Powerful Program Today: Human Trafficking

Tricia MacFarlan, Executive Director of Mirror-Ministries, presented a powerful program today on human trafficking in the Tri-Cities. In response to their mission of, "responding to domestic minor sex trafficking with love of Christ and through intervention and restoration," their primary focus is on minors and those same minors as they move into adulthood, over 18.

MacFarlan reported the movie, "Taken," starring Liam Neeson, "isn't what human trafficking looks like." 

The picture she painted is far bleaker. 

Many of our local kids are involved in trafficking after being lured into this evil industry; those by personal choice an extremely low number.  The estimated number of girls prostituting, again not by choice in most all cases, in the Tri-Cities, is 234; with an additional 39 other, older kids, often doing the pimping.  

An example of how they become involved is with a young girl 12 - 13 being invited to a party where unbeknownst to her, her open cup is spiked.  The next morning she awakens to find soreness, bruising, and no memory of what happened. Then she begins receiving pictures on social media of what happened while she was "out," with threats that if she tells anyone there will be trouble. 

Trapped, guilt-ridden, with no one to talk to, what follows can be a long trip through hell-on-earth, where some kids are exposed to as many as 8 - 10 "customers" a day. Many performing for things like food, a place to sleep, or being supplied with the drugs they have become addicted to.

A second example involved Play-Station where gamers can interact with one another via the internet as they play the game. Traffickers often allure young kids into their web of deceit by first making contact through this venue, and other such, gaming devices. Once a relationship is established, making actual contact, and creating the trafficking situation is the easy part.  

Local police agencies, using undercover techniques, put out ads as mom or dad selling out their own children, and received "thousands of responses." Incredible!     

The average age of entry is 12 - 13. Once inside, through such force, coercion, and fraud, the average life-span is 7 years. 

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