Escaping the Devil's Bedroom

D.C.'s Disposable Daughters

Trafficked and prostituted girls find hope

A block or two behind the White House, the street bustles after midnight. Teenage girls in miniskirts and stilettos strut the sidewalks. Heavy eyeshadow, bright lipstick and tight tank tops hide their age, some as young as 13. (See photos by Lloyd Wolf)

Men of all ages cruise by, considering which body to purchase for an hour. A pair of undercover officers watch a guy with graying hair hand several bills to a blonde, before they step forward to arrest the pair. Scenes like this replay nightly. 

Here in our nation's center for justice, power and democracy, a form of modern day slavery is thriving. Girls launching into prostitution average between 11 to 13 years old in the U.S. America's disposable children are feeding our culture's demand for paid sex, then sleeping behind prison walls.

Where is Jesus in this darkness? In Matthew 25, Jesus describes who He'll welcome in heaven, identifying with the poor and powerless. “I was in prison and you came to visit me," He says. 

In 2003, Candace Wheeler founded the capitol's only Christian outreach to locally prostituted and trafficked girls and women, Restoration Ministries. A handful of staff and volunteers make weekly visits to God's wounded daughters in a jail, a psychiatric hospital and a group home.

Last summer, Restoration Ministries offered a cup of water in Jesus' name to 93 girls in prostitution or at high risk of being exploited. Many girls in the jail have been rescued from Craig's List raids. The group isn't mandatory, but all the girls come. Often they have no other visitors.

During weekly visits, volunteers and staff create crafts like scrapbooks, watch movies, consume popcorn, laugh and pray for the girls, most younger than 15 years old. During one visit, the girls tackled the riddle, “What is something that belongs to you, but other people use more than you?” The answer: your name. But two girls immediately guessed: “my body.”

Typically, a girl remains there 3 to 4 months. So Restoration Ministries may have roughly 90 days to plant seeds of God's love in their hearts.

The girls fill out a survey when they first come to the group. They identify their religion as Protestant, Catholic, Hindu, Muslim, etc. Then on a scale of 1 to 10 they circle how important their faith is to their healing process. Often they select 8 to 10.

At the end of each group visit, nearly all the girls trace their hand on white paper. Within the hand, they pen prayer requests. “I want prayer to get out and to be safe,” wrote one girl.

Three “wailing walls” back at RM's drop-in-center, tucked away in an old brick church building just a mile away, are plastered with these papers, the focus of regular prayer. Once the girls are released from the jail, psych hospital or group home, they can come by for a support group, coffee and a hug or prayer.

Showing God's Love
Last summer an intern named Alysha visited a girl in jail who'd been trafficked from out of state. (See Alysha's full blog post) Let's call her "Jennifer". On her first visit, she found Jennifer hysterical and desperate to know what would happen to her. Alysa explained she didn't have control of her future, but she'd be there to walk with Jennifer.

Girls like Jennifer may be snatched from the streets, or often suffer loneliness, conflict at home, and childhood sexual abuse before being seduced by a pimp posing as an older boyfriend.

The next day, Alysha found Jennifer sobbing with her knees to her chest, rocking back and forth, crying "I wanna go home." She accepted a hug from Alysha, but wouldn't hold out her arms. Alysha prayed for her.

After more visits, Alysha began asking God how she was making any difference to help change Jennifer's circumstances. She heard His voice: "You are changing everything…you are showing her My love.” 

Alysha showed up for Jennifer's court hearing. Afterward Jennifer reported to the other girls in jail that it had gone well because Alysha was there. She hugged Alysha and told her that she was the only one who listens and cares for her.

Recently Restoration Ministries gave Jennifer her first Bible after consulting her mother.

“Many churches want to get the girls to repent of their sins and get saved. They really aren't interested in building a lasting, trusting relationship with them," Candace says. But doing justice and sharing the Gospel are tightly interwoven. Jesus is visiting the prisoners, loving them in their deepest sorrow, and offering His freedom through Restoration Ministries.

In our nation's power nucleus, forgotten girls are discovering God's love for the powerless.

Check out photos by Lloyd Wolf.

Interview by The Blind Project

 

Love that graphic above. Thanks so much to David and The Blind Project for all that you're doing to fight exploitation and make the world better!

The following interview is reposted with permission from The Blind Project (TBP).

Interview with Dawn Herzog Jewell, author of Escaping the Devil’s Bedroom: Sex trafficking, global prostitution, and the gospel’s transforming power.

By David Butgereit, Faith Based Liaison, The Blind Project.

The Blind Project: Human trafficking, sex slavery, trafficking in persons or another term?  What terminology do you use for what we are talking about?

Dawn Herzog Jewell: I call it sexual exploitation in order to include the folks who might be excluded technically from “slavery” or “trafficking.” Many men, women and children are exploited sexually because they have very limited choices in life. But no one is holding a gun to their head in a basement or brothel. Their chains are invisible— a sexually abusive parent, a parent who abused a substance, limited education, a learning disability, etc.

TBP: Your book, Escaping the Devil’s Bedroom, does a wonderful job of exposing the reader to the global scope of the issue.  Will your focus remain global?

DHJ: Yes, it will most likely remain global but it could change if I notice a specific people group or region that is not being covered in the media.

TBP: Some of the essential reading on this topic is very depressing and doesn’t offer a picture of hope, but I noticed “Stories of Hope” dominate your book.  Why was that important for you to include?

DHJ: Without hope no change takes place. If we think that lives are beyond help, then they remain so. The scope of this issue requires an attitude change both in us (those with access to resources and power to create change) and in those who are in desperate need of encouragement and equipping to live with dignity in their God-given potential.

TBP: When reading about sexual exploitation, I am reminded of the role men play in the equation, not just in driving the demand but also in coercing the girls in the first place.  It appears that a man’s pride, a desire to control, and a sense of entitlement are all involved in creating the exploitation. How do you address this?

DHJ: Men alone are not to blame. We are all responsible for our silence and inertia regardless of gender. Men can become powerful brokers of change in speaking out to other men in their families, communities and workplaces about the important role they play as fathers, brothers and sons of girls and women. I encourage men to consider their gifts and resources, then think about how they can plug in. One man can make a big difference in being a role model to others.

TBP: Who is your hero?  Who do you seek out for strength and guidance?

DHJ: Jesus. He offered freedom to people from their pasts and the personal and societal chains that bound them, but he did it in such a way that empowered people to choose whether they wanted to walk into that freedom.

TBP: Your audience appears to be primarily a churched audience.  What is the church doing well, and what can the church do better?

DHJ: The Church does a good job at raising awareness and resources to support some ministries. But the Church can get 10 times better at addressing how people in their own congregations struggle with pornography and therefore contribute to sexual exploitation worldwide. And we need real compassion and love for those in our own communities who are sexually exploited—male prostitution, women in strip clubs, girls involved in porn acting. We can also do a much better job educating young people about healthy sexuality.

TBP: Have you noticed a change over the past several years in how people react to the idea that slavery or bondage still exists?

DHJ: Yes. Today I am surprised when I discover that the idea is new to people. The media and organizations have done a good job of raising awareness.

TBP: Do you notice a kind of “good works fatigue” when educating people about this issue?  Do you ever feel people are thinking, “Oh no, not another cause”?

DHJ: Sometimes, but not often.   I find that people get excited when they learn that creating change in this issue requires a huge range of talents and resources, not just money or skilled lawyers. It’s a ‘cause’ that we can all make a difference in when we take the time to consider how our gifts meet a need both in our own communities and/or abroad.

TBP: Which programs do you think are the most effective for liberating someone from a life of bondage?

DHJ: Those that are there for the long term and involve personal relationships with not only staff, but with volunteers and friends from local churches and communities. A person who’s been enslaved with visible or invisible chains needs freedom that must include a new, supportive community to reinforce their freed and true identity.

TBP: As you work in the field of sexual exploitation, what overwhelms you and how do you deal with it?

DHJ: Limited time. I’d love to do more writing and interviewing, but just don’t have enough time while working and raising a two-year-old. I trust that God is raising up more people who are using their time and resources to raise awareness and create change. None of us can save the world, but we can each do our part.

TBP: What are you currently working on?

DHJ: I just completed assisting John Green, founder of Emmaus ministries in Chicago, with his book manuscript for Streetwalking with Jesus. This book will fill a great gap in covering the stories of men on the street engaged in prostitution.

TBP: How do we avoid “issue fatigue” and keep the message of hope for the sexually exploited current and relevant in people’s minds?

DHJ: As the public becomes increasingly saturated with this issue, organizations need to become increasingly creative with their communication and involve those who want to help in creative and meaningful ways. The Blind Project has done some exemplary work in this area of involving people and harnessing their creativity.

TBP: Dawn, many of us at The Blind Project have read your book and greatly appreciate that you emphasize a message of hope.  We appreciate your work and look forward to your continued writing and work in this field. Thank you for talking with us.

DHJ: Thank you, and it was my pleasure.

Resources:

• Dawn mentioned the church can do better by “addressing how people in their own congregations struggle with pornography.”   We have found the organizations XXXchurch and I Am Second to be effective entry points in addressing issues of pornography within your church community.
• Escaping the Devil’s Bedroom website
• Dawn invites you to join the Escaping the Devil’s Bedroom Facebook group page.
• Streetwalking with Jesus, by John Green, founder of Emmaus Ministries in Chicago.