Learn More About She Is Safe

FAQ

Our vision is to bring freedom in Christ to women and girls facing abuse and human trafficking. We quickly realized that the places where human trafficking is normalized are often the same places where people are least reached by the Gospel.

At its root, slavery is the manifestation of a godless view of another human. It is an assault on the image of God.

Since 2002, She Is Safe has served in communities that routinely dehumanize women and girls and see them as a burden or commodity, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking. She Is Safe addresses these vulnerabilities holistically by bringing physical, emotional, and spiritual freedom to unreached communities where women and girls are routinely exploited and sold.

We work with indigenous teams in high-risk communities around the world in the regions where it is the most dangerous to be a girl.

We do trafficking prevention training, advocacy, and awareness-raising in the US. If you are interested in becoming an Advocate and joining the movement, take a look at our Advocacy page.

Our direct interventions are in high-risk communities where girls are routinely sold.

98% of human trafficking happens outside the U.S., so our primary focus is on least-reached regions where human trafficking is normalized.

We have a US-based team working in collaboration with indigenous coworkers across the globe. Because of the nature of our work, we do not publish the names or photos of our international team for their safety.

Source: Page 90, Global Slavery Index, 2023

In real life, human trafficking often looks very different from what you've seen in Hollywood films or what you might picture from news coverage.

Most people are trafficked by someone they know. Many girls across the globe are lured by recruiters who come to extremely impoverished, rural areas and promise a good job in the city — or pose as a boyfriend eager to get married. She is usually a young teenager who has not had access to an education. Cultural and social norms consistently devalue her and view her as a burden. With very limited options, she agrees to go — and when she arrives, the job is not at a restaurant or hotel. It is a brothel. She is already in debt to the recruiter, she knows no one, and she can't go home.

This scenario happens every single day. It is tragic, but preventable. This is where She Is Safe exists — we get "upstream" of the problem and equip vulnerable women and girls with vocational skills and leadership development so they can earn a dignified income within the safety of their own community.

There are several other common forms of human trafficking:

  • Child Marriage: Any formal marriage or informal union between a child under age 18 and an adult or another child. It is primarily driven by poverty, gender inequality, and harmful social norms. There are more than 10 million child brides each year.
  • Sex Trafficking: A form of modern slavery where individuals are forced, defrauded, or coerced into commercial sex acts for profit. 87% of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation are women and girls.
  • Labor Trafficking: Traffickers use force, fraud, or coercion to compel individuals to perform labor against their will, often resulting in debt bondage or involuntary servitude in industries like agriculture, domestic work, and construction.
  • Organ and Skin Trafficking: A form of exploitation in which people are targeted for their organs or skin, often through deception, fraud, or abuse of a position of vulnerability.
  • Online Sex Trafficking: Traffickers use the internet and digital technology to recruit, exploit, and control victims for commercial sex, also known as cybersex trafficking.

We serve in places where women and girls endure deeply entrenched cultural and social oppression. In these settings, they are disproportionately affected by illiteracy, malnutrition, displacement, and poverty — and they are the primary victims of infanticide, physical and sexual abuse, child marriage, and human trafficking.

Many things can make someone vulnerable, but four main factors stand out:

  • Extreme Instability: People displaced or disrupted by natural disasters, violence, or political upheaval are left in high-risk scenarios that attract traffickers.
  • Cultural Norms: Girls are discriminated against, undervalued, and viewed as property. They are often forced into child marriages with much older men, or "married" for a few hours before being discarded.
  • Economic Shock: For families living in extreme poverty, an economic shock — like the loss of a job, illness, disability, or sudden debt — significantly increases vulnerability to exploitation and trafficking.
  • No Parental Support: Street children and orphaned children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation, as they have no parental protection and lack access to education.

Human trafficking is a soul-level problem that requires a soul-level solution.

She Is Safe has identified the root causes of human trafficking and has more than two decades of experience creating a proven, successful model for trafficking prevention — getting "upstream" of the problem to stop the cycle of slavery. We do this by creating long-term partnerships with local indigenous coworkers to effectively implement programs within the context of their own community, all rooted in the love and example of Christ in standing up for those who are oppressed.

  • Prevention: Our main goal is to prevent human trafficking before it happens. We've identified the root causes of slavery, and our prevention programs help stop the cycle of abuse and exploitation. She Is Safe Groups, business training, and anti-trafficking training are the primary ways we equip vulnerable women and girls. She Is Safe Groups are gatherings of 12–20 women or teens who grow in confidence, understand their value in Christ, and receive vocational training, financial skills, and leadership development.
  • Rescue: People are rescued from brothels, bus stations, and border crossings. Many girls are lured with the promise of a good job in the city, only to be trafficked across the border into a brothel. She Is Safe intervenes to stop girls who are being trafficked and helps them determine the best path forward to new life.
  • Restoration: For women and girls who have been abused and trafficked, we help them heal — mind, body, and soul. She Is Safe provides holistic care in a place of safety, offering spiritual growth opportunities, trauma counseling, and business skills training, so they are equipped to build lives of freedom and faith.

She Is Safe Groups are gatherings of 12–20 women (or girls for Junior She Is Safe Groups) who come together to be equipped to live safe and free. They include several key elements:

  • Regular Meetings: Each group gathers weekly or bi-weekly, creating a strong sense of community and trust where women and girls experience God's love.
  • Leadership Development: Women and girls are equipped with leadership skills to help safeguard them from exploitation.
  • Training: Groups receive training in anti-trafficking education, financial literacy, health and hygiene, healthy relationship skills, and Bible-based lessons.
  • Financial Resilience: Saving and lending within the group provides small, safe loans — critical for women to avoid the exploitative debt that increases their risk of being trafficked. Some women are also able to start small businesses through vocational and business training. With a more stable income, they are far less vulnerable to trafficking and abuse.
  • Equipping Women to Be Agents of Change: Women and girls become leaders and advocates in their communities. They live out their identity in Christ, and this has a tangible ripple effect — leading to new schools, clean water projects, house churches, food programs for orphaned children, and advocacy for children with disabilities.

There are several reputable sources where you can find accurate data and information on human trafficking. We recommend:

To download our free 14-Day Prayer Guide and read the stories of courageous women and girls from across the globe, visit our Resources page.