1. It happens! You may not like to think about sex trafficking or even acknowledge that it happens, but it does. Pretending and ignoring won’t change the truth. Once you know, you can’t un-know. Now, the question is yours to wrestle with: what will you do about it?
2. It’s cheaper than you think. I’m not sure why this bothers me so much—it’s not like if it were really expensive to sexually abuse a boy it would make it better. But the fact is, in some countries it costs less than a dollar to buy a boy for pleasure. The lower the price, the greater the sense of shock, urgency and even helplessness against such an atrocity.
3. It’s growing. It’s unclear whether sex trafficking is growing because of awareness—we’re looking harder—or because of the depravity of mankind, or both. Regardless, sex trafficking happens all over the world—from Port au Prince to Prague, from Missouri to California, from remote villages to busy cities.
4. It’s happening at younger ages. At the Blackbox home in the Dominican Republic, the average age is 12. 12! The youngest resident is 9, and some boys were sold as young as 7.
5. It can change! We can create awareness about this issue, and it can change. Support organizations like International Justice Mission as they help nations and communities enforce laws to protect minorities and rescue children from this evil practice. Join with Blackbox to provide a place for these boys once they’ve been rescued—a safe place to receive an education, appropriate counseling, and an opportunity to change the future.
How much more do you need to know? Just this: God knows each boy and He cares deeply. Do you?
We’re so grateful for partners like you who join together to provide hope and change for these boys. Because the story must change.
Wade Landers
Executive Director