Editor’s Note: Although the Dolphin Talk enjoys being a “good news” publication, we feel that this is a subject of which our readers need to be aware.
If you think that slavery ended more than 100 years ago, you are sorely mistaken. There are currently 27 million people in our world who are currently held in some sort of captivity. And here’s perhaps an even more shocking statistic: 300,0000 of these unfortunates are being held in our own country! (FBI statistics) And you might be even more surprised to learn that the city of Houston is currently designated as the U.S. capital of sex trafficking. By law enforcement’s best count, there are 127 active brothels in that city.
Sex trafficking is the number one criminal enterprise in the world. The average age of its victims is 11 to 17 years. Their average lifespan is 5 to 7 years. Some are runaways who have naively misplaced their trust in a smooth-talking, classy-looking guy who offers to help them. Many are captured with promises of a domestic job or marriage to a U.S. citizen. Unbelievably, some are sold by their families, and some are brazenly kidnapped. Frighteningly, the ages of victims are beginning to lower, down to age 5 to 7, and the reach of this criminal activity is extending into the suburbs.
According to those girls who have been rescued, they were viciously violated, threatened and brainwashed, and sometimes drugged. A girl rescued from this treatment has physical and untold psychological damage, which makes transitioning to a “normal” life almost impossible.
That’s where “Home of Hope” has determined to change things. The facility, located in Houston, and one of only a few such facilities in the country, is scheduled to open the first of the year and will offer long-term medical, psychological, educational, and spiritual help to girls who have been liberated from their slavery. Currently, when the FBI busts a brothel, they can only keep a victim up to 48 hours. For girls who have no family to take them back and support them, there is no aftercare.
Jeanine Sullins is currently traveling the state to promote awareness of this blight on our country and to raise needed funds for Home of Hope. “God created us to be free to serve Him,” said Jeanine at her October 23nd presentation at Fisherman’s Chapel. “We must be a voice for those who don’t have a voice. We are called to be advocates.”
“When I consider the magnitude of this evil, and the fact that it could not exist and grow without the complicity of corrupt lawyers, doctors and judges, I cannot declare ‘God Bless America’, but rather must implore, ‘God Save America’,” said Mrs. Sullins.
Mrs. Sullins said the first thing an individual can do to fight against this situation is to “start where you are”. Do what you can to prevent children from being potential victims by reaching out to children and families in your community. Go on-line and research “sex trafficking in Texas”. And very importantly, if you observe anything at all that looks suspicious, call the National Hotline at 888-373-7888.
To learn more about sex trafficking in the United States, and how you can help its victims, go to: www.homeofhopetexas.com
