ORLANDO (BP) – Anti-trafficking specialist Ashlee Lucas of The Tebow Group shared one instance of a Red Dot Map, a law enforcement visualization of computers in the U.S. accessing child sexual abuse material.
The map revealed nearly 340,000 unique IP addresses in just the last six months.
The shocking detail? Behind every red dot is a child.
Studies show 55-85 percent of these offenders are also hands-on abusers, with an average of 13 victims each, Lucas said, presenting a different spin on “stranger danger.”
Sponsored by the SBC Executive Committee and the Florida-based One More Child, a ministry dedicated to providing Christ-centered services to vulnerable children and struggling families, the Bearing His Image panel featured Lucas and seven other experts June 8 in Grand Ballroom of the Rosen Centre Hotel, prior to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.
The panelists sought to define the scope of the problem and how to mobilize the church to proactively work on recognizing and preventing such abuse. They addressed online exploitation, sexual abuse prevention, survivor care, human trafficking, ministry safeguarding, and how churches can compassionately and ethically protect the vulnerable.
One More Child Chief Operating Officer Jodi Domangue moderated the panel, which was composed of Brad Eubank, pastor of Petal First Baptist Church, Petal, Miss.; Taylor Hatch, Secretary, Florida Department of Children and Families; Olivia Littleton, One More Child’s senior director of survivor services; Julie Lowe, director of NextGen Counseling at The Summit Church based in Durham, N.C.; anti-trafficking specialist Ashlee Lucas of The Tebow Group; Kevin Malone, senior advisor on human trafficking with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; and Rachelle Starr, founder of the nonprofit, Scarlet Hope.
Starr noted that stranger danger looks very different than it did before. Instead of the proverbial lurking on dark corners of streets, strangers now invade homes and gaming systems through online exploitation.
Children, especially, are vulnerable, she said. So much so, that reports of online enticements escalated 192 percent in just one year.
But most people get abused by people they know, pressed Julie Lowe.
“Strangers are not dangerous. Dangerous people are dangerous,” stressed Lowe, author of “Safeguards: Shielding our Homes and Equipping our Kids.” She noted there are many being pursued and groomed (primarily online) by local predators.
“We always think the problem is out there. If we see our kids next to us, they must be safe,” but the reality is that abuse can be happening and parents have no idea it is happening, said Lowe.
Secretary Hatch had local statistics to back the claim. “Human trafficking is not happening far away. Eighty-one percent of victims in Florida are living at home with caregivers and families and attending our churches.”
Starr agreed: “Parents don’t know what to protect children from. We have got to address this as a church!”
Littleton, who has worked with hundreds of survivors, noted abuse happens more easily with children with a low amount of parental oversight or in the foster system.
She shared signs children of possible exploitation children may exhibit: they have inappropriate relationships, inappropriate verbiage, are suddenly always late for events, and often flip out when they receive phone notifications and don’t want anyone to see them, to name a few.
Lowe urges parents to create safety by teaching their children about sexuality as God’s design and how they can protect themselves from things that make them feel uncomfortable.
“If we are not talking to our kids about sex, we are not talking to them about abuse,” she said. “We have to be willing to intervene and get in the water with them … they are being exposed every day!”
Lowe added, noting with the increase in peer-to-peer abuse, one’s child may be the bully, abuser, … the one asking for nude photos, “We need to protect them from their own hearts.”
Eubank, who served as a member of the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force, said Christians need to be the voice for the voiceless and to look out for abusers who groom parents and children, seeking to build misplaced trust.
Jeff Dalrymple, director of abuse prevention and response at the SBC Executive Committee and who organized the panel, noted such abuse is an affront to the dignity of God for every “image bearer” He created. He said Southern Baptists could be a “force for good” when they learn to grow and take action on these matters.
Hatch urged churches to partner with their local governments to help provide solutions by showing up, recognizing, intervening and doing aftercare. The government is laden with bureaucracy, so church help can make a difference, she said, noting many times, concerned calls to her office are often just economic issues, rather than safety issues, that churches can resolve. This goes a long way in preventing abuse, she said.
Malone, sharing his federal government perspective, said churches bring the Gospel and ultimately the answer to all this evil. He urged churches to be more involved in foster care and adoption to protect kids from getting involved in trafficking.
“You can’t save all those kids,” he said. But like the starfish [parable], “you can save this one!”
Visit sbcabuseprevention.com to access abuse prevention and response tools and an Abuse Response Helpline that delivers Gospel-focused abuse support for survivors and ministry leaders. Call, chat, and email options are also available at 833-611-HELP (4357) or [email protected].
Bearing His Image was sponsored by the Florida Human Trafficking Victims’ Fund, a public-private partnership dedicated to fighting human trafficking across Florida.
Shannon Baker is director of communications for the Baptist Resource Network of Pennsylvania/South Jersey and editor of the Network’s weekly newsletter, BRN United.
Related posts:
SBC 2018: Executive Committee Report Part 1 
NEWS DIGEST: NAMB terminates agreement with Future Church; Former Illinois pastor arrested for grooming minor 
EC workgroup’s sex abuse report draws varied responses 
National Hispanic Baptist Network workshops focus on women’s ministry, missions, evangelism 
Abortion, sex abuse, racism, Christian unity addressed in diverse resolutions 
ARITF granted additional year to fight sexual abuse 
Georgia Baptists back bill that would criminalize ‘improper sexual conduct’ from clergy 
Native Americans release VBS curriculum for their children
