March Newsletter

March began with Ash Wednesday (March 5), the beginning of Lent. That leads us into Easter (April 20, 40 days after Ash Wednesday).

For those of you not familiar with the church calendar, you may not know what any of those dates mean. Perhaps you know the end of Mardi Gras – which is Ash Wednesday. Maybe you’ve heard of people “giving something up” for Lent. Some people decide to stop bad habits during Lent. Giving up chocolate. Or coffee. Perhaps even alcohol. Things which have sometimes been labelled as “vices.”

But it’s really intended to help you start good habits, such as spending (more) time in meditation and prayer.

How does this relate to sex trafficking?

January was National Human Trafficking Prevention and Awareness Month. March is Women’s Empowerment Month. We have repeatedly seen survivors who have no voice, no control over their own lives. They feel anything but empowered while they are trafficked.

Porn is considered the gateway to purchasing sex. It is a vice with a powerless victim at the other end. The survivors who have been victimized through porn may never feel empowered. Once images go up on the web, they are nearly impossible for the average person to erase. It takes a specialist to erase images.

The porn industry is so prevalent that it makes the news almost daily. This week the news covered the Tate Brothers’ return to the US: “Police in the UK have linked Andrew Tate to the ‘quite terrifying’ radicalization of boys and young men in a 2024 report into violence against women and girls. The brothers were first arrested in Romania in 2022. They are facing separate, unrelated charges of rape and human trafficking in the UK.” (From Yahoo News and HuffPost) They became known through their social media companies, and for being self-proclaimed misogynists. They have been accused of taking advantage of powerless victims. You can read more here: U.S. Giving Shelter to Alleged Sex Traffickers, Andrew and Tristan Tate.

This is a blow to those seeking justice for their victims.

55% of men aged 25 and up who are not practicing Christians watch porn frequently, compared to 23% of males who are practicing Christians.47% of men and 12% of women aged 25 and up view porn. (Barna Group)

The more I talk with the public, the more convinced I am that in order to stop sex trafficking, we must find people committed to rid porn from their lives. I want to help empower you to be part of the solution, not the problem.

I invite you to commit to do your part to stop trafficking by signing the following pledge:

I commit to do my part to stop sex trafficking; I want to be part of the solution, not the problem. Therefore:

•    I will not view pornography in any format, including phone, internet, video, or magazines.
•    I will encourage those around me not to use pornography in any format.
•    I will not visit strip clubs. I will not hire escorts. I will not hire prostitutes.
•    I will take a stand to fight against pornography, prostitution and every form of commercial sex. I want to help stop sex trafficking.
•    I do not want to hurt others. Rather, I will treat others with the dignity each person, myself included, deserve.

I make this commitment on(date)________________________.

Signed:                                                                                                                

I choose to be accountable for my actions, so I will let someone know of this commitment, and give them permission to hold me accountable. Friend/Group I give permission to, to hold me accountable: ________________________.

Some good news: there was recently an operation, Operation Reclaim and Rebuild, a statewide effort in California which resulted in:

• 166 adults rescued
• 11 sexually exploited children rescued
• 333 suspected sex traffickers and buyers arrested

You can read more here: Justice & Hope Restored Through Partnership With Law Enforcement: Operation Reclaim & Rebuild 2025 – ZOE International

Blessings,
Sues Hess, Exec. Dir., and the RHope Team