News Archives - Women At Risk, International

It’s always been my dream…

Author: Liz, a survivor

Liz is a survivor of human sex trafficking. She was groomed and trafficked by a fake boyfriend in her teens. Thankfully, she escaped and is now married to a wonderful man, and they have 2 young boys.

In 2018, I started my clothing line Stolen Angels, Inc. One of my goals was to meet the Detroit Tigers and to partner with them or to be at their game to raise awareness. I wasn’t sure exactly why, but I knew I needed to connect with the Detroit Tigers (the baseball team of my childhood) and draw upon the influence they have in the community. I knew their influence was powerful and nobody was utilizing it. Plus, lots of MEN watch baseball, and I really wanted to reach men on the topic of human trafficking. Lots of trafficking can happen at sporting events (the Super Bowl, etc.) and I literally wanted to bring light smack dab in the middle of where it happens!

It’s always been my dream to be able to be at an actual game. Perhaps, even, one day to meet the team and let them know what a huge influence they have and the difference they are making. When I was doing my clothing line, I had rubber bracelets that had “Stolen Angels, anti-human trafficking advocate” on them. I emailed the community outreach for Detroit Tigers and asked if I could mail his team these bracelets for free. He said I could! So I mailed about forty bracelets to them, but then never heard anything more from them.

When I first heard Women At Risk, International (WAR, Int’l) representatives went to the field and the Tigers chose WAR, Int’l as their nonprofit for the July 12th game this year, I knew I had to be there! It was really awesome to be able to walk in those special doors with my wagon full of products made by rescued women. I almost felt as if I had the women sitting in the wagon with me and I was rolling them through the VIP entrance to have their work displayed for thousands to see.

I love working for an organization that thinks outside the box. Trafficking awareness shouldn’t be restricted to sitting behind a table at a flea market, but should be out in the community reaching the people, letting them know there is hope, there is help.

How will you get out in the community to share this message?

You never know, that woman that takes one of those flyers you’re handing out may be the next survivor that gets rescued because of YOU…

Learn about ways to get involved here.

I Saw What I Saw

RE: Circle Tour | Thailand
Author: Trip Attendee

The flashing neon lights. The pepto bismol pink taxi cabs. The congested streets where the flow of traffic overtakes the law of the road. The motorcycles and tuk-tuks that squeeze forward in between traffic, seemingly creating space where there is none. The bustling street life. The incredible markets. The rich tapestry of colors. The ornate architecture. The beautiful people. There’s so much that meets the eye here on the streets of Bangkok.

But there’s a dark side too. Human trafficking. Prostitution. Red-light districts. Women (and men) trapped in cycles of hopelessness, captives to all manner of exploitation. And that’s the whole reason we were there: to light a candle in the darkness, to embody the heart of our heavenly Father and wrap arms of love around wounded women as we laughed, cried, celebrated, and worshiped together.

At the banquet we hosted for 200 rescued women, I was seated at a table of giggling, excited young women. Except for one. This one tugged at the strings of my heart because in her I recognized my younger teenage self. She sat there with a wan half smile on her face that was missing from her eyes. As the other girls joined in the gaiety and scrambled for the prized contents of a now broken open pinata, she remained in her seat, seemingly paralyzed. Instinctively, I knew she needed an advocate, someone who would “fight” on her behalf. Never mind that I was usually the shy one who held back. I took her by the hand, and together we joined the mad dash. She meekly followed as I dove in to gather what scattered “goodies” I could find. As we returned to our places at the table, gifts in hand, I’ll never forget the look on her face. A flicker of light emanated in those lovely dark eyes and spread across her features, delight that she too was included in receiving the gifts she didn’t have the courage to seek out on her own. My heart broke for this young woman because I wanted her to know she was worth fighting for. I wanted her to know she was worth receiving good gifts. I wanted her to know her portion was life, not death, and there were people who would stand in the gap for her when she couldn’t find the strength for herself. I can only hope and pray that my simple gesture was one small key to her discovering these truths for herself.

Later in the trip while visiting an orphanage for at-risk girls, I was seated beside one young girl, her arm intertwined with mine as she traced my hand with her own. Without a word, she slipped a simple ring off her finger and placed it on mine, then gently placed my hand back in my lap, nodding as if to say, “This is for you.” I was stunned by such a gift, and it is something I have kept treasured to this day. It is a reminder to me of a little girl with a heart so full of warmth and generosity that she gave me, a stranger and a foreigner, a deeply personal gift from what little she had to call her own. That ring was a gift of her heart, and it deeply touched me. It moves me still.

Recounting these experiences, I am reminded of a song by Sara Groves that has stayed with me from the first time I heard it years ago.

I saw what I saw and I can’t forget it
I heard what I heard and I can’t go back
I know what I know and I can’t deny it

Something on the road, cut me to the soul

Your pain has changed me
your dreams inspire
your face a memory
your hope a fire
your courage asks me what I’m afraid of
(what I’m made of)
and what I know of love

When you encounter the suffering of others, you can turn away and deny its existence, or you can allow it to forever change you and the course of your life. Meeting these women face to face changed me in a way I struggle to describe. Even though we could not speak the same language, we became a sisterhood. They were no longer stories that I had heard or read about. I saw their faces. We embraced each other. We cried together. We laughed together. In them I could see glimpses of myself. You cannot walk away from that unchanged. I went on this trip intending to be a blessing, and in return I was so much more abundantly blessed than I could have ever imagined. And I have never been the same since.

Across language barriers, across time zones and cultural divides, love bridges the gap. Love speaks louder than words. And it is love that has the power to change you. I hope you let the same love that changed me, change you. And you will see the ripple effect of how that love will reach out into the lives of those around you and change the world one single life at a time.

Learn about Circle Tour 2026 here!

Works Cited:
Groves, Sara. “I Saw What I Saw.” Sara Groves, 2007, www.saragroves.com/song-lyrics/i-saw-what-i-saw

Myths that Perpetuate Trafficking | Part Three

Myths that Perpetuate Trafficking (and Facts that Break Chains)

Part Three in a three-part series

Today, at least 50 million people are enslaved by the evil that is human trafficking. Though it is frequently punishable by law, the horrific realities are often hidden behind closed doors. To make matters worse, the shadowy nature of human trafficking contributes to many misunderstandings which allow the industry to thrive. In the spirit of National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, here are a few myths that confuse and hinder the efforts to combat human trafficking in our own communities, nationally, and across the globe.

It is of note that this is not an exhaustive list.

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Myth: There’s nothing you individually can do about trafficking.

Fact: There are many actions you can take as an individual within a community to reduce the risk of trafficking and the number of people being trafficked. Educating your community on tell-tale signs of trafficking and where trafficking risks abound is incredibly important. Women At Risk, International provides a number of resources to help individuals combat trafficking, including a tip hotline and materials on how to recognize the signs of trafficking, who to contact if you recognize areas of concern, and how to build relationships and trust in order to build and maintain circles of protection within those communities.

Myth: Most victims are kidnapped or forced into sex trafficking.

Fact: One of three trafficking victims are runaways, but only three percent of trafficking victims are kidnapped as part of their induction into the industry. Over ninety percent of victims know or are in community with their traffickers, and traffickers frequently trick their victims into the sex trade by offering them better jobs or more consistent work. More recently, traffickers are using older “cool” girls at school to recruit younger girls into sex slavery. This can take a number of forms, but it is particularly important for parents to know where their children are and to make sure their children know that they (the parents) will give them a ride home at any time.

Myth: Only pretty girls are trafficked or only poor girls are trafficked.

Fact: Anyone can become a victim of trafficking. Traffickers are experienced at targeting marginalized youth and will go after anyone who they think will be an easy target. Targeting of vulnerable youth has been on the rise in recent years, as has targeting of physically and mentally challenged youth or adults. To give an example of the latter, if a girl has the body of an eighteen-year-old but the mind of a five-year-old, she’s incredibly vulnerable. Poverty is certainly an at-risk demographic, but the flip side is that materialism in upper-middle-class families can be a powerful lever in endangering girls in those families who want luxury items but can’t or don’t want to put in the hours necessary to earn them.

Myth: You don’t need to explain the dangers of trafficking to protect your children.
Fact: Failing to explain risks and signs that put them at risk endangers children and reduces their ability to be aware and protect themselves. Keeping them in the dark may “keep them innocent,” but in the words of one survivor, her parents’ silence ultimately made her more stupid than innocent. In the age of the internet, children will receive messaging about sex and sexuality far earlier than they should, and it is on parents to ensure that their children’s first education comes from them, rather than less reputable sources. Informing your children also enables them to know what the risk factors in their friends’ lives are, expanding the circle of protection to include even more of the community.

Join us in facing the reality and breaking the chains of modern slavery!

Attend a Civilian First Responder Training Conference to learn how you can rise up against trafficking.

Host a pop-up boutique to educate your community and support survivors on their healing journeys.

Read Part One in the series here.

Read Part Two in the series here.

From the Desk of the Founder: Juneteenth

From the desk of Rebecca McDonald, founder & president of Women At Risk, International (WAR, Int’l):

WAR, Int’l and our nation observe Juneteenth to celebrate the end of legal slavery in our great nation. Brother took up weapons under Abraham Lincoln’s direction against brother. In fact, my husband’s family did just that. A northern soldier took up arms against a southern brother. Years ago, we took a Bengali man to see Gettysburg. He was stunned that brothers fought brothers for those neither was related to. In Islam and Asia, families disagree, but for a family to fight family for non-family was stunning. It was interesting to see our civil war through his eyes.

Juneteenth is a powerful reminder of how far our nation has come.

That is the good news….now the bad news. Today, we still have staggering illegal slavery. We got rid of legal slavery. We did not get rid of racism. We still have a long way to go on that. But today we have an illegal slavery, human trafficking, that is the fastest growing crime in our nation. Our children, minors, are the primary target, with the government estimating (pre-2020) that we have up to 300,000 American minors (not over 18…not foreigners in this count) at risk annually. These are your daughters and sons, my grandbabies, with constitutional rights. Yet, we rarely talk about this.

So, this Juneteenth, I personally am calling for both a Lament and a Hope.

We are called to “rejoice with those who rejoice” and “mourn with those who mourn.” Juneteenth invites us to do both. Lament is not despair. It is a form of prayer against injustice. We are called to honestly grieve the staggering evil of slavery and its lasting impact. We lament the reality that the promise of freedom was and is destroyed for so many. We bring this sorrow to mind, heart, meditation, and prayer. We acknowledge the brokenness of both the past and the present.

Lament and Hope lead to action and a path to unity.

Holding both Lament and Hope moves us to act. It is a call looking back to listen to the stories of our Black brothers and sisters, to see if we need to repent of our own biases we may not even be aware of, and to actively build bridges of understanding that reflect a heart of love. Our Hope is anchored in the character of a good God who delivered His people from Egypt, proclaiming freedom.

On Juneteenth, we celebrate the incredible faith and resilience of those who endured.

We find hope in the truth that the broken can find healing. To practice Lament and Hope, we commit to pursue justice, love mercy, and walk humbly to set captives free. WAR, Int’l openly celebrates freedom and quietly salutes the thousands of men, women, and children who find freedom through our efforts and those of our partners. Their stories of rescue are sacred and confidential. We have set free those as young as three-weeks-old, one-month-old, seventeen-years-old, and countless others set free to heal, hope, and rebuild their lives one day at a time in their own way and with a circle of protection around them.

This Juneteenth, I embrace both the grief of lament and the joy of hope.

Equip Yourself to Recognize and Respond to Human Trafficking

Be the One Who Knows: Equip Yourself to Recognize and Respond to Human Trafficking

Women At Risk, International (WAR, Int’l) invites you to attend our upcoming Civilian First Responder (CFR) Training Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on Saturday, October 25, 2025. This essential, one-day training is designed to equip everyday individuals with the tools to identify, understand, and respond to human trafficking within their communities.
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Why Attend the CFR Training Conference?

Human trafficking is a pervasive crime, often hidden in plain sight. Traffickers prey on the vulnerable, manipulating their needs and circumstances for exploitation. At WAR, Int’l, we believe that awareness is the first step to action. This conference will help participants “see the unseen,” understand the complex nature of trafficking, and learn how to be a voice of protection and restoration.

By attending, you become part of a broader movement to prevent exploitation and support survivors in meaningful, life-changing ways.
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Conference Highlights

● Date & Time: Saturday, October 25, 2025, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM EST

● Location: WAR, Int’l Headquarters – 2790 44th St SW, Wyoming, MI 49519

● Registration Fee: $35 (includes lunch and training materials)

● Registration Deadline: October 22, 2025

● Register Here
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What to Expect

The day is carefully structured to maximize both learning and impact. Sessions will be led by Rebecca McDonald, founder and president of WAR, Int’l, along with law enforcement professionals, survivor leaders, and other subject- matter experts.

Session One | This opening session introduces the current reality of trafficking in the United States. Participants will learn why it is critical for all civilians to understand what trafficking looks like and how it functions in our communities. The session includes a survivor testimony that brings this issue into sharp, personal focus.

Session Two | This session will examine the 22 lures commonly used by predators and 21 trafficking flashpoints. Participants will also explore demographic patterns specific to Western Michigan and review Homeland Security’s guidelines for civilian responders. Stories shared in this session include interviews with law enforcement, Homeland Security, and survivor accounts, including a case in which a single phone call led to a woman’s rescue.

Lunch Break | A catered lunch is included with registration.

Breakout Sessions | Attendees will choose from various focused breakout sessions led by professionals who work directly in anti-trafficking efforts.

Session Three | This session focuses on practical application—what to do when trafficking is suspected, how to have safe and appropriate conversations with children, and how to serve as a trustworthy advocate for the vulnerable. It concludes with participant-submitted questions collected throughout the day.

Q&A Panel | The conference concludes with a live Q&A session featuring a panel of speakers, survivors, and subject- matter experts. Questions gathered throughout the day will be addressed, allowing for deeper insight and direct engagement with the presenters.

TAKE ACTION

Attending the CFR Training Conference is more than an educational opportunity—it is a tangible step toward protecting the vulnerable and preventing exploitation. You will leave not only informed but also empowered to respond with confidence, compassion, and clarity.

If you cannot attend in person, consider exploring our Digital Civilian First Responder Program to access training on your own schedule.

Together, we can stand as a circle of protection around those at risk. Join us as we bring awareness, prevention, and hope to our communities.