Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | RSS
- Over 25 million people are enslaved around the world, in 2015.
- Over 10 million people are enslaved for sexual purposes, in 2015.
- There are about 2 million minors lured and trapped into sexual slavery, in 2015.
It would be extremely difficult to find a human being who did not consider those facts as the most troubling human problem we have before us. The idea of sex slavery and sex trafficking is disturbing and difficult to contemplate and consider. It may be more comfortable to not discuss it or simply to not think about it or acknowledge it’s existence. The problem is, it does exist. So what do we do?
Tim Ballard, former CIA operative, founded Operation Underground Rescue with the explicit purpose of rescuing children who have been trapped in the sex trade and convicting the perpetraitors who contribute to the industry through consumption or organization. Since the organization’s initial operation all activity has been recorded and is being compiled in a documentary called The Abolitionists.
In this episode Jerilyn Hassell Pool of FMH and Brian Dillman of Rational Faiths talk with Tim about the problem of sex trafficking, how OUR was founded and how a sting works, and finally what we as a public can do.
Thanks for shining some light on this topic. I had no idea the extent. That said, the numbers the guest was quoting seem to be very much in failure and fail rational estimation. Don’t get me wrong, even 1 is too many, but it isn’t 2 million either.
The second thing that the hosts let slip by is the porn is just like heroin, and its correlation/causation with pedophilia and sexual deviance . It’s false and demonstrably inaccurate.
I’d expect a host to do some fact checking before hand. Both hosts seemed rather disinterested for the majority of the interview.
I realize with every episode that I make mistakes and am often embarrassed by my performance as I go through the editing process, thanks for pointing those failures out I’ll try to do better in the future. Though, in this instance awareness was our goal rather than a critical analysis of the organization’s understanding of this appalling phenomenon or like you said a disputation of the facts.
I am very interested in your determination of the precise causal factors leading to sexual deviance and pedophilia. Clearly there are many porn users/consumers that don’t end up in a self-defeating addiction to sexual stimulation (hence your causation/correlation point), though porn is a fear inducing form of media for Mormons in general so I understand his loose reasoning. I also don’t think that the porn industry needs or deserves any defending, so I don’t feel particularly bad on that point.
I am sincerely interested in what you think is causing this behavior.
Typo:
Failure = dispute
Bob,
Here is some fact checking I should have done when this was originally posted.
From UNICEF in 2005.
“Nearly 2 million children are used in the commercial sex trade, where they routinely face sexual and physical violence.”
Hopefully current numbers are on the decline.
http://www.unicef.org/sowc06/press/release.php
This is very proof-texty and certainly not a meta study, but illustrates the large swing in reported numbers evem drastic settings from the same reporting agencies. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/slaves/etc/stats.html and here: http://www.unh.edu/ccrc/prostitution/Juvenile_Prostitution_factsheet.pdf most notably the quote about estimates being from tens of thousands to 2 million. That’s a huge range.
I vacillate frequently on my faith in the human race. This kind of stuff makes me think all is lost. The cause? Bad people, corrupt governments, otherwise good people turning a blind eye, poverty, tribalism, religion (literal readings of the old testament in particular), lack of education,…
Porn as heroin:
This is a pretty well-rounded article pointing out, from my perspective, the pseudoscience being used to prop up that argument: http://www.dailydot.com/lifestyle/fight-the-new-drug-porn-addiction/
And the doctor Hilton referred to in the article is LDS and makes a ton of money off his book.
Another, if not slanted against. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/women-who-stray/201307/your-brain-porn-its-not-addictive
I’m certainly not trying to justify porn, but the shame complex that many religions apply is more problematic in many ways. I haven’t listened to your sex therapist series yet. I’d be surprised if you haven’t hit this topic yet. If not, you should.