The Red Cord

The Red Cord is Southwest Oklahoma's Anti Human Trafficking Organization

The Sexual Assault Problem

The numbers associated with sexual assault are staggering.

Studies show that 734,630 people had a threat of rape, an attempted rape against them, or a completed rape in 2018.

The CDC shares that around 16 million women and 11 million men, who experienced contact sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner in their lifetime, were first victimized by the age of 18.

When a person is sexually assaulted by an intimate partner, health issues often arise, affecting the musculoskeletal and nervous systems. Depression and PTSD are also common results, leaving these victims more at risk for smoking, binge drinking, and additional sexual risk activity.

The effects for survivors can be debilitating, and societal problems can also arise as a result of these crimes. In fact, the health care cost for a survivor of an intimate partner violence can reach over $100,000 for women and nearly $25,000 for men.

How to Feed a Beast

It’s an appetite that is never satisfied. It’s raging out of control.

Pornography. It’s an addiction that needs continuous feeding. To feed this giant appetite, more and more victims are needed in the industry. This is where pornography and sex trafficking intersect. This is why The Red Cord focuses on this topic every year.

Let’s start at the beginning of the feeding frenzy. How are girls recruited into the porn industry? It begins with grooming and enticing women into the sex industry. Promises of wealth, happiness and fame are used to entice and keep girls in the trap of sex trafficking. Most girls are looking for a way out of their current situation and are vulnerable to the lure of sex traffickers. Sometimes the girl is already a victim of abuse in their homes. Or they are living in poverty.

“Probably one of the most powerful factors that drives women into the sex industry is, as Donevan argues, childhood sexual abuse. Donevan found this to be “the most common precursor to prostitution, with studies finding that between 60-90% of prostituted persons have been subject to sexualized abuse in childhood.” Donevan points to a study by Grudzen that found that women in porn were three times more likely to have been victims of childhood sexual abuse compared to women who were not in porn. https://sharedhope.org/2021/11/01/pornography-trafficking-link/

“Those taking part in watching porn, which they believe is something passive and private in their own home, do not know the background of the performers and are not educated on the very fact that many are being coerced or forced to act out these sexual scenes… A person viewing porn should ask themselves, ‘‘Would I view this if I knew that the performer was being forced or coerced to play this part?” https://nbc-2.com/news/2021/01/12/heres-how-your-porn-habit-could-be-helping-human-sex-traffickers/

A huge factor for porn addicts is that they do not recognize the girl in the photos or videos as a person of value. It makes it acceptable for them to keep on clicking on their devices and peering at image after image of people posing for the cameras. They do not consider those people as those who are made in the image of God.

How do we change a culture that devalues life? It is prominent in the abortion issue as well. All life is created by God. Scripture tells us:

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful I know that full well.” Psalm 139:13-14

The appetite of the consumers of porn will not change their addiction until they grasp the truth that when they click a button on their device in the privacy of their own homes, it is directly devaluing the life of a girl. It could be someone like their sister. Their friends. Their daughters.

We may not can change a culture, but we can offer solutions to tame the appetites. We can:

Offer a challenge to porn addicts to turn off their sites feeding their appetites for this entire month of November.
We can ask our church leaders, student ministers, school and community leaders to attend a Red Cord training. See info here:
We can examine our own lives and offer hope to others:

“Be careful then…make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.” (Hebrews 312-13)

Be aware that sin is attractive and deception is its goal. It’ the slow fad of rebellion that deceives us and hardens our hearts to Him. Our responsibility is to be the voice of Truth for each other.

How do we stop feeding the beast of pornography and sex trafficking? Please read this month’s blog for specific steps.

How shall we live in a dark, sin-stained world?

Can you feel it? The Darkness. Without the presence of light, your vision only sees shadows. The images are distorted or blurry. It’s in those times, you can almost feel the heaviness of darkness. In our sin-stained world, we are vulnerable to what is unseen.

The battle is real.

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Ephesians 6:12

We know this is true. The persistent lingering evil that is human trafficking proves its ever-present danger.

At the Red Cord Freedom Gala on September 30^th, Jenna Quinn shared her personal trafficking survivor experience. Even though she was from a loving home, she was lured into sex trafficking through a family friend she trusted in her Christian school. Only evil, insidiously working through a willing predator, can do such deep, dark harm to the unsuspecting.

Read Jenna’s amazing story about battling the evil of sex trafficking. https://jennaquinn.net/books

And discover what her life is like today as she continues to overcome. https://jennaquinn.net/

What now? How should you Rise Up now that you know Jenna’s story and also the stories from Jason and Kristin Weiss from The Demand Project presented at the Gala?

NEXT STEPS to Help You Rise Up

Prepare for the battle personally and collectively.

Pray often and specifically. Use this month’s prayer calendar. https://theredcord.org/prayer/
Learn how to prevent the danger of human trafficking. Make this battle personal. Sign up for a Red Cord training today: https://forms.gle/jGv4RuLP6PYVXmnH7
Get more resources to help lead your church. Read Jenna’s book mentioned above as well as Ending Human Trafficking: A Handbook of strategies for the church today by Moore, Morgan and Yin? https://amzn.to/3PSlUWf

Give to provide resources to help the fight against human trafficking continue. https://secure.processdonation.org/theredcord/Donation.aspx?donationrefid=F98CJ6689698E

Participate in the Piercing the Darkness Walk.

https://theredcord.org/upcoming/

Read The October Blog for more ways to Rise Up against the Darkness. https://theredcord.org/blog/

UNMASK THE BEAST

A predator is a being that relentlessly stalks its vulnerable victims seeking to exploit them for personal gain. The predator may be unseen, but only a click away on a computer screen. Today, traffickers have hidden their faces to groom their victims through online apps and take their time building a relationship and trust. It is often over time that this relationship is built and a victim falls prey to clever disguises.

Traffickers may be wearing one or more of the following faces:

What masks do traffickers use to lure victims?

1.“The Friend” — Using Victims to Recruit Others: A victim is told to recruit others to replace her current work requirement. This happens in schools when a student befriends a vulnerable student and creates a trust with this person. Then she will invite them over to a party or sleep over. The purpose is to expose the victim to the trafficker which can give opportunity for a grooming process to start.

“The Planner” – Using Disguised Meetings: This could happen through a “random” text or direct message from someone looking to “meet up” to buy or sell merchandise. Watch for red flags when selling or buying from Facebook Marketplace and other online shopping sites. This can also look like being invited to a party at someone’s house you do not know.
.“The False Advertiser”-Using Enticing Opportunities: This could be modeling opportunities, or jobs offering high pay with little to no previous work experience required. Or it could be an advertisement for someone with knowledge of a foreign language offering free accommodations, free visa or travel procurement. The opportunities can be advertised in legitimate newspapers using a registered business as a front.
“The ‘Loverboy” – Using False Relationships: This trafficker uses blind dating and online relationships, sugar daddy/sugar baby websites. They invest their time and resources to buy their victim’s trust, flatter her, and shower her with love, romance and promises of a better life until they are comfortable enough to make their move.
“The Family Member”- Sale by Family: Parents may sell a child out of greed and receive a monthly income. These families often build relationships with traffickers and will intentionally misrepresent the nature of the work to entice other families to sell their children. Traffickers will target families that are poverty-stricken or dependent on drugs.
“The Needy Person” – Seeking help in disguise: This could look like a homeless person asking for money or a ride. It could be someone asking for directions or someone who needs to use your cellphone in an “emergency” situation.
“The Religious Abuser” – Using Religious Beliefs: This is when religion is used to control a victim and/or abuse of power. This could be having a victim take an “oath”. Victims make all kinds of promises such as they won’t run away; they will obey their trafficker; they will keep silent and never speak to officials; They will pay back all the money they owe their trafficker. Indeed, the girls believe that breaking the oath would cause grave, if not fatal consequences, for the victims’ families and would be in danger of going to hell.

All of these masks are in use today in our state, in our country, and around the world.

Unmasking the Beasts at the Border

In recent years, we have tracked human trafficking on the rise between the US and Mexico. Mexican traffickers, often called “coyotes,” take advantage of desperate situations of poverty or hardship in Mexico and promise safe passage to a new life in the U.S. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1144&context=ppr

Trafficking is “distinct from the smuggling of willing migrants from one country to another, (because) human trafficking refers to the use of coercion for the purpose of labor, sexual, or other exploitation.

Once in the U.S., coyotes hand over their victims to pimps, who then trap the victims through violence or debt bondage. Girls are often moved along a trafficking route to keep them trapped, vulnerable, and unable to find help. Frequently, these girls are victims of abuse, both sexual and physical, and of extreme manipulation. This manipulation often occurs because the pimps frequently take their victims’ passports, using the threat of deportation as a technique to keep their victims from going to the police.

So how do we decrease the decrease trafficking between Mexico and the United States?

improve bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
improve enforcement mechanisms in both countries.
increase public awareness and education on human trafficking in both countries.

The Red Cord provides multiple opportunities to raise awareness concerning human trafficking. Please check our website for free resources and plan to attend monthly free local trainings. Also, consider attending the Freedom Gala in September to hear firsthand information from authorities and victims.

Please read the August blog for more information about masks traffickers wear.

What about the current popular movie, “The Sound of Freedom”? Is it true? Continue reading to learn The Red Cord’s thoughts position.

The Heart of The Red Cord

Responding to “The Sound of Freedom”

The Red Cord encourages people to see the movie. It’s essential, however, to view the film, for what it is—a depiction based on one person’s experiences. It cannot serve as a comprehensive representation of human trafficking and exploitation, nor should it be considered the ultimate solution to this grave issue. The fight against human trafficking and exploitation encompasses numerous perspectives and stories that together create a full picture. We have to remember that this a local fight. We can prevent children before they need rescue through education and awareness. This is the heart of The Red Cord. The Sound of Freedom brings a level of awareness to the overall trafficking issue, but does not depict the trafficking situation of grooming, online contact and where parents can be the first level of protection for their children. Contact The Red Cord today to see how you can help the fight and keep your kids safe.

Want To Set The Record Straight?

The Red Cord strives to be Oklahoma’s thought leader on Human Trafficking. We demystify common misconceptions so you can have confidence you’re spreading the right information.

Do You Know Someone Or An Organization That Needs To Be Trained?

The Red Cord offers professional training for the community, schools, churches, first responders, hotels, and casinos. We are blessed with many expert public speakers.