Child trafficking: the very idea provokes a visceral reaction. 

It is the very definition of wrong, the epitome of injustice. Once a person realises the truth of human trafficking, they normally go through a couple of phases. 

The first is horror.

The second is an intense desire to fight this monstrous evil.

It’s an absolutely appropriate response, but it can feel overwhelming. In the height of the desire to fight, we might feel justified in kicking down doors and taking out bad guys (like Liam Neeson) in the pursuit of exploited children. 

But that image is a fantasy created in Hollywood; in reality, everyone can fight human trafficking in a bigger way than most think. Aside from recognising and reporting suspected trafficking, there are many other ways you can make a difference in the lives of trafficked children.

Today, we’re going to talk about a few ways that you can fight human trafficking.

Educate

To fight an enemy, you must first understand them. The battle against child exploitation is no different.

Know the enemy

While the average person is quick to condemn human trafficking, most people don’t have an accurate understanding of the problem. They would be shocked to learn that, in many areas, women are the primary traffickers. Or that many children often don’t even realise they’re being trafficked. Or that sometimes, there is no outside trafficker, just a child forced into making a terrible choice simply to survive.

There are many ways to become well-versed on child trafficking and its impact on victims, survivors and their communities. Our blog has a wealth of information, much of which is delivered via first-hand knowledge of exploitation from survivors or rescue agents. There are also many other organisations and references online, like the International Labour Organization, that can help paint a more accurate picture of what modern human trafficking looks like. 

Break the taboo

Most people are uninformed about the realities of human trafficking. Those who know anything at all have a warped view based on what they’ve seen in movie theatres. Once you’ve learned the realities, you’ll need to break the taboo of talking about human trafficking.

It’s not a fun conversation. Talking about kids trapped in sexual exploitation can be challenging for the speaker and downright sickening for the listener. But it’s a necessary conversation.

Opening people’s eyes to the awful horrors children face inspires action. Many have accredited Great Britain’s abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the reproduction of a single image. A drawing of the slave ship “Brooks,” which showed how many enslaved Africans could be crammed on board, produced a unified response of horror from viewers, inspiring thousands to join the anti-slavery movement.

In the same way, having difficult discussions about the reality of human trafficking can elicit a negative response that produces positive change.  

Sometimes, that’s just bringing it up in family conversations. Sometimes, it’s challenging churches or clubs to face the problem. And sometimes, it’s organising an event with school officials and local law enforcement to educate parents about the issue. Your influence is unique, making you uniquely qualified to spread the word. 

Because if a single child is rescued because of your efforts, it will all be worth it.

Advocate

There’s actually another way to open the conversation about trafficking, a way that doesn’t make people feel overwhelmed by the darkness or magnitude of the issue.

Instead of beginning with the problem, start with a solution. 

Advocates are people who find unique ways to fight trafficking from wherever they are. They combine the conviction to rescue with their personal passions to make a difference in the lives of exploited children.

And supporters have gotten creative in their fundraising and advocacy methods. 

What started as a good-natured bet to complete a fitness challenge became something special for Liam Jackson. After hearing about Destiny Rescue (an organisation whose rescue work in Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines Child Rescue helps fund) on the radio, Liam resolved to use his fitness challenges for the cause. His most recent endeavour involved scaling a steep port mountain—50 times in a row! Every step he took brought a suffering child one step closer to freedom. Currently, Liam has raised over $21,000, enough money to rescue 14 children. 

Those kids are now free to return to school, pursue a career or just be home safe with their families, all because Liam decided to give his walks purpose.

That’s just Liam’s story. It doesn’t take an endurance athlete to rescue children from human trafficking.

• One businessman built two rental properties for Destiny Rescue, dedicating their profits to rescue children. 

• One of Destiny Rescue’s former rescue agents founded the “Tactical Games,” a series of spartan-like challenges involving tactical manoeuvring and weapons handling. While he ran the organisation, they routinely contributed to the cause while spreading awareness among visiting competitors, some of whom went on to start their own fundraisers in their home gyms.

• An Australian woman told her neighbourhood that if they’d help her rescue three children, she’d show her appreciation by shaving off her long, beautiful hair. That community surpassed her goal and rescued six. 

• Other concerned individuals take the cause to their churches. When the Church rises up, kids find freedom. Funds raised on Rescue Sundays have freed hundreds of children from trafficking, and some churches strive to hit a particular rescue goal.

In each case, ordinary people combined their personal passions with a commitment to rescue. The result was something far from ordinary. Because purpose drove the endeavours, many were propelled to accomplish more than they thought possible. But most importantly, their actions led to freedom for innocent children—which is an absolutely extraordinary impact, if you ask us.

Serve

But for some, the call isn’t an optional one. It’s a magnetic, irresistible drive to rescue kids no matter the cost.

For these individuals, it’s not about being a hero. It’s not about personal accolades or chasing a better life, and it’s certainly not about money.

It’s about the kids.

Destiny Rescue’s founder, Tony Kirwan, was still a small business owner and electrician when he walked through a red-light district in Southeast Asia on a mission trip. He’d intended to pray for all the suffering kids he passed on the street, but the prayer changed as he spoke it.

Intending to ask for God’s help for the children, he ended up asking, “God, help me if I don’t do something for these kids.”

He went home, sold his business, maxed out his credit cards to follow his new mission and moved across the sea to start Destiny Rescue in a leap of faith. God blessed that sacrificial, unwavering commitment, and as a result, thousands of children have been rescued: over 14,000 individuals have been rescued through Destiny Rescue as of the beginning of 2024.

Agents, caseworkers and in-country leaders across the world are stepping into the darkness to bring children into the light. For them, rescue is not a choice; it’s a calling. If you feel this calling, the irresistible drive to fight injustice and rescue children, we need you. Please visit this link to volunteer with us.

Those who are interested in becoming an agent may be interested in learning more about an organisation Destiny Rescue partners with to vet potential rescue personnel and provide initial training, 1000men.org.

Give

Those frontline workers don’t operate in a vacuum. The simple fact of the matter is that without faithful givers back home, frontline workers cannot rescue children. From funding raids to operating state-of-the-art online investigation tools to supplying food packs to struggling survivors and everything in between, rescuing children requires funding from heroic donors.

Never underestimate the power of giving. Every dollar has a real effect on actual children’s lives. Your simple gift could change everything for a suffering child.

A retired woman in Cincinnati might never know that her gift funded meals for an undercover agent while she staked out a trafficker’s hideout in the Dominican Republic. A college student’s one-time gift could buy a month’s worth of food for a 17-year-old in Uganda, giving her the breathing room she needed to get her small business off the ground. The contribution of a single mother in Melbourne might pay for a burn agent to pose as a sex buyer, leading to the release of more than a dozen kids in the Philippines.

Your gift is more than a tax break. It could very well mean the freedom, maybe even the life, of an innocent child. Rescue a child today by filling out the form below.