Christians have a long history of social justice and individual ministry to the downtrodden.
Christians play a vital role in highlighting the harms of commercial sexual exploitation, protecting vulnerable youth and promoting a society that values every human being. The following talking points can help you educate and engage others on this issue:
- Sex trafficking turns people into commodities – sexual objects to be bought, sold, used and discarded. No human made in God’s image should be treated this way.
- Global commercial sexual exploitation harms millions of women and children each year.
- Sex trafficking occurs across national borders, requiring global cooperation to investigate, prosecute, convict and sentence sex traffickers and rescue traffic victims.
- Sex trafficking would not exist if there was no demand.
- Sex trafficking is fueled by the proliferation of pornography.
- Lax federal and state enforcement of obscenity laws has allowed a back-alley pornography industry to contribute to an unprecedented global trade in human persons.
- Pornography and other feeder enterprises, such as massage parlors, prostitution, strip clubs and porn shops, must be curtailed through the enforcement of obscenity laws and zoning ordinances.
- Church leaders and Christians have an obligation to promote and live out God’s design for sexuality and instill a healthy understanding in the next generation.
- Our society must examine and confront the media and pop culture messages that contribute to the hyper-sexualization of youth and promote the same types of messages found in pornography and the commercial sex industry.
- We must work to limit the amount of sex promoted in youth-oriented media programming and end the glorification of “pimp culture” in music, video games and the movies.
Daniel Weiss is the senior analyst for media and sexuality for CitizenLink, an affiliate of Focus on the Family.
Print
