Imagine holding the hand of your sweet little four year old. You probably know lots of children around that age. Imagine walking down a smooth concrete path. The roads are calm with no traffic. Downtown is so beautiful, and on this day, the sun is actually shining. Trees line both sides of the road, and the autumn foliage covers the grey sidewalk.
The little girl is clinging to your hand and skipping down the path. Matching your slower pace, she grins up at you and begins chatting away at all the pretty sights catching her attention. You watch her eyes light up at the sight of a squirrel being chased up a tree. You wonder at her innocent mind being alight at such easy entertainment. A squirrel, for goodness' sake, makes her little mouth curl up at the corners and squeal with glee. So simple. So innocent.
Her little hand can hold only one of your fingers. She clings onto them as her balance is completely relied on you. She shyly points to another little girl across the street and waves. Together, you and the little one continue on the walk.
Now, imagine that her innocence is stripped. Imagine this sweet little thing having no guardian to protect her. Imagine her cries of agony and confusion when she is violated. Her silent tears having little effort on her abuser. The fear in her eyes being ignored by selfish ambition. The anguished whimpers for help being slapped into silence. Imagine the little four year old having lost trust in humanity, as countless men force themselves on her tiny form.
Picture years from now, as the girl becomes a woman. Bondage is her normal. Her companion is victimization. Exploitation is expected. Her value and worth now comes from her enslavement. Given no say as to what happens, this girl is in the world with no hope.
Having hindsight, would you ever let your little girl experience such trauma or have these feelings? I think it's safe to say, no. No parent, friend, sister, brother, grandparent, uncle, aunt, or caring acquaintance would ever allow such a thing to happen. Sweet, innocent, little children need to be protected. Their rights need to be secured. Their safety deserves to be held safe. However, this traumatizing oppression happens very frequently.
Predators are on the lookout for vulnerable individuals. Whether this is a little person unsupervised or an insecure girl on social media, traffickers search for future victims to make their income. Exploiting the innocent is a highway for pimps. They traffic victims for monetary gain. Human trafficking isn't something that happens in foreign countries.
It happens in small towns. In big cities. In First World Countries. In Third World Countries. It happens to a family down the street. It happens overseas. It happens to strangers. It happens to family members.
And the numbers of victims being trafficked are increasing.
There are many different types of human trafficking. The most common being sex trafficking. Abusers, known as johns, will pay to sexually use and abuse someone for an allotted amount of time. Some johns prefer younger children. They create the demand. Traffickers create the supply.
Traffickers find what the buyers want.
They want our children.
But how do you save a little girl from such horrendous harm? It can be as easy as being a vigilant parent or adult. Keeping a sharp eye on who your children spend their time with. Don't be ignorant of evil intentions, we don't live in little Mayberry anymore (in fact, small town are actually easy targets because of the naive mindset and the small police task-force). Stay alert to who your kids are spending their time with. There are benefits to having a close relationship with your children and investing into their unique personhood. If you don't, someone with harmful intentions will.
Easily attached, a child's trust is effortlessly given. However once broken, sometimes the damage is irreversible. Little humans are sweet in their innocence. But if they become exposed to trauma, their worldview can be forever changed.
Don't let that happen. Let's save our children together.