The Sexual & Domestic Slavery Crisis in India

When I think of teenage and adolescent girls here in the United States, I think of a few things: opportunity, education, social lives including shopping, text messaging, movies and boys. That seems to be the case with most girls, whether lower, middle or upper class. Sure, they have their share of problems to deal with. They have broken families, broken lives, addictions and peer pressure into lifestyles including drugs, alcohol and sexual promiscuity. For the most part, however, these young girls are not in danger, nor are they scared for, their lives.

I've been doing a little bit of reading as well as watching documentaries on the horror of the sex trafficking industry that is happening all over in India. Girls as young as nine years old are being sold into the brothels of sexual slavery by parents, siblings and other relatives who trick them into being pulled from their family with the promise of education.

India has the largest population of child laborers in the world, with 60 million children being bought, traded and sold into sexual or domestic slavery, half of them being young girls. With 65 million adults in India jobless, this opens the door wide for girls, in particular, to be sold into slavery. Girls are preferred because they are a cheaper source of labor, they are physically and mentally vulnerable and they can be exploited in many ways, including sexual exploitation and abuse.

It is common in most parts of India, particularly in the cities, for girls to work illegally as private slaves. Moreso, many of the people genuinely believe they are "helping" the girls by employing them. I read about one story of two girls, ages 9 and 14, who were brought to their "employers", telling them he would study and get an education. Instead, she cared tirelessly for a little baby, would cook and clean for the family, serve their meals. They were often beat, scolded, slapped, and even threatened with death. If it wasn't physical abuse, the father of the house would sexually abuse the girls while the mother would watch and do nothing.

Over 500,000 girls are trapped in India as sex slaves, working in the country's red light districts. Parents of the girls are often duped into believing their girls will be offered domestic jobs in the city. Instead, they are sold into the brothels, where the average age of a prostitute is 14 years old. Each year, at least 10,000 girls are trafficked into this trade of prostitution and sex. Girls can be sold for as little as $1 and girls 11 years old will have several clients in one night, sometimes against her will. Younger girls are often preferred by buyers due to the lower risk of disease.

Within the horror of the lives these girls lead and the daunting future that lies ahead of them, I can't help but think of how blessed we are in this country, how much we complain about, and how much I feel a pull to somehow get involved. This has been an issue on my mind and that I have been reading about and researching for several months now and one of which, I feel the definite need to help do something about. I'm not sure on what level yet, but I do know the need is there and the passion for it in my heart is not diminishing.

I ask for your prayers as God leads me, and Paul as well, in getting involved in a ministry that helps assist in this area. Pray for guidance and most of all, for protection for these very young and frightened girls.



Information taken from a variety of sources: www.tinyhandsinternational.org, "India's Shame: Sexual Slavery and Political Corruption Are Leading to an AIDS Catastrophe", and SACCS (South Asia Coalition on Child Servitude).

To stumble or to step...that is the question

This past September, I did something I never thought I was capable of doing. I climbed a 14,000 foot mountain in Colorado. Forget the fact that, out of all possible 14,000 foot mountains to climb, the one I climbed ranked amongst one of the easiest. And forget that it was just 3 feet above the 14,000 mark. I climbed it.

I learned many things about myself that day. For one, I learned that no matter how badly I had to go to the bathroom, I still maintained some semblance of decency and kept my pants up. Somehow the thought of using a foreign leaf with the potential or poison or itch kept my mind off my bladder. I also learned that, when deprived of oxygen and sufficient nutrition, I actually enter a state of mind that constitutes complete irrationality and hostility.

The trip up the mountain was not nearly what I expected it to be. I had envisioned more of a casual stroll with some probable climbs now and then, a few challenging switchbacks and the glorious ability to.....well, breathe. Not the case. In fact, those ideas disappeared before I even reached the trailhead, which was two miles from where we were dropped off due to treacherous roads, in case you were looking to profess sympathy. No, this trip had far more challenges than I expected.

We hiked through the trees. We stopped to admire the scenery. We took photos (more like excuses to stop for water and air). And after the seemingly endless jaunt from the top of the tree line to the beginning of the final climb to the summit, I found myself facing the last 900 feet of quad-spasming, mind-paralyzing, back-breaking boulders. Some small, some tall, some stable, some loose. And while the danger increased and my energy decreased, I realized that I had to intentionally choose each step I was taking in order to advance myself toward my goal of reaching the top of the mountain. Frustration mounted as I took what I thought were secure steps, only to have the rock give way and loosen my footing.

Such is the way I find myself in my life. Rocks of life often are put in front of me that have the potential of either causing me to stumble and fall backwards, or advance me closer to my goal. Though the rocks are all part of the same mountain, if I do not intentionally choose my steps or pay attention to what decision I am making, that rock can either become a stumbling block to my failure or a stepping stone to my success. Choosing rocks that are secure and stable was the only way I could keep going forward. And the thought of the rest at the top kept me going when I thought I could not take another step.

In addition to my little life lesson I learned at the top of the mountain, I also learned how much easier it was to climb back down the mountain. Though plagued by fatigue, the task was much less daunting and the reward of ending up back where I started did not carry the same sense of awe as the splendor at the top of the mountain. But that very splendor at the top of the mountain made every painful step worth the end result. Never before have I experienced such beauty and majesty in God's creation. It seems that the stepping stones in life always lead me to the same destination of peace and comfort, resting in the beauty of the plans of God for my life.