OneVOICE Babble

Sandusky Verdict Inspires Thousands (via RAINN)

(from our friends at RAINN)

Last week, in a case that shocked the nation and brought great awareness to the sexual abuse of children, former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was convicted on 45 of 48 charges of sexually abusing children. During the trial, usage of the National Sexual Assault Online Hotline rose by 33%; this followed a 50% increase when the scandal first broke last November.

RAINN’s hotline director, Jennifer Marsh, said, “We’re seeing an outpouring of people reaching out for help — women and men, boys and girls — many of whom have been encouraged to get help for the first time as a result of this tragedy.”

Leading up to and during the trial, RAINN’s staff worked closely with national media to educate them about child sexual abuse and ensure that media coverage accurately portrayed the nature of the crime and its effect on victims.

Praising the jury’s verdict and the courage of the survivors who came forward to report Sandusky’s crimes, RAINN’s president and founder Scott Berkowitz told Reuters: “Today is a landmark day for survivors of sexual violence across the nation. This verdict shows the country that when allegations of such abuse are brought to light, they will be taken seriously and that a just outcome is possible. If something positive can come out of this, it is that the strength of the survivors who testified has already encouraged thousands of survivors nationwide to take the first steps towards recovery through the National Sexual Assault Hotline (800.656.HOPE & online.rainn.org), creating record demand for the hotline’s services. We are hopeful that this case will continue to motivate other survivors to come forward and will encourage more prosecutors to vigorously pursue cases of sexual violence.”

3 Teams Hoping to Score Big in North Texas this Weekend…

As far as the actual game of football is concerned, I’ll swing a towel to the black & yellow, black & yellow, black & yellow, black & yellow…

But there’s another team playing in Dallas this weekend...another team expecting a huge score…and I’m not talking about the Packers. I’m talking bout the team of PIMPS who, right now, are preparing their child sex slaves to service thousands of potential customers currently en route to the Super Bowl festivities.

Annually, up to 300,000 U.S. children are trafficked within U.S. borders (US Dept of Justice). And the problem of sex trafficking is already huge in Texas—according to the U.S. Dept of Health and Human Services, Texas may account for 1/4 of all human trafficking victims in the U.S.

But those numbers don’t seem to be enough to handle the demand of this year’s Super Bowl party.

The director of a group called “New Friends New Life”, a Dallas area organization that helps sex workers escape the industry, said they are expecting that around 15,000 prostitutes from other places will be brought into North Texas this weekend. NFNL Director Katie Pedigo also estimates approximately 10% of those will be abandoned in the DFW area once the party ends. 

They are not criminals. They are victims.

Most often they are girls who were either runaways or were kicked out of their homes and then were taken in by pimps who targeted them at malls, movie theaters, parks, any place where teens are found hanging out. Once the pimp has access to the girls, they are beaten, drugged, raped, abused, humiliated, isolated, shamed, screamed at, you name it…psychologically conditioning the child to never escape. These girls have no choice but to work to meet the expectation and quota of their pimps, being raped and tortured dozens of times in a day, knowing that if they were to try to run they may be murdered—or worse, their family would be.

There is a lot of darkness here, but there are many other org’s (like the one I just mentioned) who are getting involved on the front lines, shedding light on this issue well before the opening kick-off in Dallas/Ft Worth.

Dallas’ very own Cowboy, Jay Ratliff, a three-time Pro Bowler, made a public service announcement: “Real men don’t buy children. They don’t buy sex.” And he is recruiting other NFL players to join him in a campaign by Traffick911 called “I’m Not Buying It!” I love it when we see real men take a stand like this. 

So please, PARTY! Enjoy the game and commercials, food and friends. But do take a moment to remember what is going on behind the scenes…not to be a Debbie Downer, but to be a part of culture change.

So GET ANGRY with me…and commit to PRAY with me:

-Pray for our precious ones still in slavery.

-Pray for the organizations and abolitionists who are doing what they can to rescue them.

-Pray that modern day slavery would be abolished in this generation! 

And check out the PSA below from Natalie Grant & Tenth Avenue North.

With Love and Compassion and Praying for Justice…Nicole