“With the new day comes new strength and new thoughts.”

—Eleanor Roosevelt

Happy New Year to you and your loved ones! We wish that everyone has had a blessed holiday season and is looking forward into 2022 with a gaze of hope and a faithful heart in the Lord. As we launch into the new year, we at Catalyst Ministries want to pause and refocus our eyes of faith back solely on Jesus Christ. Jesus, the Son of God, is the only One who can usher in a new day of healing, hope, and deliverance in 2022 for those enslaved by human trafficking and for those who perpetuate the continuing assault on human dignity and freedom.

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The purpose of this month is “to raise awareness about human trafficking and to educate the public about how to identify and prevent this crime.” At Catalyst Ministries we not only pause to consider the ongoing pervasiveness of human trafficking in our world and local community, but we also want to highlight how Catalyst Ministries actively works to reduce and eradicate its presence.

When discussing human trafficking, it is important to first consider data and statistics, so we are aware of the ubiquity and movements of trafficking within the United States. Below is data compiled by Polaris, a non-profit, anti-trafficking organization that is a trusted source of data for human trafficking. Data was from the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline, which “provides the largest known data set on sex and labor trafficking in the United States.” This information is from a 2019 report, which was the most recent report available online.

22,326 victims and survivors identified
Forms of trafficking:
- 65.4% identified in sex trafficking
- 22.1% identified in labor trafficking
- 4.7% identified in sex and labor industries
- 7.8% identified in an unspecified form of trafficking
63,380 total situations of human trafficking, from December 2007 – December 2019
- Situations of trafficking may involve more than one victim or survivor.
- Note that the total number of situations are based on what has been reported to the U.S. National Human Trafficking Hotline. It is estimated that at any given moment, 24.9 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking.
101.3% increase in identified human trafficking situations from 2015 to 2019
5.35% increase in identified human trafficking situations from 2018 to 2019
8,248 situations of sex trafficking reported in 2019
- Of these situations, 14,597 individual victims and survivors were involved
Top three identified types of sex trafficking:
- Escort services
- Illicit massage, health, and beauty
- Pornography

Locations of Human Trafficking Situations in the U.S., 2019 Data Report

With all this data at our fingertips, it can become easy to get lost amidst the facts and figures. Let’s zoom out from this data crunching and understand the essence of these trends. Human trafficking is as omnipresent and pervasive as ever, and it will persist in 2022. While the data may paint a dire image, because of Christ’s sacrifice to set the captives free (Isaiah 61:1-3) we can have deep hope. There is good, holy work to be done to end human trafficking, and we can play a tenacious role in these efforts.

At Catalyst Ministries, we are taking active steps to mitigate these harmful trends to lower the occurrence of human trafficking by focusing on serving in several different areas. We have both community and global partnerships with businesses, groups, and individuals who are committed to helping us fight human trafficking. We operate a restorative home called Catalyst Farms where women stay and have opportunities to heal from abuse and exploitation with help and encouragement by their side. We are also involved in short-term mission trips abroad to help local volunteers serve victims of human trafficking. Lastly, we have a committed group of individuals who work and volunteer for us, whose various perspectives and work ethics allow us to make amazing differences in both our local communities and abroad. Thank you to all who serve with us.

Read our previous blog post here: The Grace of Giving

As the new year commences, I hope you consider how you may be able to help Catalyst Ministries grow and keep fighting for victims and survivors of human trafficking. Let us work together to set goals for what we can achieve in this fight, so that we may realize what it takes to grow together and overcome the pervasiveness of human trafficking. The support of one another and a unified vision allows for Catalyst Ministries in both Illinois and Texas to maintain an unshakeable sense of hope in how we can work to serve those who may not be able to help themselves. Thank you for considering your support.