Jona-Lynn, our oldest daughter, just returned from a mission trip to both Cambodia and Thailand.  With a team of twelve others from Nyack College, they were working with local NGOs (non-government organizations) whose mission it is to confront human trafficking and the sex trade.  Boys and girls as young as seven or eight are bought or stolen from their parents and forced into prostitution.  There is no lack of demand for their services, both from local men and sex tourists from the West. 
(check out what is being done  here: http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about/ )

I just got off of the phone with Jo, and my heart is broken just from her stories.  Male prostitutes who service men all day, then, to prove their masculininty, frequent brothels at night (The team actually took eight of these young men roller skating one night!), girls who are referred to by numbers instead of using their names, bars where the young girls wait totally nude for her next customer, young boys forced to dress as girls to fufill the fantasies of multiple sex tourists each night.  None of these people choose this lifestyle.  They are slaves.

At the same time, we had a reminder today that the average age of a girl's first sexual encounter (usually oral) in our country is between 12 and 13 years old.  Being a teacher of this age group for many years, I am convinced many of these girls are engaging in these behaviors to get approval and acceptance from boys their age or, more likely, older.  Usually, this need for approval and acceptance is a result of not getting those same needs met from their fathers.  So, while desperate men in rural Asia may be selling their daughters into prostitution, many American dads are doing the same through their neglect and absence. 

Solomon, in the book of Ecclesiastes, said there is nothing new under the sun.  While teaching a unit on the British Empire, I came across the fact that child prostitution was a common practice at that time, too.  We have seen the same trend everywhere on the globe throughout all history. 

We need to be educated about human trafficking in the world today.  There are companies that need to be boycotted.  There are ministries to be supported.  There are candidates and politicians who need to be grilled on their stances. There may even be opportunities for some of us to go in person.  We can pray.  We can educate others.  We can't be silent any longer.

Closer to home, men need to be the fathers their daughters and sons need them to be.  The job of parenting isn't optional once our children are born.  We must not bow down to contemporary idols such as cars, snow mobiles, sports, personal freedom, career, or 'the guys', and accept the responsibility - and joy - of the most important call anyone could ever have.  Our daughters, our sons, our families, our souls can not be for sale.