In 2009, I first became aware of the massive industry that is human trafficking. I had recently reconnected with several college friends now in a ridiculously amazing band, and they used their platform to bring attention to causes they cared about. Through them, I first learned of the A21 Campaign.
God had been prepping my heart for the night I picked up my first A21 Campaign brochure long before I knew the organization existed. In 2008, I can still remember traveling to cities including New York and San Francisco, and seeing posters addressing the human trafficking pandemic. Even then, they struck me. You see, I was going through a period of realizing that even my most perfect girl friends had areas where they felt flawed and broken, and it made me want to reach out into each woman's life and help them see how precious, beautiful, and perfect they were. Through these posters, my mind and heart began to engage with the women who become part of the sex trafficking world. If my girl friends needed to hear that they were worthy, enough, precious, and beautiful, how much more did these women?
I had researched several human trafficking organizations that worked with the women who were rescued, but what about addressing the root of the problem? What about these people who kidnap, co-oerce, and manipulate those women into slavery? Who was dealing with them?
The A21 Campaign not only rescues and provides safety to the women who have been part of this 21st century form of slavery, they also have a team of people who prosecute the monsters who perpetuate the industry. Through the years, I have supported the A21 Campaign through my finances and my time, and I am excited to have the opportunity to support them now through my social media platforms as well.
One of the amazing things about A21 is that they provide a wide variety of tangible, attainable ways to be involved with fighting against human trafficking. You can visit their page here for 21 Ways to Help. They also provide a variety of other resources and information throughout their website. Just visit www.a21.org to learn more and get involved.
January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day, which is why I wanted to share this with you, dear Reader. I want to encourage you to get outraged that there are people who treat others as things and objects, and use that outrage to make a difference. Slavery hasn't been abolished yet, but together we can work towards bringing an end to slavery in the 21st century.
