Rebel HIghlight: Brittany

Hearing about sex trafficking is one thing, but diving deep by doing research, hearing from survivors, and having our eyes opened to the heinousness of exploitation causes a lot of questioning. Doing hundreds of presentations a year, we hear a lot of people wonder aloud, "How can people do this to other people?"

Brittany recently sent us her story of why sex trafficking is an important cause to her. Riddled with questions of "How?" and "Why?" these things happen, Brittany found purpose and outlets to make a difference. May you be as inspired as we were to turn our questions and the horror of sex trafficking into action that motivates and uplifts others! 

God broke my heart for sex trafficking. My heart broke for the victims. My heart broke for the perpetrators. I couldn’t comprehend that something so beautiful and intimate was abused frequently and brutally. For years, our society has cultivated an image of sex that is destructive and meaningless. It is presented as an easily accessible thing that has no strings attached. This idea has warped into a malicious and horrifying trade, and hundreds of people’s lives have been drastically changed by it.

Quite honestly, there were a few things I didn’t understand about sex trafficking. What would motivate these perpetrators to do these things? How could God let these things happen? God does not stop bad things from happening, but He can transform it for His glory. He is sovereign and almighty, and everything is in His control. We will not always understand why people do what they do, but we can choose how we respond. We can choose to respond in love and forgiveness. We can choose to respond in a way that would direct people to Jesus. We have to have a clear understanding that we are all broken people. These sentences are easily said, but not so easily done. Thankfully, Jesus seeks us out and heals us. These people are in desperate need of a savior, and that’s what the story of Christ is all about.

When I was a young girl, I would see testimonies of rape victims and abuse. I had been told other stories of social injustice, but nothing affected me like these did. I could not comprehend what these people had experienced. This feeling grew as I got older, and at times would leave me sobbing. I was confused and upset. Fortunately, God is bigger than the world, and he is bigger than the things that overwhelm us. In this moment, He asked me to take action. As teenagers, we live numb to these problems. I decided to hold an evening at my church for Red Light Rebellion to bring awareness to this problem. We spent the evening learning, discussing, and worshipping God for the work that is being done. Students were challenged to take action in different ways - each personal to their own lives. This may have meant spending the evening in prayer or committing to quit pornography.  It was a night full of God’s truth and inspiration.

These stories have become my holy discontent. I ache for these people and seek God’s redemption through it. Proverbs 31: 8-9 explains, “Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy” (NIV). God calls us to take action. He calls us to defend. He calls us to uplift. These things can be awkward, and they will definitely be uncomfortable. Take a leap of faith! God can use you in mighty ways, you just have to let Him.

As a faith-based nonprofit, we desire to know Christ in the context of social justice: defending and taking risks for the powerless and oppressed. Our desire is to glorify God by displaying His heart for justice, and love working with people of all faith backgrounds and beliefs as we work toward preventing sex trafficking!

We love seeing the diversity of people coming together to fight for freedom, and hearing WHY those people are passionate about sex trafficking. Feel free to share with us WHY this cause is important to you. You never know who you might inspire by sharing your passion! 

What Can you do?

Share this story to inspire others to spread the word about sex trafficking, and explain WHY you are passionate about the cause. When we each do our part, freedom is inevitable!