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Children are sold daily to the highest bidder. They are abducted, kidnapped, raped, beaten...'broken in' for their new life of servicing men for their perverse pleasure. It is an ugly, despicable topic. There really isn't a good time to talk about it. It is an epidemic that seems without hope of being conquered. It happens everywhere...not everywhere but here. No, it happens everywhere.

As educated as we need to be about drugs and alcohol we need to be educated about human trafficking. It is real and it exists simply because there is a demand for it. It is a sordid but profitable business for the trafficker. Not only do we need to be educated in order to protect our children but we also need to be educated in how to recognize a person or child who may be a victim. We need to be looking out for each other.

You may not feel that it is your place to look out for someone else...until that someone else becomes your son, daughter, niece, nephew, grandchild, or child of a friend. Do we really need to wait until it becomes personal before we educate ourselves? Most of the learning can take place from home and online. Talk to people who work in the rescue and recovery of trafficked victims. Host a speaker at your church or other organization.

Educate your children. When it is age appropriate, introduce them to documentaries, survivor stories and other information that can only help to empower them. If we keep this topic in the dark it will only grow and flourish.

Don't look away simply because you don't want to think that kind of evil can exist. It exist with or without your believing. It just becomes more powerful when we, who know to do good, do nothing.

Finally, sex trafficking is not the only form of trafficking but, to me, it is the most heinous assault against its victims.