Giving Hope to Parents of Trafficked Daughters

“What does a 29-year-old man want with a 14-year-old child?” cried Cheryl!  

Imagine that your teenage daughter had become romantically involved with someone double her age? Now, consider that Cheryl was about to learn something even more troubling. The man was not simply looking for companionship from her daughter. Indeed, he viewed the girl as a commodity to be bought and sold in Canada’s sex trade. 

While such evil is hard to fathom, we were duly warned in the 3^rd chapter of 2^ndTimothy that ‘In the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money…They will consider nothing sacred…They will be cruel and hate what is good…and love pleasure rather than God.’ (NLT) 

Cheryl married young. The traumatic effect of her husband’s verbal and physical abuse seemed to impact their preschool daughter as much as it did Cheryl, herself. Not long after he left them, Cheryl allowed a boyfriend to move in. Though he wasn’t overtly abusive, the child was an annoyance in his eyes. Eventually, he moved on, as well. As the girl entered her teen years, the emotional impact of father abandonment became more apparent as she struggled with depression, anxiety, and oppositional behaviors. Neither of the men were present nor available when a human trafficker targeted her.       

Lifeworthy supports primary victims of human trafficking its ‘Daughters Help’ program. We also provide supportive community and spiritual care for their parents and other family members. SIM’s Lifeworthy Project took a bold step in 2016 in pioneering a program to support the secondary victims of human trafficking. That program is called ‘Parents Hope’.  

When parents reach out to us, they are typically, in great turmoil. Many exhibit signs of Secondary Traumatic Stress. They are sleep deprived and are consumed by fear, anger, and a sense of hopelessness. Some are faring so poorly that they are not able to maintain employment. They want to help their daughters but, given an opportunity, may be too confused and overwhelmed to make a difference. Approximately, half of the parents who reach out to Parents Hope are single mothers, just like Cheryl. 

The strength of our Parents Hope ministry is prayer. In addition to the sharing and teaching that happens in our support group meetings, we close with scripture reading and prayer for each one of the daughters. Many times, we’ve witnessed unusually positive outcomes that we can only attribute to God’s grace. Parents Hope has supported more than 120parents, to date, and we have seen many daughters leave their traffickers and return home. We invite you to join us in prayer as we continue to bring hope and help to families in distress. To join our prayer team, please reach out by email to info@lifeworthy.ca.