Over 150 Years Later

January is National Human Trafficking Awareness Month

“That on the first day of January, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State…shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.”

In 1863 in the midst of the brutal Civil War, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed the freedom of 3.1 million slaves in the United States with the bold words of the Emancipation Proclamation.

A century and a half later, slavery is not effectively abolished in the United States, nor in any other nation of the world. An estimated 50 million people live in bondage worldwide. The United States is among the top three countries of origin of victims of human trafficking. Forced labor, sex trafficking, child marriage, organ trafficking—human trafficking comes in many forms, but in the end, it means the oppression and exploitation of another.

In 2010, as awareness of human trafficking grew, and the crime itself increasingly penetrated homes and U.S. neighborhoods, President Obama dedicated the month of January to raising awareness about trafficking and providing educational resources to the public, with the intent of leveraging the average civilian in the fight against modern slavery.

The month also brings attention to the governments, organizations, law enforcement, advocates, and other entities that provide a voice and resistance to trafficking.

Women At Risk, International (WAR, Int’l) proudly joins this civilian force, lending our hands, voice, hearts, and resources to liberating and protecting wounded and vulnerable women, men, and children. Joining with partners worldwide we reach out to those entrapped; we offer paths to hope, healing, and dignity to survivors; and we teach and train at-risk and rescued women, empowering them to provide for themselves and their families.

To give a glimpse into the scope of what we face, here are a few statistics:

· Human trafficking is estimated to be the third largest criminal enterprise in the world.

· Worldwide, forced labor generates an estimated $236 billion annually. Forced commercial sexual exploitation accounts for about $173 billion.

· In 2021, G20 countries imported $468 billion worth of goods potentially produced using modern slavery.

· Global challenges such as conflict, drought, disease, and climate change create significant risk factors for human trafficking.

· Sexual exploitation accounts for 79% of human trafficking.

· Almost 20% of trafficking victims worldwide are children.

Numbers such as these should not coexist with ignorance or apathy. While there are many organizations that exist to tackle one aspect or another of modern slavery, the need far, far outweighs the resources. What can one person do? Plenty. One person may not solve the global issue, but one person can change lives forever. So what can one person reading this blog do?

Start with one of these options:

· Take WAR, Int’l’s Civilian First Responder Training Course, online or in-person. These courses teach you how to recognize signs of trafficking in your community, how to respond to and report suspicious activity, how to create a circle of protection around the vulnerable, and how to spread awareness.

· Sponsor a Rose | This Galentine’s season, honor a woman’s courage and resilience by sponsoring a rose in support of the 911 Rescue Fund at Women At Risk, International. Learn more here.

Each sponsored rose represents a life being rescued from exploitation and a step toward freedom, healing, and hope. Your gift helps provide emergency care, shelter, transportation and other immediate needs for women and children escaping crisis situations around the world.

· Volunteer with WAR, Int’l. Last year volunteers donated 5,122 hours of service, allowing $61,464 to go back to the organization’s mission.

· Host a Shop with Purpose Boutique. $300 supports a woman in one of our international safehouses for one month. These boutiques are an important means of raising this money.

· Donate to WAR, Int’l, to a fund of your choosing or where it is needed most.

· Visit our website to find more ideas. There are many ways to get involved with WAR, Int’l in our fight against human trafficking, and our war for the precious lives at stake.

As she wrote in her journal watching the world as she knew it crumble under evil, and uncertain whether she would survive the dark time, Anne Frank wrote, “Look at how a single candle can both defy and define the darkness.”

The darkness is heavy, but you can be a light in your community. And, if you choose, the world.

USTC: United States Training Center

January, as National Human Trafficking Awareness Month, serves to not only encourage education and concern about the problem of trafficking, but to drive solutions and civilian involvement. It would be nice to think that once a woman is removed from the trafficking situation, rescue is complete. That is, however, far from being true. Trafficking leaves not only, in many cases, physical injury–but it creates deep mental and emotional chasms in the survivor.

To complete the rescue–to keep a woman from returning to a pattern of exploitation, as well as healing a wounded mentality–each woman needs to know she is worthy, capable, and ready to take on life as a whole person. To that end, Women At Risk, International (WAR, Int’l) operates the United States Training Center (USTC), combatting perhaps the most serious harm of the crime of trafficking–the theft of personhood–and creates new hope, new patterns, and new life.

What is the USTC?
The USTC is one of the most exciting manifestations of WAR, Int’l in our mission to educate, enable, and empower at-risk and trafficked women. The United States government estimates that, every year, over 300,000 minors are at risk of trafficking within the United States, not counting those trafficked into the United States from other countries. Located near WAR, Int’l’s global headquarters in Grand Rapids, Michigan, the USTC is a place where at-risk and rescued American women find meaningful employment and a means by which to rebuild their lives through artisanal work and meaningful support.

How did the USTC originate?
The USTC originated when the Grand Rapids headquarters of WAR, Int’l was only meant to be a home base for operating overseas missions. According to founder and president Rebecca McDonald, “we had women running in to escape their traffickers, and I couldn’t say that we care about this out in the world but not right here with [them]. We had to step into that space.” As a result, the vision for the USTC, a building where women could come to both feel safe and find safe employment, was born.

How does the USTC operate today?
Designed to give as much privacy and dignity to women as possible, the USTC is a multi-purpose space used to support and empower women. There is a kitchen, workshop space for the women employed by the USTC to practice their craft, and separate areas used by WAR, Int’l for a variety of events. Rebecca McDonald considers the USTC to be holy ground in the work that it does for at-risk and rescued women and frequently refers to it as a sacred space.

Women employed by the USTC have meaningful employment and are themselves artisans. Each of these designations has further reaching implications. Not only are they able to earn a living for themselves – and their children if they have them – but it becomes a point of pride that they are able to call themselves artisans and create beautiful pieces of wearable art. Furthermore, following their period of employment at the USTC, they have a legitimate entry on their resumes and acquired skills that they can apply toward their next place of employment.

What is Encompassed Creations?
Encompassed Creations is the brand under which all products at the USTC are created. The Encompassed Creations logo is a compass, with the directional letters at the points of the compass forming the following acronym from the brand’s tagline: Nurturing and Empowering Women toward Sustainability. A wide variety of products are made under this label at the USTC. In addition to jewelry – a significant proportion of the product generated by the women who work in the USTC – Encompassed Creations also includes candles, ornaments, the occasional trinket, and a spa line that includes hand-poured, cold-process soaps, body lotions, bath salts, face wash, and beard oil.

How can I get involved in the USTC’s vision?
There are a variety of ways in which you can promote and support the vision cast by the USTC: namely, you can uplift and support women as they reclaim their lives, livelihoods, and dignity. The best ways to support the artisans of the USTC are to shop their products, spread awareness, and encourage others to do the same.

Hosting a Shop with Purpose Boutique is a wonderful way to support the artisans of the USTC! A Shop with Purpose Boutique is an opportunity to bring the chance to buy USTC products in person to your community without traveling to our brick-and-mortar boutique location in Grand Rapids. WAR, Int’l does everything in its power to make hosting these boutiques – which spread awareness of the USTC’s mission in addition to supporting its artisans in the work of their hands – as easy as possible. For more information, or to sign up to host a boutique, click here.

Why are they important?

Pop-Up Boutiques: Why are they important?

Here are three important responses to that question:

(1) $300 in sales hosts a woman in one of our international safehouses for a month.
(2) Rescue has happened at them, read below.
(3) Product sales mean empowerment providing income to rescued & at-risk women.

Contact us today at 616-855-0796 or Party@WARInternational.org to host a pop-up boutique!

WAR, Int’l events are more than shopping at our pop-up boutiques to empower at-risk and rescued individuals or presentations to learn ways to fight trafficking. They have birthed stories of rescue. Here are two of those stories.

A Little Girl Saved

Our hostess shared the following story: “Pamela, an event attendee, came up to me tonight at our meeting and told me that she is an officer of the court. Pamela said that after our WAR, Int’l presentation, she remembered the signs of trafficking discussed and she remembered a man with a young girl in court. The man had the passport and did all the talking while the girl held her head down the entire time. Pamela was able to get a message to the judge. After questioning them, the court confirmed the girl was being trafficked. Your presentation was used to save someone! Thank you for all you do!”

A Pop-Up turns into a Rescue

At WAR, Int’l we often say, “one call can save a life.” While this usually brings to mind emergency calls or hotline tips, sometimes a simple call about hosting an event can also lead to rescue.

Valerie from Atlanta made such a call. Many years ago, she attended a women’s conference where WAR, Int’l Founder and President Rebecca McDonald spoke about Atlanta’s trafficking crisis. Inspired, Valerie kept a WAR, Int’l brochure tucked in a book & forgotten… until six years later, when she rediscovered it. Feeling prompted to act, she contacted her women’s ministry leader and arranged to sell WAR, Int’l products at a retreat.

When asked to speak about trafficking at the event, Valerie agreed. She also sponsored a young woman who couldn’t afford to attend. During Valerie’s talk, the sponsored woman bravely shared her ongoing story of abuse, addiction, and exploitation. She confessed she was being trafficked and used to recruit others—and she wanted out.

The women surrounded her with prayer, hope, and practical help. Ministry leaders found her a safe place to stay and connected her with resources for her journey to freedom.

In rehab, supported by Valerie and others, the survivor thrived in the program, even expressing a desire to help others escape exploitation someday.

Contact us today at 616-855-0796 or Party@WARInternational.org to host a pop-up boutique!

Whether it’s a necklace or a goat, these guides turn every gift into hope.

Our Creative Gifting Guide | Make a difference through your giving as you #GiftWithPurpose for the loved ones in your life. Together, we will lift lives to dignity!

Shopping Guide: Festive & Timeless | Hope-filled and ready for you. This holiday, give gifts that last—festive, meaningful collections that empower lives with purpose.

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.