“My life before I was rescued? I like to fight.”

Those are the words of a young survivor of human trafficking who found himself growing up in an abusive environment. For most of his eleven years, he experienced ongoing pain and trauma. Conflict, harsh language, and online trafficking left their marks, and acting out was a natural form of managing the stress he lived through at home.

Every year in September, the Church of the Nazarene observes Freedom Sunday, a time set aside to raise awareness of the issue of human trafficking, pray for those caught in slavery, and support church-led anti-human trafficking efforts. 

Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, where people profit from the control and exploitation of others.It impacts more than 40 million people in our world today. Human trafficking is a crime in which women, men, girls, and boys are bought and sold into forced labor or sexual exploitation.