Can you think of many things more terrible than finding out a Catholic priest or an uncle has been taking advantage of his relationship with a young girl, in order to illegally and immorally use her for his sexual gratification?

It’s certainly hard to imagine much of anything worse.

To be sure, there are things that’re as bad, and potentially more so. I can readily think of some of them. Things like world wars, starving large portions of you country’s population to death when it has sufficient food to keep them alive and probably healthy; like sending millions to gas chambers and “ovens.”

Even so, the idea of a trusted member of one’s family, or authority of some sort, taking advantage of a youngster for their selfish, heinous activities is certainly near the top of the list.

But I wanted to take just a moment to talk about the difference between such occurrences, and human trafficking.

If you were to ask the question, “Are the two really different?” I would answer you with a resounding, “Yes!”

I want it understood though, I’m not doing that to belittle or diminish the horror of “untrafficked” sexual abuse. It’s no less evil for the fact that it’s not the same as human trafficking.

That said, the primary distinction I wish to draw, is that when one finds out about sexual abuse not related to trafficking, there’s recourse of various kinds—remedial and criminal actions that can be taken.

I want to acknowledge the importance of ensuring the abused person is secure in knowing they’ll not be ignored if they tell someone that abuse is occurring.

I’d also like to recognize that we’re experiencing what I believe can only be termed a crisis of unreported or under-reported, instances of abuse. This is a problem that screams for correction. And unsurprisingly, there are no easy answers. Of course, that doesn’t at all mean we don’t seek to uncover every case possible, and take proper action—not forgetting the need for due process.

Further, we need to look in serious ways, to find methods to help to restore the victim to wholeness (a thing, I accept may never entirely happen).

In most cases of human trafficking, no such resources are typically available. This is because the victims are often put in positions that make it virtually impossible for them to come into contact with anyone who cares.

Worse yet, the perpetrators of trafficking, masquerade as honest, decent human beings.

One need only look at people like Jeffery Epstein to see this is the case. The worst part? That there are others implicated in that scandal, who’re equally seen as stand-up individuals—pillars of their communities.

Lest you think I’m talking about people only on the left or right, know that it’s likely there were evildoers on all fronts.

Yet the Epstein case is one of the less problematic examples.

How many children have been kidnapped from the U. S., only to find themselves in an Asian or European country, locked in a place no better than a prison cell, in contact only with those having abducted them, the people to whom they were possibly “sold” and “clients” of those same horrible excuses for humanity?

If you think I’m only concerned about American children, you should know nothing is further from the truth. It shouldn’t matter one iota whence comes a child pressed into a life of servitude and abuse. It shouldn’t matter where they’re taken either.

I’m sure there’re a good many children from other countries, right here in the U. S., who expect never again to see the home they left behind.

It’s a moral stain on every society that hasn’t stopped this from occurring; and the more for those who have sufficient tools and methods to deal with it.

At some point recently, I saw a piece of data that insisted the average life span for a trafficked human being, was less than ten years. This horrible statistic helps to underline the seriousness of the problem.

Forget imagining it’s your child who’s being trafficked. Can you honestly say your heart doesn’t break for any and every child in such a situation, as well as the family they’ll likely never see again?

There’s no “good minimum number” for abuse over zero, but imagine a child who sees no end to the tragedy in which they find themselves the primary player. It’s this image that causes so many to concern themselves with trafficked individuals over those suffering “simple abuse.”

They’re none of them saying, “Oh, we can just ignore abuse, whether it happens only once or multiple times.” Rather, they exclaim (rightly), “Trafficked individuals see no end to their plight. This must be an extremely high priority.”

So though it’s a terrible thing, not to be shoved under the proverbial rug, that children are being abused, and where that needs definite, strong, attention, and it’s proper to say we must continually be in search of ways to stop this from happening, the nightmare of trafficking—and I should say for any purpose—is seen by many as an even higher priority.

If you’re confused into believing that those shouting from the rooftops about trafficking, are unconcerned about sexual or other abuse that happens just one time, you need to understand that it’s almost certainly never the case. It’s just that they’ve seen or been through something that causes them to be laser focused on a terrible problem that must be dealt with.

As a thought exercise, which is more important, child trafficking or premature birth?

Some will answer one, some the other. It’s not because they don’t care about the thing they don’t select. It’s a matter of seeing a cause as something in which you choose to be invested, and fully committing to that issue.

Is either wrong in their choice? I wouldn’t say so.

So remember, those working to end human trafficking aren’t belittling or disparaging those seeking to end domestic abuse or sexual abuse. I don’t expect those trying to stop domestic or sexual abuse are doing likewise when it comes to human trafficking. A person has only so much capacity, he or she must spend his or her time wisely and productively. That’s the long and short of the matter.

Thanks for reading, and may your time be good.