Playground Horrors
When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14
I just saw a documentary called “Playground” about child sex trafficking in the US. Though I took my Kleenex, I was too angry to cry.
Some statistics that I heard were surprising. Atlanta, Georgia is ranked #13 in the world (yes, the world) for child sex “tourism.” (That word to describe it is frightening!) 1 out of every 5 girls and 1 out of every 10 boys will be sexually assaulted before their 18th birthday. Pornography is one of the leading causes of demand for child sex trafficking. (None of these are confirmed but all were stated in the documentary.)
The bulk of the documentary was about sex trafficking when children are lured into leaving their homes and then forced to sell themselves, often multiple times per day. Through the use of drugs and evil punishments if they fail to follow every instruction of their pimps the children are helpless to free themselves. Some are as young as 9 and 10.
I learned that the perpetrators of these crimes can judge from the way a child looks whether or not they will be easy to abduct and keep in the “trade.” They are so good at what they do they don’t even need a conversation with the child! Children who have been sexually abused in their home, often by close friends or family members, are easily persuaded and held.
This documentary looked at the problems from the perspective of psychology, of how the men who pay for sex with children and the children who are abducted and forced into this slavery are raised. The children are often looking for love which is freely offered to them by adults who act sincerely interested in them. Then it is taken from them and given back only when they do what they are told and bring in plenty of money through a lot of sexual encounters.
According to one social worker, the men who pay for this are men who were not taught as children to learn to delay gratification. They expect to get what they want when they want it. If they don’t, they take it – or buy it in this case.
The film’s motivation appears to be that America is insufficiently aware of the problem. By shining a light on the evil, the producers believe parents will be more vigilant, instigating more and better legislation. While some progress has been made in recent years, there has been little punishment for the men whose demand fuels this trade and little assistance for the children who are being exploited.
What the movie failed to consider is God. Neither did it call the problem by its name: Sin. As a nation we have removed God from our educational system and public square. In our families He has been abandoned for the cheap thrills of the world. The consequences of ignoring Him are being seen in the sinful tastes of men and women, parents and “johns” who do not consider the consequences of sin, who could care less about God or His loving law.
I am all in favor of focused legislation to combat this evil but I am under no illusion that secular legal “solutions” will end it. The only law that will effectively combat this abomination is that Law written on men’s hearts. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we call sin sin and call men and women to repentance.
Our culture has abandoned God. He is withdrawing His grace in response to our fist-shaking, and child sex trafficking is one of the really ugly results.
Pray God’s mercy on us and our nation.