January 11 – 17 is the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Join with Trinity and people of faith around Texas in a daily prayer.

 

 

• Every Texan has an opportunity to join the fight against human trafficking, whether by educating friends, mentoring vulnerable youth, being a conscious consumer, financially supporting trusted organizations, or reporting suspicious activity.
• What can you do about human trafficking? Be the O.N.E. – Observe. Notify. Empower.
• Explore 10 ways you can help end trafficking and learn more about how faith-based and community organizations can be involved.

 

Dear Lord, forgive me for the false lords in my life that clamor for my time and money. Help me to make the most of each day as I value those around me and see them all as loved by you. Make me sensitive to the cost of my action and inaction upon others. Point me to trustworthy, credible ministries that I can support and assist.

 

In the name of Jesus Christ, who saw my need for Grace, and paid the price I pray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

January 11 – 17 is the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Join with Trinity and people of faith around Texas in a daily prayer.

 

 

• Sex trafficking would simply not be profitable without demand. Sex buyers drive the market for the illegal sex trade. From May 2019 – June 2020, CEASE Texas identified over 1 million unique online advertisements for commercial sex across 6 Texas cities. We should consider the roles of technology, pornography, sexually oriented businesses, and a hypersexualized culture in facilitating an environment that normalizes exploitation and facilitates demand.
• Labor trafficking is also impacted by demand. The demand for cheap goods and cheap labor can result in worker exploitation and slavery in supply chains. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Labor identified 155 goods from 77 countries produced by child or forced labor.

 

Dear God, your love and grace is immeasurable. We have broken your beautiful intention for intimacy and made it flawed and evil lust. Help those who speak prophetically about the danger of silence regarding pornography and its easy accessibility. Pour out your light in the darkness of an industry that promises a lie and exploits human beings for profit of any kind. Cease our lust for bargain products and base pleasure. Open the eyes of our leaders and our land who lead us away from a care for others and the fair value of labor.

Under the redemptive love of your Son, who paid the price of salvation, I pray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

January 11 – 17 is the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Join with Trinity and people of faith around Texas in a daily prayer.

 

 

• Traffickers, buyers, and those who profit from exploitation must be held accountable. Law enforcement and the justice system play a critical role in disrupting trafficking operations. These cases are often complicated to investigate and prosecute, and research indicates that misidentification of victims is a common problem across the country. Dedicated resources, training, and community support are important factors in law enforcement’s ability to stop exploiters.
• Traffickers often use their victims to shield themselves from liability. Efforts to seek justice should include strategies to prevent victims from being punished for the actions of their traffickers. Survivors with criminal records stemming from their victimization have legal access to cleaning up those records and pursuing a fresh start.

 

Dear God, you love justice and promise you will pour it out like a raging river. Please give wisdom and integrity to the ones who have prepared and been placed by you to uphold the law, protecting victims. Give them a bottomless well of endurance. Protect them, their families and coworkers from retribution. Strengthen their will against the victimizer and soften their hearts to the victims.

Reward their efforts I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creator. Sustainer. Redeemer. You alone can perform the miracle of restoring what “locusts have eaten.” Please use your Holy Spirit to speak peace and hope to the ones victimized by Human Trafficking. Share Grace to their hearts as they hear from caregivers that they are not to blame for the victimization and silence with powerful wrath those who would imagine or speak otherwise. Remind me how you have restored much in me and are able to do more than I could ever imagine in the lives of those who are trafficked.

In the name of Jesus Christ who has reached all the way to us, I pray. Amen.

 

 

January 11 – 17 is the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Join with Trinity and people of faith around Texas in a daily prayer.

 

 

• Advocates and service providers work tirelessly to provide shelter, crisis intervention, and ongoing case management to victims. While many do not understand the trauma endured by survivors or fail to recognize their dignity, these programs provide the supportive trust-based relationships and services that help survivors heal and thrive. Considering the complex needs of survivors and the intensive nature of these causes, those working on the front line may experience vicarious trauma and burnout.
• When asked what made the biggest difference in exiting their exploitation, many survivors name an individual rather than a program or service. Advocates on the front line often have the opportunity to build bonds of trust and begin the journey of healing from years of relational trauma.
• Commercially Sexually Exploited Youth (CSEY) Advocacy is a critical component of the Texas approach to addressing child sex trafficking. Review this flyer more information on CSEY (pronounced “see-say”) Advocates.
• For information about services available to survivors, visit the National Human Trafficking Hotline Referral Directory.

 

Thank you, Oh God, for those souls that are giving of themselves to identify and recover those rescued from Human Trafficking. These workers carry the heavy burden of knowing the inhuman acts of human beings against another. Help them as they persist in the face of incredible odds to reclaim broken lives by letting them know how beautiful and valuable they are to you, oh God!

With awareness of the cost Jesus paid to speak peace into lives, I pray. Amen.

 

 

 

 

January 11 – 17 is the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Join with Trinity and people of faith around Texas in a daily prayer.

 

 

• Traffickers are master manipulators and prey upon vulnerabilities. Examples of risk factors for human trafficking include: homelessness; economic insecurity; runaway youth; prior histories of abuse; forced displacement; and irregular migration.
• Research suggests that a healthy, trust-based relationships can prevent youth from entering a cycle of exploitation and that those same relationships are pivotal in helping exploited youth to successfully exit their exploitation. Research has also found the presence of a caring adult to be related to numerous positive outcomes in the lives of vulnerable teens and young adults.
• In Texas, schools are required to provide access to age-appropriate, research-based education to help protect children from sexual abuse and trafficking. Many organizations are doing great work to provide students, teachers, and caregivers with access to quality prevention education.  Others are focused on addressing root causes of exploitation such as poverty, homelessness, and childhood trauma. These efforts are essential for moving upstream and stopping trafficking before it occurs.

 

Dear God of Creation, we know you call us to be responsible for our fellow human beings. You have blessed us with all the necessary resources to work together to stop Human Trafficking.  Make us bold and brave as we get in the way of those who would manipulate and abuse the vulnerable into this unimaginable evil.  Break my heart as Christ’s was broken for me. Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

January 11 – 17 is the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking. Join with Trinity and people of faith around Texas in a daily prayer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

January 11 is also National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. In recognition of this day, the Department of Homeland Security’s Blue Campaign promotes #WearBlueDay and encourages the public to wear blue and raise awareness of human trafficking. Take a picture of yourself and those around you wearing something blue and share it on social media (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram) along with the hashtag #WearBlueDay.