There is a link between pornography and sex trafficking. The correlation is not hard to find, in fact, it’s pretty obvious. But in the current sex-driven culture, pornography is praised and promoted, and the majority of this world is blind to how it directly affects sex trafficking. There has been a spike in porn during the current coronavirus pandemic, and it’s important to understand the link to modern-day slavery.

This week, we got reports from our partner in Thailand, Beginnings Foundation, that because of COVID-19, hundreds of bars are shut down. What was once one of the most notorious red-light districts in the world, is almost completely dark and void of people. The street that was usually lined with thousands of girls waiting and dancing outside hundreds of bars, customers and gawkers shoulder to shoulder, is virtually empty.

Natasha was told she would be forced to work as an escort; she didn’t know what that was but quickly learned. Forced to service upwards of 100 clients a night who paid to rape her, Natasha was a victim of human trafficking in New York City.

Even while we face this pandemic, something none of us has ever experienced, and the future is full of unknowns, our mission remains the same. Freedom 4/24 is here to bring freedom, to bring justice to women and children who are being trafficked and exploited. Research indicates that trafficking can experience a boom in the wake of a disaster, an idea that remains consistent with the observed patterns of trafficking preying on vulnerability.

On April 11, 2020, Freedom 4/24 will still be hosting the Run 4 Their Lives 5k; however, we have moved this event to a virtual setting due to the COVID-19 guidelines recommended by the CDC. 

“Action starts with Awareness” is the driving force behind End It Movement’s global campaign recognized by the red X written drawn on hands every February. This movement, raising awareness about human trafficking, has even caught the support of big names such as Aaron Rodgers, Carrie Underwood, Sadie Robertson, and Kristen Bell! The question is, does it work? Do events and organizations that exist to bring awareness truly do anything to combat an issue as big as human trafficking?

When her picture was hung above my desk in 2015, I had no idea that I would one day meet her, hug her, hold her hand, and tell her she was beautiful. It was then that those stories of women and girls that I heard daily became real. They were no longer just stories or statistics—they were real people whose lives had been changed by our work and the work of our partners.