City in Focus: New York City, USA
PRAYER BRIEFING
America has a reputation as a haven for immigrants. For more than a century, New York City has stood as the gateway to a land of promise and unprecedented freedom for millions of people seeking a better life. But today, human trafficking undermines the reputation of New York City as a city of freedom and spits in the face of liberty by enslaving thousands of women every year.
New York City, just by virtue of being a large and diverse city, emphasizes one of the most striking symptoms of modern-day slavery: its hiddenness. Human Trafficking is slavery in plain sight, in view of a thousand passers-by. And one of the main reasons trafficking stays invisible is that the victims themselves will often not report these crimes.
When a woman is trafficked into New York City from another country (typically Eastern Europe or South East Asia), she faces many barricades to freedom. Everything is foreign to her– the language, the culture, the laws. She is trapped in a life of deceit that is propagated continually by men who leverage her foreignness against her. She is told that the police would not believe her even if she escaped to them. Worst of all, in a twist on America’s rich heritage that is grimly ironic, she knows that to be rescued by the police means almost certain deportation, something she fears just as much as being beaten by her captor.
But most victims in New York City are not trafficked internationally. Experts estimate that ten times as many women and children are trafficked from within American borders than from without. The problems domestic victims deal with, however, are similar. Victims don’t report when they’re being sold by a pimp (an American trafficker) because they don’t view themselves as victims. Victims don’t even call a pimp a pimp; they call him their “boyfriend” or even their “daddy.” If a young woman won’t admit she’s a victim typically she’s beyond the reach of social services to help, even though the average age of a woman entering prostitution is just 13 years old.
SCRIPTURE FOCUS
For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; Astonishment has taken hold of me.
- Jeremiah 8:21
PRAYER POINTS
- Pray for revival to spring up in New York City.
- Pray for righteous legislation and the wisdom of God to penetrate the social work systems so that victims can be helped.
- Pray for anointed aftercare services that will deliver these women mind, soul, body, and spirit.
