Supply and Demand

Human Trafficking is a multi-billion dollar a year industry. It is the second largest criminal industry in the world today, just behind drug smuggling and recently having risen above arms smuggling. The selling of children for sex and is a HUGE business, and just like any other business it is driven by supply and demand. Supply, in the case of child sex trafficking and exploitation, is the vulnerable children. The demand is those who choose to pay for sex with these children. Following the simple rules of supply and demand we know that supply would not exist if there was not a demand for it. Child prostitution and commercial sexual exploitation would not exist if men and women were not traveling around the world to have sex with minors, purchasing child pornography, or supporting businesses that do. Demand creates supply. There are millions upon millions of children in high risk of becoming a victim of the sex trade due to poverty, genocide, war, lack of education, or orphaned… and there is a lot of work to be done to prevent, rescue, and restore these children (I won’t ignore that). However, the demand side of this problem is often overlooked. I have read that 25% of child sex tourists are US citizens. How that stat has been proven, I do not know. I would not be surprised if that percentage wasn’t a lot higher.
So now what? It is my belief that the demand side can only be stopped if WE (as in YOU and ME) begin talking about this issue, making it a household reality, and bringing the humanity back to this issue. These men and women who pay for sex with children do not see these children as human beings, but as objects. They may not even realize the damage that they are doing to a young life. I have met countless children in recovery from working the streets in Thailand and here in the US… there is hope, but it is a long and painful journey for them. My hope is that through our film and through educating others that this issue ends, but if that does not happen hopefully the men and women who are thinking about it will think again.
To understand more about the demand side and what the US government is doing about it, visit the Immigration and Customs Enforcement web-site.

I'd Love to Grab Coffee Sometime...

This week we’re hoping to bring home the importance of starting conversations about child sexual exploitation. From the beginning one of our biggest goals as been this: to make people aware of this injustice in our world and create a catalyst for conversation. A couple of weeks ago I was at coffee (go figure) with a mentor of mine from Westmont College, and he shed light on the importance of conversations within a family. His suggestion, specifically, was daughters approaching their fathers. If you are a daughter whose father travels to Thailand, or any foreign country on business… tell him about the sex tourism industry and ask him to advocate and protect the children of these countries. By bringing this issue into our homes, communities, work places and churches, we are bringing this issue into the ears and hands of those who are willing to fight against it, those who could potentially be the demand factor behind it, and those who, like us, will dedicate their time and energy to standing up against this. So I want to encourage you to be intentional: educate yourself on this issue so that you can be a resource to others as you initiate conversations. We’d love to plug you in, give you resources, and continue collaborating with you. Check out our “Learn it” page under “Movement” for resources… let’s get a conversation going.

Freedom

Every day I’m reminded how real this all is: and how easy it is to pretend that “it” is not really happening. That children are being bought and sold for sex. It’s an absolutely heinous crime that, like Rachel likes to point out, you just can’t argue with. There is no way to justify exploiting children, after all. It’s just not right. But it happens - and therefore, we have to fight it. We have been given freedom: freedom to fight for those that have been stripped of their freedom. This idea of being ‘blessed with a burden’ became a reality to me through a conversation with a young woman in the brothels of India a few months ago. She acknowledged my freedom, and her captivity, telling me that she “did not choose this life. Her life was not like mine. She was not free to come and go like I was”. With our freedom comes a level of responsibility if we choose to accept it: to advocate on behalf of the vulnerable and to find hope and healing in moments of darkness. This is a movement of people willing to stand for justice and fight for change in the lives of the vulnerable and the exploited, and we invite you to join us. We need you to join us. Together, we can make a difference.

SOLD: A Four Letter Word

The facts surrounding the child sex trade horrify most every person I have a conversation with. People are shocked by the rate at which it occurs, the fact that it exists in America, and that adult men & women are actually paying for sex with children. This is one social injustice that leaves no room for debate. Nothing justifies it, and there is no excuse to let it continue.

The SOLD Project is a documentary designed to educate people about the haunting reality of the child sex trade in Southeast Asia & the World, and to give them the tools to halt these atrocities. I founded The SOLD Project after learning about the brutal sexual exploitation of society’s most vulnerable people – children. Through The SOLD Project I have embarked upon a life altering journey that has led me to meet child prostitutes as young as 4 years old, as well as meeting many of the predators who feed off of their innocence. My life permanently changed through these experiences and I have committed my life to searching for a way to make a difference.

We at The SOLD Project have faith that the hope for positive change lives within all people. We can each be a part of restoring innocence and freedom back into the devastated lives of these child victims.

While we do not pretend to have all of the answers - we are on a journey toward finding them and with your involvement we can. Your comments and questions are welcome. Post your ideas. Share your dreams. We are in this together. We need you, but more importantly these children need you.