Today, tens of millions of people are trapped in human trafficking and exploitation in every country of the world. In response, SIM established For Freedom, our anti-trafficking and exploitation ministry, in 2017.

For Freedom equips SIM teams, workers and ministry partners to help prevent human trafficking and exploitation by reducing root causes of vulnerability. Churches are empowered to address the needs of the most vulnerable in communities where Christ is least known. Karine (SIM Australia) and Sarah (SIM New Zealand) co-lead the ministry that is designed to equip SIM workers to respond globally to people who are at-risk of being trafficked as part of our Biblical mandate.

“God has told us to love Him with all our heart, mind and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves,” Karine shared. “If we think about what loving our neighbours means today, it looks like loving those who are on the margins and who are in vulnerable spaces. This includes those who are at risk of being trafficked and exploited.”

“We need to have a Biblical perspective as God tells us and told the Israelites so many times to look out for the orphan, the widow, the immigrant and the poor. Today, those are the very same people who are most at risk of being trafficked as Christians in this century. We need to pay attention to those same groups of people who are at risk of grave injustice.”

For Freedom offers training and resources so that our mission workers can understand the risks the people they minister to face in their day-to-day lives. Our workers are then equipped to conduct their ministries in a way that addresses some of the risks vulnerable people face and care for them holistically.

Before For Freedom was established, Karine prayed for God to open an opportunity for her to serve in an area of justice. 

Shortly after being appointed in the role and undertaking the theoretical research of prevention work, Karine was made aware of a trafficking case in the town she was serving in with her family, Loja, Ecuador. Despite the whole town immediately responding and searching for the young girl who was taken, sadly she was killed by her traffickers.

“I could see the need for us to grapple with it as SIM, no matter where we serve, whether it was in southern Ecuador or somewhere in Africa or Asia,” she shared. “Everywhere we work, we can be responding to people who are at risk of being trafficked as part of our mission call.”

For Freedom has been operating for over 5 years now and the team praise God for the progress and partnerships that have formed in that time. In 2018, For Freedom was officially launched at SIM’s Global Assembly -- SIM’s triennial gathering for SIM leaders from around the world. Karine was excited to see many leaders having meaningful discussions about integrating For Freedom strategies at the 2023 SIM Global Assembly.

“It was really nice to see that growing awareness in the past five years,” she said. “There’s been a steady increase of understanding of how modern slavery exists in the places where we are at work. We do have an opportunity to take simple yet effective measures to prevent human trafficking across a lot of different ministries.”

As the For Freedom team looks to the future, they are excited about the way the ministry can support SIM workers serving in complex communities. By building more resilient communities, individuals and families will be empowered and transformed. Karine is also looking forward to collaborating with other ministry leaders working with vulnerable people (such as Hope for Life, Health Ministries and Trauma Healing) in SIM to provide robust responses to issues people around the world are facing.

Meet Jacky

Jacky is the For Freedom Ministry Coordinator for Southern/Eastern Africa and Australia. Jacky and her husband, Mike, served together in Malawi with SIM for 16 years. After she returned to Australia, she was praying that God would show her where she could serve next.

Jacky shared, “It was during that time that I did the For Freedom online training courses and found myself at the end with tears in my eyes convicted that we as SIM must be engaged with this issue and fulfil the biblical mandate to protect the most vulnerable. It felt like my heart being stirred in a similar way to when God took us to Malawi to help the church respond to the HIV/AIDS crisis.”

Jacky contacted Karine to find out how she could get involved and found out that the team had been praying for more people to join them. She was amazed at how God opened the door for her to join a ministry that matched her heart for the vulnerable, could draw on her cross-cultural experiences in Malawi, and use her project management skills.

In her role, Jacky is primarily focused on For Freedom initiatives in Southern/Eastern Africa and Australia. She helps ministries that are working with vulnerable communities as they build in protection measures into what they are already doing.

“As I connect with people my aim is to explore how For Freedom can support them, for example with resources in trafficking prevention or with our For Freedom online trainings, and also to encourage and pray for them,” she said. “We are also developing practical tools for teams, so I’ve been involved in developing a bible study series that helps Christians understand more about how we can be responding well to trafficking issues around us, also country profiles on trafficking risks, and other material.” Jacky also contributes to the For Freedom network meetings and global prayer events.

SIM mission workers are already ministering to groups vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation (like those in poverty, refugees or those who’ve experienced trauma). She shared, “We have such an amazing opportunity to help prevent trafficking by adding just some basic awareness raising. Or perhaps, some small changes or interventions, which can really make a big difference in helping to reduce the risks that make people vulnerable.”

Jacky is encouraged by the deep passion and commitment of SIM workers in a variety of ministries to be intentional in the prevention of trafficking and exploitation. One ministry she has been working alongside is the Today for Tomorrow program, which is used across Southern Africa (including Malawi). “The Children’s Discipleship and HIV prevention program has now incorporated trafficking awareness raising and prevention lessons in its curriculum,” she shared. “It’s a great example of how an existing ministry program can at the same time be a trafficking prevention program with small adjustments and it’s encouraging to think about how many children will be safer now as a result.”
 

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PRAY & FIND OUT MORE: Would you or your church like to partner with For Freedom? Visit sim.org.au/forfreedom to pray, give and find out how you can serve with For Freedom.

GIVE: Do you want to financially partner with the work of For Freedom? You can give by visiting sim.org.au/supportforfreedom.

Image: Adobe stock