Mar. 21: Child Slavery Rampant

We may think the slave trade was abolished in prior centuries but tragically, it exists to this very day.  “80 percent of today’s slaves are women and girls; 50 percent are children,” writes Mark Hanlon, an executive at Compassion International, a Christian organization that works to free youngsters from poverty.

“The nature of slavery may differ from country to country —from enslavement in the sex trade to child abduction by rogue military organizations—but nearly all enslaved children share a common trait: extreme poverty,” Hanlon notes.

Brazil is highlighted as a country in which the child sex trade has reached epidemic proportions.  Girls as young as 12 are pushed into the field to make money, thereby destroying any sense of a normal childhood.  “Nations with high rates of child slavery are compromising their next generation of leaders,” Hanlon says.

Thankfully, organizations such as Compassion International are working on solutions to place child trafficking where Hanlon claims it belongs—“in the history books.”

If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.   (Psalm 27:10)

Heavenly Father, shield our children from exploitation.