Hermenuetics

Comments

Thanks for the article on such an important subject, Cornelia. You asked about the definitional difference between prostitution and trafficking. I think most people can go with this basic definition for prostitution: exchanging a sex act for something of value (money, drugs, food, etc.)

Human trafficking, on the other hand, is a fairly technical term for a widespread problem. Here's the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime definition: "Human Trafficking is a crime against humanity. It involves an act of recruiting, transporting, transfering, harbouring or receiving a person through a use of force, coercion or other means, for the purpose of exploiting them."

The filmmakers are absolutely correct that this is a problem in everyone's backyard. I see the consequences at my workplace all the time, with both victims and perpetrators showing up in my courtroom. But one thing you say the filmmakers seek is to document a modern day abolitionist movement. Yet unlike 19th c. abolitionists who sought to change the laws to abolish slavery, we already have laws against sex trafficking. This modern movement goes not to changing the statutes but to changing people's hearts. Of the five steps they say to take, I'd list prayer first of all.

Tim

Posted By: Tim | November 4, 2011 10:23 AM

I know it's extremely controversial, but I suspect that if prostitution - by healthy, willing adults - were legalized, there would be a lot less abuse of the drug addicts, the immigrants (trafficked or not), and older children (14+).

This isn't to say that Christians should find prostitution acceptable - it absolutely shouldn't be. But if it were legal, a woman could (after being attacked) go to the police and tell them. If it's well-regulated, they can be kept (mostly) drug-free and clear of STDs. Once that's taken care of, encouraging them to find Faith will be that much easier - and safer, since their pimp can't force them to do what he wants by threatening to have them arrested.

Posted By: Newly Karen | November 4, 2011 10:24 AM

This is a worldwide epidemic and the United States is not immune. I understand a lot of girls are runaways who are led to believe they are loved by their pimps.

Posted By: Drew | November 4, 2011 11:11 AM

This was posted under "Drew" by mistake. Sorry.

It is so amazing to me that something so cruel could be happening so close to home. I love reading about young people who refuse to sit by and do nothing - people like Morgan Perry and Kristen Leach. It gives me hope for our future. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.
Megan

Posted By: Megan Daline | November 4, 2011 11:40 AM

The first step to changing a hegemony or power system is identification. The more aware we are of a situation, the more it is surfaced and something can be done with it. Legalizing would bring the issue to surface, but because of the laws and the hidden ways to overturning such things in the future, it would further entrench our society and pull apart the seems of the understanding of monogamy, loyalty, and integrity.

However, in my belief, the issue does not lie with governmental regulation, but rather, lies within the moralities of society, which is shadowed as represented by our political leaders. Instead of having pimps in power (in the private sector), it would be in the power of the government. And because dependency creates power, I would find this to be something a little short of morphing into a monster.

More films like these need to be made. Our society needs to know the consequences of their desires.

Posted By: Aaron Esparza | November 4, 2011 11:51 AM

Thank you so much for this article. I so want to help in the fight with this horrific issue. I am going to check out this website. Thank you. May all Believers pray that they can help end this horrible horrible trade.

Posted By: Jane Hinrichs | November 4, 2011 2:03 PM

It is absolutely heart breaking that as a society we spend what is now millions in real money and air time with people protesting who knows what in Portland and across the nation and spend no money or focus on this very real problem.

Each of us can help eliminate sex trafficing without it even costing us anything by the choices we make minute-by-minute. What you watch (ratings) or read (money spent or internet hits) dictates what stories media covers--good job movie producers and Cornelia.

Dress kids like children, not short adults; turn off the movies, songs and TV that make casual sex look respectable and make the pimps and those paying for sex do HEAVY jail time. Every time. Volunteer as a coach, lunch buddy or youth group leader and let every child know, "You are kind, you are smart, your body is special and belongs only to you."

Posted By: Joan Callander | November 4, 2011 2:04 PM

I know that Tim is a judge so he gave you a very legal definition; but from an abolitionist standpoint - prostitution = trafficking. You *might* find a few women (and men) who get into prostitution because they really truly want to but the sad fact is that most women are forced into it. When the average age for a woman to get into prostitution is 13 that means that for every 18 year old there was an 8 year old; for every 21 year old there was a 5 year old and for every 25 year old there is a 1 year old.

Most people don't want to accept that prostitutes are mostly victims themselves. Yes they commit crimes (sometimes getting others into it; etc) and that should be dealt with but when you realize that in our country 1 out of 3 girls is sexually abused by the age of 12; many girls are being primed early.

Also Tim is slightly wrong (sorry, I always respect all of your comments) in that modern day abolitionists ARE trying to change laws. Did you know that until a few years ago there was no minimum age requirement in the state of Texas for being arrested as a prostitute... so when a 12 year old was arrested as a prostitute (yep 12!) there was an outcry to get that law changed. They did. Unfortunately its not good enough because it still allows for a 14 year old (!!!!) to be arrested as a prostitute! One of the biggest things that Shared Hope International (I'm not affiliated, just get their newsletter) has been doing over the past year is finding the holes in the laws across all 50 states and encouraging lawmakers to fix them. Because of the reports they are doing the Texas legislature passed several laws this year.

Posted By: Leslie | November 4, 2011 3:19 PM

Leslie, thanks for clarifying about the statutory changes being pursued. I guess what I was saying is that prostitution and trafficking are generally illegal (some countries may not have laws on the books, but most do), and all I meant was that it's not exactly like Wilberforce and slavery because before he worked on it slavery was a legal and government regulated enterprise. Getting laws passed to facilitate abolishing the modern practice of prostitution and human trafficking is of course an important component.

Also, perhaps a slight clarification would help. When you say that 13 is the average age, are you saying it is the mean (the sum of the data divided by the number of pieces of data) or the midrange (the value half way between the lowest and highest values in a set of data, taken by adding the highest and lowest numbers and dividing by two)? The number 13 means one thing one way and another entirely the other way. Either way, of course, a 13 year old girl is just a child.

Thanks,
Tim

Posted By: Tim | November 4, 2011 5:26 PM

While much of the fault for these crimes lies in the demand for persons to exploit by perpetrators choosing to use or abuse victims, the greatest crime in my opinion is the failure of the caretakers of children under eighteen to prevent their kids from becoming victims. The parents who are abusers or who allow these children to become victimized through neglect should be held accountable. In the case of orphans, when the state is the caretaker, the state should be held no less responsible for neglect leading to victimizztion.

Posted By: Chad | November 5, 2011 3:40 AM

Newly Karen, the statistics don't actually bear out your hypothesis. If you look at various countries and how they respond to prostitution, there are three different options. Some countries keep it illegal, others totally legalize it or decriminalize it, while others decriminalize it for the prostitutes but still arrest the johns and the pimps.

It is this third option that has been shown to have the best results in terms of both lowering prostitution rates and protecting the prostitutes from abuse. Completely legalizing it actually doesn't lower abuse rates, according to the statistics.

Posted By: Anna | November 5, 2011 5:23 AM

Just to clarify for Tim - It is hard to believe, but girls are being kidnapped for this purpose. A friend who is a pastor had his teenage daughter taken at a mall. They are able to totally destroy a beautiful Christian teenage girl in a matter of days. If you manage to rescue the girl, as he did about a month later, it literally takes years of love and counseling to try to undo the damage that was done in a few weeks of misuse and and even torture. These are evil people who have no concern for the human spirit or soul. They just want to make money off of the girl until she is "used up" and then they discard her and get someone else.

Posted By: Jay | November 5, 2011 10:44 PM

Leslie, in the city of Vancouver a serial killer named Robert Pickton was able to kill something on the order of four dozen women because these women were prostitutes, residents of the Downtown Eastside neighbourhood who financed their lives (including their drugs) through the sex trade, people whose plight was ignored by the city police and the RCMP because they kept getting arrested whenever they were public. The public arrests did nothing to help them get off the trade. Instead, it forced them away from the streets, made them take more risks further from the public view, and so let them get picked offr one by one.

Banning prostitution does nothing to help desperate people forced to sell sex by circumstance. Crimes are often already being committed--rape including statutory rape, kidnapping and forcible confinement--if these people are being forced. If they aren't being forced by other people but rather by their own circumstance, get them help. And if they're doing it entirely willingly, who's the victim?

You *might* find a few women (and men) who get into prostitution because they really truly want to but the sad fact is that most women are forced into it. When the average age for a woman to get into prostitution is 13 that means that for every 18 year old there was an 8 year old; for every 21 year old there was a 5 year old and for every 25 year old there is a 1 year old.

Posted By: Randy McDonald | November 6, 2011 2:15 AM

This is an issue that also exists in the UK too. In England, it seems to be East European girls and young women (mostly) who are brought into the country by organised gangs from those countries. We must ask ourselves this question too: what sort of men are using these girls and women? Aren't they people's husbands, boyfriends, brothers, sons? I fear that in this case, the reality is that we are seeing but the tip of a very big iceberg sadly.

We have to understand that God does not want people behaving in this way, and there will be dire consequences for all those who help corrupt and abuse such girls and women, if not in this life then certainly in the next.

Posted By: Tim Childs | November 6, 2011 5:44 PM

Regarding prostitution/trafficking and state law...Illinois was the first state to pass a law stating that any minor who is prostituting will be considered trafficked. This is a major victory for girls who once were arrested and are now rescued. Coercion is assumed when a child is involved.

Posted By: Paulette | November 9, 2011 9:03 PM