Recently I was reminded that January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Let me update you with some of the unimaginable statistics–
- $32 billion was made by traffickers last year.
- 18.5 million slaves are in India, mostly women and children
- 99% of all sex slaves are female.
Katharine Bushnell, the heroine of my last two books– Daughters of Deliverance and The Queen’s Daughters — was one of the early pioneers to expose the dire plight of women and #girls around the world. But she was not honored or thanked by her audiences. Victorian era women did not want to hear how cruelly their counterparts were treated , and most men refused to believe the truth.
In the nineteenth century Kate, as she is called in my books, courageously entered brothels, and chaklas (in India), to listen to the stories of the women held in sexual slavery. People were shocked to hear Kate’s stories–some even shamed her publicly for speaking about such things.
Today we have no excuse for our ignorance, for many Christian organizations are dedicated to preventing sex slavery and working to rescue girls wherever they can.
I plan to tell you more about those organizations in future blogs.You may want to start by reading Bushnell’s story of 19th century fearless activism to expose the growing subjugation of women and girls. Available on Amazon.
LORRY LUTZ 