Genocide: the deliberate and systematic extermination of a national, racial, political, or cultural group.

I have decided that sex trafficking is genocide against women and that it’s time for women to take action to stop it. I came to this conclusion after my trip to Cambodia last Fall.

On my way to Cambodia, I kept busy on the airplane reading material about the conditin of women and girls around the world. I read Idelette McVicker’s blog post “I am a Jesus Feminist”. I read through materials posted by the organization Girl Effect and their Girl Declaration. (Here’s a screen shot from the first page of The Girl Declaration:)

I also read the autobiographical book by Malala Yousafzai “I am Malala” in which she shares her experiences as a young Pakistani girl shot by the Taliban for her very vocal stance on education for girls. Then, while I was in Cambodia, I spent time with young women who had been sex trafficked. What I have read and what I have seen makes me energized to be a Jesus Feminist and to take action. One of my actions is to organize a mission trip back to Cambodia in September 2014 to help further the work of Teen Challenge Cambodia and the women they serve.

During our Trinity Church Girlfriends Conference 2014, I had the opportunity to share my experiences in Cambodia with over 1,500 women and invite them to join the September 2014 mission team or give financially toward the team project. Out of that group, more than $25,000 was raised and more than fifty women expressed an interest to be a part of the team. That’s girl power!

Are you a “Jesus Feminist”?

(I shot this photograph above at the Ankgor Archaeological Park in November 2013.)