Often when we talk about sex trafficking, people think of foreign girls and women who are brought from other countries for sexual exploitation. While that is true in most cases, sex trafficking is an on-going activity even in our own neighborhood. Have you ever wondered about what happens to girls or young women who go missing and may not turn up for any reason at all? The odds are they are lured and sometimes kidnapped into sex-trafficking business. Sex trafficking is a serious form of abuse because it is perpetuated by powerful and rich men.
We at WISO join everyone who feels, cares, worries and is disturbed by sex-trafficking abuse in our society to condemn the practice. We join the White Ribbon against Pornography (WRAP) Campaign to express disgust against sex trafficking and call for policies to be instituted to control and protect the rights of those who are sex-trafficked.
WRAP began with one woman, Norma Norris, in Butler, PA in 1987 after she heard a sermon against pornography delivered by the pastor of her Catholic church. She lived in a community like ours where some may think that people don’t care about the hardcore porn being sold in our community. Norris believed she had to show that she cared. So, she gave herself the challenge to inspire her community and to send out the message: WE CARE! WE COUNT! The plan that Norma thought was too simple, inexpensive, and to catch the imagination of anyone soon became inspirational. Her idea of a simple white ribbon became a symbol of decency. As her movement caught momentum, a sense of morality became part of the discourse in her community. Consequently a call to the need for women to be respected was renewed. These are the basic human rights we should all stand for. Her movement culminated into the eviction and bulldozing of a porn bookstore. Today, millions of citizens as well as organizations around the country work daily to make WRAP a successful annual campaign.
In spite of this achievement, this fight is far from over. We have to keep reminding everyone that girls and women are human beings who should be respected and treated as humans. They are not slaves to be used and abused for sexual or other emotional or economic needs. The community has a larger role in ensuring that this mission is achieved. Talk to your children and friend about the role of porn in promoting sex trafficking. When you buy a porn movie or watch a porn movie, you encourage the abuse of women as sex objects.
We as a society have the obligation to make the right choices. We especially have the right to protect our young girls and women from sexual exploitation. As long as one promotes a form of enslavement, he or she is a slave owner, and a dehumanized being whose humanity has virtually vanished. We should reclaim our humanity and sense of worth and should treat everyone we encounter the same way. Doesn’t the golden rule tell us to ‘do unto others as we would like them to do unto us” This is a fundamental teaching of Jesus, Muhammad, the Buddha, Confucius, and all wise teachers who have always cared about treating others humanely.
Wear a ribbon to show that you prefer decency and that you are disgusted by continuous actions of human and sex trafficking. Together, we will make an impact, however small it may seem.
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