MODERN DAY DRAWBRIDGE

The exercise starts by telling the story of a girl named Aisha. Aisha gets involved with a bad boyfriend who begins grooming and ultimately pimping her out to men. Then we ask the participants to determine who they believe is at fault. Is it Aisha, because of her poor choice in men? Is it the boyfriend? Is it the church that didn’t help her? Is it her father who made her feel isolated?

It’s a great exercise, but it’s sobering to see how many of the participants place primary blame on the victim. We see this response across the board, even in the United States.

At the end of the training session, after the participants have a chance to soak in the facts and realize some of the misconceptions in the trafficking world, we run the exercise again, this time asking participants to rate, on a scale from 1 to 10, who is most to blame for Aisha’s circumstances.

We were encouraged to see that every group we trained significantly changed its perspective. Of course, there are always outliers who still place blame heavily on the victims, but we consider this incredible training opportunity a major win.

What an amazing experience to see that the people of Iraq are not only interested, but ready to learn about this crime and combat it in their own communities.

Note: We are bringing the professionalism, dedication and precision of our counter-sex trafficking operations in the U.S. and Cambodia to Iraq. If you want to learn more about ATP’s counter-sex trafficking work please visit victormarx.com/trafficking-solutions

LINDSEY WESTWOOD Director of Operations

ATP Hawaii had a busy 2022. We’d like to share highlights from a couple of holiday events to give people a small snapshot of what we do.

Easter and Christmas were special opportunities for ATP Hawaii to minister to young people receiving care at Pearl Haven Residential Treatment Facility.

Pearl Haven provides services for 11- to 17-yearolds who have experienced complex trauma or are diagnosed with serious emotional and behavioral disturbances (SEBD) as a result of likely sexual exploitation or trafficking. ATP Hawaii plays an active role in these troubled kids’ recovery by meeting with them weekly.

In April, ATP Hawaii hosted an Easter celebration for the youth. We provided catered food and a Christian illusionist performed for the kids. We even built a 7-foot wooden cross that we installed on the grounds.

During the event, we saw multiple commitments for Jesus and performed numerous baptisms. Those who were baptized also received ATP certificates.

In December, we delivered a special Christmas message to the residents and provided them with gifts.

In another outreach, this time at the Federal Detention Facility in Honolulu, we spent time speaking with several adult women who were incarcerated there.

In our plans for 2023, at Pearl Haven we will build a gazebo for the cross we installed, creating a designated space where residents will be able to come and pray. We will also host another Easter celebration and continue our weekly sessions with the residents.