Have you taken time to listen to Shared Hope’s new podcast, Invading the Darkness? With episodes ranging from 8 to 20 minutes in length coupled with compelling and heart wrenching stories from our founder and president Linda Smith, this podcast will equip you with both the knowledge and the tools to keep kids in your community safe from traffickers.
In episode 3 of Invading the Darkness, we discuss culture, language and the law as Linda Smith takes you on a journey back to 1910, and shares with you how sexually trafficked children were looked upon during that time. Linda will also draw clear lines that connect back to culture, language and the law.
Here’s an excerpt from episode 3 with Linda Smith:
“How would I tell people what I just saw? I’m in a hotel room I’m thinking through how do I even tell my husband what I just saw. In India, in Mumbai, I just spent the night in a brothel area and was sick to my stomach. Thousands of women and children were lined up standing stalls. The hands of girls were coming out the windows on the second floor. And man after man was shopping, shoulder to shoulder crowded choosing the person he wanted to lay a few rupees and use in any way he wanted to use.
I felt overwhelmed. But God I don’t have any idea what I’m going to do. But I knew I needed to do something. The next day, I was still thinking this through. I was only going to be there for a short time. I was between votes in Congress, I was a member of the US Congress at that time. And they asked if I wanted to go out and see the little girls and little boys who had been taken out of the brothel. Because their mommies were concerned about them. They would keep them under their beds when they were born and some men like them pretty young. So the mom’s heart would come out and she would be asking for help.”
You can listen to episode 3 in its entirety of Invading the Darkness on Apple or Spotify as well as anywhere podcasts can be found.
What You Can Do to Help Us Invade the Darkness
There are several ways that you can partner with Shared Hope and fight against Child Sex Trafficking. By supporting our podcast, using your voice as an Ambassador of Hope or by making a donation.
Spread the Word: Shared Hope’s New Podcast
We invite you to share Invading the Darkness Podcast with your friends and community as well as consider writing a review like this recent one we received that read, “Great episode. It was filled with good and relevant information. I definitely learned something new listening to this podcast.”
Use Your Voice: Become an Ambassador of Hope
Are you passionate about preventing sex trafficking in your community? We invite you to apply to become an Ambassador of Hope and make a difference in your hometown!
Ambassadors are trained volunteers, active in their communities preventing trafficking through education. Whether it is hosting a table at a local event, speaking to students, advocating online for a state bill, or leading a session for parents, Shared Hope equips you with all the training and tools you’ll need to educate your community and prevent sex trafficking. You can apply to become an Ambassador of Hope here.
Fund the Fight Against Child Sex Trafficking
You can also help Shared Hope continue our work by helping to fund the fight against child sex trafficking where your gift will support and empower those who are victims and survivors of child sex trafficking as well as help move forth Shared Hope’s mission to provide what they need to recover and our belief-in-action that there is hope for them; that they are worth the fight—that they are loved—that they have a future. Your gift will also bring justice to survivors through our policy initiatives, and it will prevent the crime of sex trafficking from ever happening to those that are vulnerable. You can support the work of Shared Hope International here.
Who Is Shared Hope?
Shared Hope International was established to provide hope to the hopeless women Washington State Congresswoman Linda Smith found enslaved in the brothels of Mumbai in 1998. Our early efforts targeted the international sex trafficking industry. As we became established leaders in the international movement to end slavery, our eyes were opened to the scourge of sex trafficking in the U.S. We could not ignore this injustice and expanded our impact to bring hope to American women and children victimized in the commercial sex industry. Today, we lead prevention strategies, restoration programs and justice initiatives to combat trafficking in the U.S. and abroad.
