Victim's Story Fuels Church's Abolitionist Effort

The Wesleyan Church's commitment to abolish human trafficking isn't one that is based on statistics alone; it is fueled by the value of every person in God's eyes. Mary (not her real name) grew up in an Indianapolis home under the discipline of strict parents. During high school she began to rebel, leading her to the wrong crowd of friends. In her senior year she met a man much older than her. Soon after, he raped her. A pregnancy resulted, and she married her attacker.

Now that her husband "owned" her, it wasn't long before other men were invited over to party, drugs and alcohol involved. Mary's husband began to profit from his wife by forcing her to perform sex acts with other men in exchange for money. 

For the next ten years, Mary was traumatized by her forced lifestyle, which included brutal and painful sexual episodes. She developed severe mental disorders and was eventually committed to a psychiatric hospital. During that time her husband took her son and disappeared.

Following her release from the hospital Mary had another child by another man. Her two children moved in with another family because Mary was incapable of caring for them. Today, Mary is undergoing therapy and has contact with her two children. However, she continues to struggle with the evils from her past.

Human trafficking is a tragic and prevalent injustice that human aid organizations claim involves over 27 million people from all corners of society both locally and internationally. According to a recent report by the U.S. Department of State, 12 million men, women, and children become victims of human trafficking (modern day slavery) each year, forced into sexual slavery, labor, and domestic servitude.Some become soldiers in national wars, are forced into begging networks, or are bought and sold for their body parts.

Born in the abolitionist movement of the 19th Century, The Wesleyan Church, a protestant evangelical denomination with world headquarters in Fishers, Indiana, is revisiting its heritage in committing to a denomination-wide effort to abolish human trafficking.

The Wesleyan Church will take part in a September 9, 2009, community information forum in Indianapolis, Indiana, which will be followed by a September 10-12, 2009, abolish human trafficking training staffed by professionals from World Hope International. General Director of Wesleyan Women, Stand Against Trafficking (StAT), and "Hands of Hope" coordinator Martha Blackburn says the training will equip men and women with skills to help prevent trafficking and care for its victims.