There are 3 most common ways that children can be trafficked:

Sold. Sometimes a family that is desperate for survival chooses to sell one of their children to a trafficker.

Stolen. Children that have been separated from their families or orphaned are kidnapped by traffickers, or by unscrupulous people & sold to traffickers.

Scammed. Kids are told if they go with the trafficker they will be given a good job in a factory or some other legitimate place. Once they are under the control of the trafficker they are charged money for the job placement. The only way to pay off the debt is through prostitution.

As these kids are involved in prostitution they become "damaged goods" and are rejected by their families, friends & neighbors. Even though their entrance into this lifestyle was involuntary & they were forced to participate against their will, they become social rejects, with no way out.

They are also controlled by their captors through finances. They receive a small portion of the money earned through servicing men, and are given huge bills for food & housing which they can never pay off.

Often times they are also given drugs as a means to control them. They are very vulnerable to drug use as a way of escaping from their desperate situation. As they succumb to addiction it becomes another way they are enslaved.

Abuse is common for these children. Physical & sexual abuse is a part of life that adds to their hopelessness.

Through interviews we have done with girls, we have heard two common themes expressed. The first is a strong desire to one day be reunited with their families and the other is that one day a rich man would fall in love with them and take them away to live happily ever after. Sadly, neither of these dreams are likely to come true.

People think that trafficking involves only girls, but unfortunately young boys are also a target of the evil people who profit from commercial sexual exploitation.

There is only one way out. His name is Jesus. Only God can restore a person devastated by these inhumane circumstances. Only God can give new life. Only through forgiveness of sins & new life in Christ can a person be made whole again.