Tackling Human Trafficking

The start of a new year marks a time of renewed hope and strength. This January 2021, join WMU in observing National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Support victims of human trafficking on January 11 for National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and learn more about how WMU Compassion Ministries address the issue of human trafficking here and around the globe.

The federal government defines human trafficking as the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for sex or labor trafficking. Every year, impoverished and exploited men, women, and children are forced into a lifestyle they did not choose. This January, you can help make a difference.

WMU offers several resources on human trafficking: an hourlong simulation called Trafficked: Fighting to be Free; an online course called Human Trafficking: The Church’s Response; and WMU Compassion Ministries.

Trafficked: Fighting to be Free is a simulation for students and adults that teaches the realities surrounding human trafficking and how to help rescued victims. Participants walk to stations that represent common traps into human trafficking and follow scenarios that tell the progressive stories of the victim they’re representing. The simulation includes a Bible study and debrief time for self-reflection. Participants leave with a more personal understanding of what it might be like to face this kind of exploitation, and gain insight into how the church can respond and engage with those rescued.

Another resource provided by WMU is a self-guided, online mini-course titled Human Trafficking: The Church’s Response. The course explains how WMU Compassion Ministries address the issue of human trafficking and defend the voice of the voiceless. It includes stories of rescued victims and provides a teaching outline and supplemental materials for leading training conferences. Students and adults who complete the course learn ways to get involved in the fight against human trafficking and raise awareness of exploitation worldwide.

WMU Compassion Ministries address the issues surrounding human trafficking through Christian Women’s Job Corps/Christian Men’s Job Corps (CWJC/CMJC) and WorldCrafts. CWJC/CMJC helps women and men freed from trafficking in the United States and globally by providing job training and education in a Christian context. WorldCrafts provides artisan groups a living wage so poverty does not force them into bonded labor or sexual exploitation. The WorldCrafts Support Freedom Campaign highlights WorldCrafts artisan groups working to free women involved in or at risk of human exploitation. To make a purchase to help empower Support Freedom artisan groups or to simply learn more, visit worldcrafts.org/support-freedom-campaign.

If you believe you may have information about a potential trafficking situation, contact the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888. If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 911.

Join WMU in the fight against human trafficking. Visit wmu.com/trafficking to get involved or learn more.