{"id":2401,"date":"2012-07-03T08:16:15","date_gmt":"2012-07-03T13:16:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/?p=2401"},"modified":"2017-03-10T18:05:11","modified_gmt":"2017-03-10T23:05:11","slug":"sexual-exploitation-and-religious-advocacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/blackwhiteandgray\/2012\/07\/sexual-exploitation-and-religious-advocacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Sexual Exploitation and Religious Advocacy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Anyone who has leafed through an airline travel magazine can probably name a number of ways that they stand out from other publications. Flying just this week, I saw many of the same messages I\u2019ve seen in the past.\u00a0 Multiple advertisements promise to help professional and \u2018quality\u2019 men find the \u2018quality\u2019 women they deserve.\u00a0 Other marketing materials identify the best steakhouses, the best plastic surgeons, or the newest (expensive) sports equipment.<\/p>\n

This time around, a particular advertisement caught my eye precisely because it did not fit as well with the others.\u00a0 Still targeted towards an upper-class, internationally networked, professional male population, a child\u2019s eyes took up the top quarter of the page.\u00a0 Under the image was the following caption:<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not a tourist attraction.
\nIt\u2019s a crime to make me one.<\/p>\n

Stop child sex tourism.
\nwww.seekjustice.org<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Although the audience was the same, this advertisement, sponsored by World Vision International<\/a> (WVI), with support from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, speaks a very different message.\u00a0 It is part of a broader initiative to combat the growing problem of exploitation, enabled in part by the power this magazine\u2019s audience holds.<\/p>\n

Sex trafficking and forced sexual labor is a growing problem.\u00a0 Along with other forms of forced labor, it is an issue that evangelicals and other faith-based organizations are increasingly protesting.\u00a0 Recent statistics<\/a> released last month from the International Labor Organization suggest that approximately 20.9 million people globally are victims of forced labor. 4.5 million of those are exploited for their sexual labor.\u00a0 If we consider the millions of other sex workers who \u201cvoluntarily\u201d chose the trade, often with little real choice, the numbers rise significantly. Evangelicals, alongside of feminist groups and other concerned about human rights, have worked together in coalitions (such as the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women<\/a>) to support legislation and lead campaigns aimed at ending sex trafficking and forced sexual labor. The International Justice Mission<\/a> is one organization that has galvanized attention in the evangelical community to this problem; they work to change structures, and hold accountable those committing and enabling the abuse.<\/p>\n