35 NIV
US National Human Trafficking Hotline:
Phone: 1-888-373-7888
Text: “Be Free” to 233733
Sources:
Earl Radmacher, Ronald B. Allen, H. Wayne House, editors, Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1999) 1333.
Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Downers Grover, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993) 285
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Alexey_M
Mike Nappa is a practical theologian known for writing “coffee-shop theology” and Christian Living books. He’s a bestselling and award-winning author with millions of copies of his works sold worldwide. An Arab-American, Mike is proud to be a person of color (BIPOC) active in Christian publishing. Google Mikey to learn more, or visit MikeNappa.com. Find Mike Nappa’s bestselling book, Reflections for the Grieving Soul wherever books are sold.