Human Trafficking

NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptists continue to fight against human trafficking worldwide as the issue is acknowledged by the United Nations on World Day Against Trafficking in Persons today, July 30.

WASHINGTON (BP) – Human traffickers took advantage of the conditions produced by the COVID-19 pandemic in the last year, but those working to combat the trade in human beings adapted their efforts to protect the vulnerable and aid victims, according to the U.S. State Department.

Leaders of 16 evangelical organizations signed a letter to President Trump's daughter and adviser Ivanka Trump Aug. 24, asking her to leverage her influence in the Trump administration to protect unaccompanied migrant children from the dangers of child trafficking.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- A nearly equal number of countries received upgrades and downgrades regarding their efforts against human trafficking in the last year, the U.S. State Department said in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report. The State Department's report, which was released June 25, graded 22 governments higher than the previous year but demoted 23 in its tier system of categorizing how 188 countries performed in preventing trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. An estimated 25 million adults and children are victims of sex trafficking or forced labor, according to the State Department.

ALBANY, Ga. (BP) -- Getting people to talk to you at a hotel known for prostitution and drugs isn't that difficult, says Rhiannon Dobson. All the time, she asserts, people are watching. "We'll cruise the parking lots and knock on doors. Everyone wants something for free, man," testifies Dobson, a member of Sherwood Baptist Church and co-founder of Rahab's Haven, a separate ministry that reaches out to the lower-income community, and in particular, those impacted by human trafficking.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. is among 33 top countries fighting human trafficking but falls short in prosecuting traffickers, aiding victims and tackling forced labor in particular, the U.S. State Department said in its latest report. Faith communities can help countries address human trafficking, which currently victimizes an estimated 25 million adults and children worldwide in sex trafficking and forced labor, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large John Cotton Richmond said in releasing the 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP).

RICHMOND, Va.(BP) -- A small group of volunteers gathers two nights a month in south Richmond, Va., to walk a mile-long strip of the city and minister to prostitutes and others they cross paths with along the way. The volunteers meet in the parking lot of a nearby fast-food restaurant about 11 p.m. for a brief time of orientation and prayer before heading out two by two along a street dotted with aging motels, used car lots and the occasional pawnshop or tattoo parlor. Some might say this isn't your typical Woman's Missionary Union (WMU) ministry project.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (BP) -- Earlier this month FBI Director Christopher Wray presented the Baptist Friendship House of New Orleans with its distinguished 2018 Director's Community Leadership Award for its work in fighting human trafficking. Kay Bennett, a Send Relief missionary with the North American Mission Board, accepted the award on behalf of the Baptist Friendship House at FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C. The Baptist Friendship House is a ministry of NAMB and New Orleans Baptist Association.

LAKELAND, Fla. (BP) -- From the National Palace in Guatemala to the Oval Office in Washington, leaders of the Florida Baptist Children's Homes have found themselves advocating for child sex trafficking victims on international and national platforms. This year, they have led a conference for Guatemalan government officials on child trafficking and were present at the White House in January when President Trump signed an anti-trafficking bill.

NEW YORK CITY (BP) -- Raleigh Sadler knows what it's like to feel helpless in the face of human trafficking. He's almost certain he's witnessed someone being trafficked right in front of him. Ironically when it happened, Sadler was on the way home from an event where he spoke about how to fight human trafficking.