Child of God
by Steve Siler
Music for the Soul
I paint on the face
I strap on the heels
I shut down my heart so it won’t have to feel
the hands that don’t know me all over my skin
and the eyes that don’t love me drinking me in
Under this make up
I’m black and blue
The petals were crushed before I could bloom
I didn’t choose this
No one ever would
And I’d break these chains if only I could
I’m a child of God
I hide in plain sight
I’m a child of God
Slave to the night
Powerless, broken, abandoned, abused
Do you see a child of God
Or just a prostitute?
The world looks away and calls me a whore
and each day I die just a little bit more
A disposable person to keep at arms length
Human trash…
Is that what you think?
I’m a child of God
I hide in plain sight
I’m a child of God
Slave to the night
Powerless, broken, abandoned, abused
Do you see a child of God
Or just a prostitute?
What I’ve become is not who I am
We both were created by the very same hand
I’m a child of God
I hide in plain sight
I’m a child of God
This isn’t right
See my humanity
Look for the truth
I am a child of God
I am a child of God
Not a prostitute
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Monday, November 8, 2010
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Genre: Advise Column
Dear Abby,
I was a victim of sex trafficking when I was fourteen years old. I am now seventeen and am having difficulties moving on with my life. What can I do to help me get through this pain?
-Victim
Dear Victim,
A sex-abuse therapist and a spiritual director familiar with this type of abuse are helpful in the healing process. In addition, it is vital for the victim and her family to find the support of someone who has lived through a sittuation of your matter, because it is unlikely you will find support in their current circle of friends since they do not know what you are going through.
-Abby
I was a victim of sex trafficking when I was fourteen years old. I am now seventeen and am having difficulties moving on with my life. What can I do to help me get through this pain?
-Victim
Dear Victim,
A sex-abuse therapist and a spiritual director familiar with this type of abuse are helpful in the healing process. In addition, it is vital for the victim and her family to find the support of someone who has lived through a sittuation of your matter, because it is unlikely you will find support in their current circle of friends since they do not know what you are going through.
-Abby
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Genre: How to Help a Sex Slave Manual
1. Become aware of the extent of sexual slavery throughout the world.
2. Decide that you are going to help.
3. Join Meetup.com and look for groups around the world that are already joined together to help put a stop to human trafficking and sexual slavery.
4. Learn about the various bills going through your local, state and federal governments that relate to human trafficking.
5. Do research on the topic and share your information with the public.
6. Refuse to support establishments in your area like brothels, sex clubs or bars where "exotic dancers" perform.
2. Decide that you are going to help.
3. Join Meetup.com and look for groups around the world that are already joined together to help put a stop to human trafficking and sexual slavery.
4. Learn about the various bills going through your local, state and federal governments that relate to human trafficking.
5. Do research on the topic and share your information with the public.
6. Refuse to support establishments in your area like brothels, sex clubs or bars where "exotic dancers" perform.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Genre: Advertisement
Stilettos: $60
Dress: $50
Necklace: $30
The life of a sex trafficking victim: Priceless
There’s some things money can’t buy
For everything else there’s MasterCard
Dress: $50
Necklace: $30
The life of a sex trafficking victim: Priceless
There’s some things money can’t buy
For everything else there’s MasterCard
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Research Log #5
Farley, Melissa. "Aboriginal Survivor from AWAN, Vancouver ." Prostitution
Research & Education. PRE, 1998-2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.
http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/survivor_writings/000245.html.
The article, “Aboriginal Survivor from AWAN, Vancouver”,
was about a woman who had to move to Vancouver because he mother had died and she was being put into foster homes there. She said that she felt bad for her foster mom trying to live pay check to pay check every month. She met a boy who became her boyfriend. After awhile he persuaded her to prostitute so her family would have more money. She didn’t know that her current boyfriend would soon become her pimp. After she had been in prostitution for awhile she turned to drugs and alcohol. Her pimp convinced her that no one else would ever want her because she was now worthless and sadly she believed him and kept going along with what he told her to do. She turned to an organization that gave her no hope and that confirmed her destiny of prostitution. She was abused sexually and physically on the streets by knives and guns from so many men. She said that she was always hearing about women who were on the streets going missing and being murdered. She also said that many of her friends didn’t get to tell their story because they were found dead before they were able to speak out. There have been many suicides due to being a sex slave. Most women think it’s their only way out. At the time there were no programs the woman had known about for help to exit the streets. She claims prostitution is one of the oldest professions and it should not be left for the children to take care of it once they have to. Finally she ran away from her foster home and found a women in the feminist movement who helped her realize she was a woman and had rights and her destiny was not to be a prostitute.
A huge problem in this article is that the woman talked about how frequent is was not just how the women were sex slaves, but also about death. So many of these women’s lives turns out to be death weather or not if they take their own life or someone else takes it from them. The violence that she explained and what was normal for a prostitute to go through daily is so scary and no woman or anyone for that matter should ever have to go through what she and all the other prostitutes she knew went through. TO hear that a lot of woman feel like there’s nothing they can do to fix their lives and they are ruined forever, and to feel that the only thing to turn to is killing themselves is just horrible. Sex trafficking needs to stop and we as a nation need to work on it so our children and their children’s children do not have to endure the things these woman do today.
Research & Education. PRE, 1998-2010. Web. 13 Oct. 2010.
http://www.prostitutionresearch.com/survivor_writings/000245.html.
The article, “Aboriginal Survivor from AWAN, Vancouver”,
was about a woman who had to move to Vancouver because he mother had died and she was being put into foster homes there. She said that she felt bad for her foster mom trying to live pay check to pay check every month. She met a boy who became her boyfriend. After awhile he persuaded her to prostitute so her family would have more money. She didn’t know that her current boyfriend would soon become her pimp. After she had been in prostitution for awhile she turned to drugs and alcohol. Her pimp convinced her that no one else would ever want her because she was now worthless and sadly she believed him and kept going along with what he told her to do. She turned to an organization that gave her no hope and that confirmed her destiny of prostitution. She was abused sexually and physically on the streets by knives and guns from so many men. She said that she was always hearing about women who were on the streets going missing and being murdered. She also said that many of her friends didn’t get to tell their story because they were found dead before they were able to speak out. There have been many suicides due to being a sex slave. Most women think it’s their only way out. At the time there were no programs the woman had known about for help to exit the streets. She claims prostitution is one of the oldest professions and it should not be left for the children to take care of it once they have to. Finally she ran away from her foster home and found a women in the feminist movement who helped her realize she was a woman and had rights and her destiny was not to be a prostitute.
A huge problem in this article is that the woman talked about how frequent is was not just how the women were sex slaves, but also about death. So many of these women’s lives turns out to be death weather or not if they take their own life or someone else takes it from them. The violence that she explained and what was normal for a prostitute to go through daily is so scary and no woman or anyone for that matter should ever have to go through what she and all the other prostitutes she knew went through. TO hear that a lot of woman feel like there’s nothing they can do to fix their lives and they are ruined forever, and to feel that the only thing to turn to is killing themselves is just horrible. Sex trafficking needs to stop and we as a nation need to work on it so our children and their children’s children do not have to endure the things these woman do today.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Research Log #4
India: The Sex Workers. PBS Frontline , 2004. Frontline World. Web. 12 Oct.
2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/
generic.html?s=frow03p359>.
The documentary I watched, India: Sex Workers, was a document with young women who had escaped the life of sex trafficking and also interviewed women who were choosing to be prostitutes. Mumbai, India has over 60,000 sex workers which makes then number one in their country. They have AIDS and HIV crisis all throughout their city which threatens the lives of many. The young girls are the most valuable commodity. Many customers will pay a lot more to pimps if they get a younger girl. In interviews with some young girls who had escaped the life of a sex trafficker, many had mentioned that they were sold by a family member to a pimp. One girl had said it wasn’t her dad’s fault that he sold her because he was on drugs and he didn’t know what he was doing. Many of the young girls at the rescue shelter, where they are all living now because families don’t take back their kids after they’ve been in prostitution, had no clue what AIDS and HIV were and had never even heard of them. Many pimps try to keep their workers from not knowing of such things because the customers hate to wear condoms and pay more not to wear them. The pimps certainly do not care about the health of these girls they just care about the money. Prostitution is illegal in Mumbai but the victims said that the police only make situations worse for them because they arrest them, keep them for their sexual pleasure, and don’t let them leave until they can pay them off. One girl had said she once tried to escape in the beginning but her pimp caught her and then chained her up tight to where she bled. Another said that when she was captured along with six other girls, the ones who almost escaped were found and had their ears cut off and then were brutally killed.
It’s hard to hear these stories and to think what would you do if you were in their shoes. When they see others who try and escape being brutally tortured then murdered, I can see why it is hard for many to think escaping is even an option. When many know so little about these diseases, it puts the country at risk because people go to other cities and spread the diseases without knowing or no caring. I don’t get why pimps would let this happen when the easy prevention is to just use condoms. Especially when they may know someone or a family member with the disease. It is crazy to think that these women have no one to turn to for example they can’t even trust their own policemen to do the right thing. It would more likely make them accept the life they live as a sex worker because they can’t be saved or can’t escape.
This documentary seemed very reliable was very nice to be able to listen to the victims that had escaped the life of a sex worker. To listen and hear their own point of view and not from another persons. It made it sadder having to look at the victims and listen to the things they explained but it was a good resource.
2010. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/video/flv/
generic.html?s=frow03p359>.
The documentary I watched, India: Sex Workers, was a document with young women who had escaped the life of sex trafficking and also interviewed women who were choosing to be prostitutes. Mumbai, India has over 60,000 sex workers which makes then number one in their country. They have AIDS and HIV crisis all throughout their city which threatens the lives of many. The young girls are the most valuable commodity. Many customers will pay a lot more to pimps if they get a younger girl. In interviews with some young girls who had escaped the life of a sex trafficker, many had mentioned that they were sold by a family member to a pimp. One girl had said it wasn’t her dad’s fault that he sold her because he was on drugs and he didn’t know what he was doing. Many of the young girls at the rescue shelter, where they are all living now because families don’t take back their kids after they’ve been in prostitution, had no clue what AIDS and HIV were and had never even heard of them. Many pimps try to keep their workers from not knowing of such things because the customers hate to wear condoms and pay more not to wear them. The pimps certainly do not care about the health of these girls they just care about the money. Prostitution is illegal in Mumbai but the victims said that the police only make situations worse for them because they arrest them, keep them for their sexual pleasure, and don’t let them leave until they can pay them off. One girl had said she once tried to escape in the beginning but her pimp caught her and then chained her up tight to where she bled. Another said that when she was captured along with six other girls, the ones who almost escaped were found and had their ears cut off and then were brutally killed.
It’s hard to hear these stories and to think what would you do if you were in their shoes. When they see others who try and escape being brutally tortured then murdered, I can see why it is hard for many to think escaping is even an option. When many know so little about these diseases, it puts the country at risk because people go to other cities and spread the diseases without knowing or no caring. I don’t get why pimps would let this happen when the easy prevention is to just use condoms. Especially when they may know someone or a family member with the disease. It is crazy to think that these women have no one to turn to for example they can’t even trust their own policemen to do the right thing. It would more likely make them accept the life they live as a sex worker because they can’t be saved or can’t escape.
This documentary seemed very reliable was very nice to be able to listen to the victims that had escaped the life of a sex worker. To listen and hear their own point of view and not from another persons. It made it sadder having to look at the victims and listen to the things they explained but it was a good resource.
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