Imagining that slavery no longer exists in a time when it has long since been declared illegal would be pleasant, yet there are more slaves today than ever before.
Imagining that slavery no longer exists in a time when it has long since been declared illegal would be pleasant, yet there are more slaves today than ever before.
About 100 women who attended a ladies night out event at the Sundre Arts Centre on Friday, Nov. 20 heard this message from Naomi H., the project coordinator for the Servants Anonymous (SA) Foundation and one of the evening's organizers.
Almost 30 million people live as slaves — many are women and roughly one quarter are children, she said.
"Today's slave masters are a highly sophisticated and alarmingly organized network of criminals and predators working together to ensure a steady supply of young slaves to meet their ravenous global demand for cheap labour, pornography and paid sex."
The sex industry alone is estimated to generate more than $150 billion each year, she said.
"In my work with the SA foundation over the last 14 years, I have heard the personal stories of hundreds of women. Let me assure you of one thing tonight — these women are no different than you or I were at their age. In fact they're no different from our own daughters, nieces and grandchildren. They did not choose this lifestyle."
Around the world, minors represent the average age of entry into the sex trade. In Alberta, the average age of entry is 13 years old, she said.
"What 13-year-old would choose this? The answer is no one. These girls are targeted, manipulated, groomed and are physically forced into the sex trade. By the time they realize what is happening, there is no escape. From then on it's just a matter of survival."
Most of the victims of sexual exploitation in developed countries were sexually abused as children, which means they are already suffering and have been deprived of healthy, loving relationships, she said.
"This makes them very easy targets for pimps and traffickers who often pose as boyfriends first."
In underdeveloped countries, victims of sexual exploitation face extreme poverty, starvation and gender discrimination.
"They also never know the full extent of what they're being lured into until it is too late. Regardless of how anyone gets tricked into sexual slavery, the reality of the sex trade is the same worldwide. It is an existence dominated by fear, violence, isolation, humiliation, depression and addiction, just to name a few."
Alarmingly, the quickest way out is to be killed, die of disease or commit suicide, an option many sadly choose to take, she said.
"But what if that wasn't the only way out. What if there was another way. What if there's life after slavery. What if hope can be found in darkness? This is what we do. We give hope and provide a way out to as many women and children as possible."
The SA Foundation strives to give every person trapped in sexual slavery a means of escape, she said.
"We also believe there is life and healing after even such unspeakable pain. We believe it because we have seen it ourselves over and over again."
When the aspects of the foundation's program are implemented, there is consistently a 70 per cent success rate. That means 70 per cent of the women who come to seek help from the foundation will never fall back into a life of sexual exploitation, she said.
"They are transformed. They learn to love themselves. They learn their value. They learn that what was done to them was not their fault — from initial abuse as a young child to later exploitation."
One successful participant who recovered following abuse and exploitation said " 'at SA, they loved me until I could love myself'," said Naomi, adding the foundation exists not only to offer a way out but to give hope as well.
The focus of the evening was not entirely sobering, and a performance by local talent Melony Gibbs, a vocalist, and Christina Crouch, on piano, offered plenty of musical and at times lighthearted comical entertainment in the lead-up to Naomi's presentation.
Following the performance and the presentation, those who attended were encouraged to support the SA foundation by purchasing jewelry made in Nepal by participants in the foundation's recovery program. Funds raised help cover the costs of rent, clothing, food, medicine, recovery programs, childcare and skills training. Some money is even put aside into savings accounts for their future, she said.
"It is 100 per cent not for profit and all proceeds help fund our global projects."
About $9,000 was raised at the event, which was held for the second year in a row. Organizers hope it can become annual.
Founded in 1989, the SA Foundation is a faith-based organization responding to the needs of the sexually exploited through love and action. The foundation provides long-term recovery programs to survivors of sexual exploitation, as well as their children, and works to prevent human trafficking in countries around the world. The first pilot project was started in Calgary, and the foundation has since grown to a global stage. There are eight organizations across Canada, the US, Nepal and Hungary with five more in training in Greece, Bulgaria and Germany.
Visit www.safoundation.com for more information on the project and www.safoundation.myshopify.com to view the jewelry.
