What’s in a name?

Some people call them hookers…prostitutes…whores… or sex trade workers. I cringe every time I hear any of these terms to describe women in prostitution because no matter what term is used, it never brings justice or dignity to the individual being sold.

Studies around the world consistently show that the overwhelming majority of women in prostitution desperately want out right now but see no possible exit opportunities. The correlation between sex trafficking and prostitution is so strong that it is virtually impossible to separate the two. Not only is prostitution controlled by pimps and organized crime, the average entry age into prostitution around the world is between 12-14 years old. This is not a lifestyle choice for these young girls; they have been trafficked into the global sex trade for the purpose of making huge lucrative profits for their pimps, trafficker and “owners”.

“The girl is the new drug,” declares Sergeant Detective Kelley O’Connell of the Boston Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit, vocalizing the global crisis that makes young women the most popular commodity to buy and sell internationally. With this kind of knowledge, there is no possible way that I can label prostituted and trafficked women as common hookers, whores and prostitutes…I doubt that those terms even exist in reality.

Sisters

While in Korea, I heard a beautiful description of the precious lives trapped in the sex trade. Yesterday some of the workers at a aftercare shelter for victims of human trafficking, described their work with the “sisters” in Korea’s illegal red light districts. I asked one of my new Korean friends to elaborate more on her heart for the Korean sisters who have been caught in the vicious cycle of sex trafficking:

“Growing up as the eldest child, I did not have an older sister. So every opportunity I got when I met an older female Korean friend or acquaintance I would call them “older sister” in Korean. There was a sense of security and familiarity when I used that term. An older sister was someone who would stand up for you if you were in trouble. Someone you could rely on and trust. Someone you could share secrets with, laugh and cry with, and just be yourself with. You can’t replace the power or bond or security of sisterhood.

There is a deep history of survival in Korea. Koreans use their pride and unity to help one another, encourage each other, and stand back up on their feet. Even Koreans who have immigrated to other countries, they immediately connect with other Koreans who have immigrated, because there is safety and support with “their” people. I see the older generation in Korea, in workplaces or marketplaces. Their cheerful and familiar banter. Especially the women, the sisterhood. They watch either others’ backs, they help the person next to them, and make sacrifices for one another.

It’s ironic that even with this beautiful idea of unity, strength, and support, there is a selective process about it. With so many people in denial of what is happening right in their own backyards, it is not a surprise that many of the women who are victims of trafficking are excluded from this unifying term, “sister”. The vulnerable and weak are now estranged from calling on a “sister” for help from the rest of society and not by their own choice. They are helpless and in need, but they do not have any one to call their “sister”, to back them up and stand up for them. They are being ignored and blamed for things not completely in their control.

Where did that love, pride, and unity go? Where did the outstretched hand go? Where did the sisterhood go for these victims? Why are they excluded? This is the time when they need us the most. They need us to stand up for them… to fight back against the school bully, the mean girl, the bad boss, the pimp, the johns and fight against the idea that they are okay with the multiple and daily violations of their bodies, minds, and souls. Where are the brothers and sisters who will stand up to restore our lost sisters?” –Estella J. Kang in Seoul, South Korea.

Powerful and beautiful words. I am praying that we will all view one another as brothers and sisters of the world. May we never shun, ignore or abandon our sisters who have been sold and exploited in the sex industry.

It’s time to love our sisters.

S.Korea: Day 1

When heroes become villains…

Remember the days when comic book heroes heard the silent cries of distressed damsels and rushed in to save the day with strength and bravery? Average citizens, women and children could live without fear because there was always a noble hero nearby to swoop in and save the day!

In Seoul, South Korea, there is a very popular comic book by the artist Kim Sung Mo entitled, “Yong Ju Gol”. Yet unlike the Marvel comic books that boast the adventures of timeless heroes such as Superman and the Justice League, Yong Ju Gol has published over 180 episodes of comics depicting the sexual exploitation, abuse and even murder of young women in the country’s oldest and most popular red light district… which is also named “Yong Ju Gol”.

Even though prostitution is illegal in South Korea, Yong Ju Gol maintains its popularity and allure due to the popular comic book that shares its name with and describes many of the events that take place there on a daily basis. What is even more surprising is that this comic book, named after a red light district, is not only the most popular comic book in all of area but until recently was sold in popular book stores and read by young children!

The red light district, Yong Ju Gol was first established to service the local American military base during the Korean War and has since become the most popular destination for Korean men to visit for paid sexual services. It has grown 3x its original size since it was established in the 1950s and, with over 36,300 square meters, the majority of Korea’s trafficked women end up here.

While visiting a local human trafficking shelter, I learned that most Korean women are lured into sex trafficking at the young age of 13 or 14 years old, similarly to the situation in Canada.  These young girls are often enticed by the promises of money and start working in drinking rooms or kissing rooms, only to find themselves later forced into exploitive situations and under the control of a pimp throughout the 45 Korean red light districts, just like Yong Ju Gol.

Once in the Yong Ju Gol, women work an average of 10 hours a day, experiencing high levels of post traumatic stress disorder due to the intense physical, verbal and sexual abuse that they often suffer from the many johns who pay money to their pimps. Much of this violence is perpetuated through the publications of the extremely violent comic book. I wanted to know for myself if this comic book was actually as bad as I had heard and unfortunately, I didn’t have to spend a lot of time looking through the comics to see a drawing of a naked Korean woman falling out of a building as she was thrown through an broken glass window, hurled at the street below. With this popular comic book being so readily available to all the youth of Korea, this kind of violent behaviour towards prostituted women is normalized and viewed as acceptable.

It was most disappointing to realize that Yong Ju Gol District is over an hour away from Seoul and far past any residential areas. It’s only surrounding landscape is rice fields…and yet Korean men drive intentionally, for hours, to visit Yong Ju Gol and abuse Korean women.

The comic book artist (left) with a map of the Yong Ju Gol District (right), depicted in each comic book so that readers may visit the real life locations of the comic book’s events. 

Some may say that “boys will be boys” and that “prostitution is the world’s oldest profession” but I do not settle for either of these excuses. The measure of a man is not to buy sex from, rape, physically assault or murder women and girls. Men have been entrusted with a greater physical strength so that they may use that power to empower others, not to overpower others.

I’m calling out for heroes to answer the silent cries of the exploited and abused Korean women within the Yong Ju Gol District and all other red light districts within Korea! We each have been given the responsibility to be heroes, not villians. To protect and defend those who are weaker than us, not to enslave others.

 Calling men and women to form a new Justice League and put an end to the abuse, human rights violations, rape and murder that exist in the streets of Yong Ju Gol and all similar neighbourhoods worldwide.

Calling all true heroes to rise up, defend dignity and triumph over injustice!

Conviction+Integrity

My father’s word was always “integrity”. I hated this as a teenager because I always felt like I could never measure up. Over time, I’ve been learning at integrity doesn’t mean perfect; it means “a striving for steadfast, deep character”.

As many of you know, “With Conviction”  is not only the name of my blog but the way that I try to best move forward in my life. Along this journey I have learned that conviction springs out of integrity and integrity is not willing to compromise, its an all or nothing kinda deal. Hard to do but so worth it.

You’ll sacrifice a lot when you choose to stand on integrity. I know that it has been HARD for me, as I try my best to be a woman of integrity every day. It’s certainly not comfortable, easy, popular or accommodating to your personal preferences in life. Integrity answers to a higher standard and calls us out on all our “BS”. If we want to walk in integrity then we need to search the dark places of our heart and check our motives to ensure that we have not compromised.

To be a person of integrity does not mean that you will not fail or falter, that is inevitable and I miss the mark on a regular basis. Yet being a person of integrity means that you are strive for a higher standard in your life, unwilling to compromise or corrupt your motives and instead you allow your actions to speak louder than your words. Integrity is all about consistency of action and being a person of your word.

Christians are often criticized as hypocrites because they profess their faith on Sunday morning and are denied by their faith on Monday morning and Friday evening. It’s time for us to get serious, stand on our convictions and start the hard work to becoming men and women of integrity.   Jesus never said it would be easy, He said it would be worth it (John 10:10).

Integrity is the measure of our character; it exposes who we really are and reveals where our heart really lies. Let’s be people of integrity, it is too important to compromise.

3 Things

Over the last few years, people always tell me,

“Let me know if there is anything I can do to help end human trafficking”

There is a LOT that each and every one of us can do! Here are 3  very simple, very effective things that you can do right now to help end human trafficking.

1. Take 45 minutes and watch Hope for the Sold, currently the only documentary that focuses on human trafficking here in Canada. You can find it online here: http://hopeforthesold.com/resource
2. Visit slaveryfootprint.org and take the inventory. Contrary to popular belief, we are not far removed from modern day slavery
3.  Finally, as Valentine’s Day approaches, do child slaves a favour and do NOT buy chocolate that isn’t fair trade.  More info on CNN here: http://thecnnfreedomproject.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/19/child-slavery-and-chocolate-all-too-easy-to-find/

No Excuses

Yesterday morning I spoke at LifeWomen at Relate Church in Surrey, BC. It was an incredible, deep and powerful morning of speaking truth, dispelling fears, stepping out in faith and fighting for freedom. Life may be hard and it may feel like there is darkness shadowing the world but we are determined to add to the beauty and be part of God’s epic love-story to save the world!

After the service I spoke with one woman, in particular, whose story really resonated with me. Meet Annette Reilly. This bright-eyed, free-spirited woman, rockin an adorable pixie-cut, was overflowing with excitement, joy and anticipation of greater things to come! Upon meeting her, I had no idea that she was about to start chemotherapy for cancer the next day….today. 

Today, as she starts her chemotherapy, I want to direct your attention to the convictions of her heart. She has heard many times about human trafficking and is “tired of being a spectator”. She is choosing not to make any more excuses and not allow anything to stop her from standing up for the 27 Million enslaved today. Even as she starts her chemotherapy today, she is thinking of the countless individuals who have it far worse than she does and she is “choosing to take the energy that she does have and commit it to helping others in this world who are suffering.”

Wow. She is standing on her convictions, adding to the beauty and reclaiming a disease that was designed to bring her down and instead, she is using this experience to lift others out of slavery.

I am inspired by her determination to not allow any excuses to hold her back from becoming the person that she was born to be! I encourage you to read her resolutions in her own words HERE.

What is holding you back from joining the movement to re-abolish slavery in the world today?

You can watch the LifeWomen interview here:

Add to the beauty

Freedom, the fragrance calls me. It pulls me further along- past my fears and closer to the person that I was born to be. When we begin to abandon our loyalty to self, we see that our freedom is intrinsically intertwined with the freedom of others.

To know joy is to see it in the faces of those around you. To hear the innocent voices of little ones who have been sold by greed, now redeemed by grace and restored to wholeness…living in abundance- there is no measure of joy that is greater than this!

I want to add to the beauty, the majesty that God is creating in the world. I want to witness the way that He takes the darkness and restores it to radiance and glory. I want to find myself in the midst of the greatest love story that the world has ever known.

The end of an era in my life.

Being the reigning titleholder of Miss Canada was an absolute honour and I look back over the last year, savoring every moment and experience that I was blessed with. From the honour of serving the people at the depths of slum villages in South East Asia to the honour of speaking before the Assembled Members of Canada’s Parliament and Senate, 2011 has been a year I will never forget.

Walking alongside women in both the red light districts of Bangkok and the dark nights of St. Catherines, Ontario – I saw the precious worth of human lives and the way that love pushes back the darkness. In orphanages and rescue homes of Thailand and Cambodia, I saw the hope and renewal that children have when they go from being treated as objects for profit to daughter of worth and beauty.

On the Ignite Justice Tour all across Canada I’ve been inspired by individuals who choose not to turn and look away but rather to be an agent of change, a freedom fighter and intervene for others. Being blessed with the honour of, not only Miss Canada 2011, but also chosen as one of Canada’s “Women of the Year” for 2011, has been more than I ever imagined possible and both have furthered the cause of ending human trafficking.

Thank you for the honour of representing our great nation of Canada. Thank you for the platform to be a voice for justice, love and mercy worldwide, to amplify the voices of those who have been oppressed or exploited. I was blessed to meet so many wonderful people, witness miracles and humbled to be part of what God is doing to release chains of oppression and free captives in every way!

It was my prayer to serve with the utmost integrity and compassion and my desire to spend my reign, not for myself, but to impact the world in a way that brings us all one-step closer to freedom.

May we all live to shine in radiance and spend our lives on what truly matters! Looking ahead to a brilliant future! Let’s do this!

With Conviction,

Tara Teng- Miss Canada 2011

With Conviction

I’m currently on the road to Montreal for the 2012 Miss Canada pageant where I will crown my successor in a number of days. I reflect over the past 2 years…first as Miss BC 2010 and then Miss Canada 2011.

I’ve learned many things over the past two years but one thing that I learned is that the spotlight reveals truth. When all the glitz and glamour fades away, all that will remain is your character. It doesn’t matter how much you shine from a distance, it is only by the strength of your character that you will ever be able to influence others.

Strong character inspires respect. It is by your character that you leave a legacy worth remembering. Good leaders are not born through the spotlight; their character was cultivated deep within them far before they stepped into the spotlight.

Character is only strengthened through intentional discipline to apply integrity to our daily lives in every situation that we encounter.  Character is refusing to back down from your convictions and choosing to do what is right, regardless of personal cost.

True leaders have taken the time to invest in the growth of their character. They know that their convictions and integrity must be intact before accepting any position of leadership or platform.

I walked through years of character development and learning hard life lessons before I ever stepped up to the platform of Miss Canada or Miss British Columbia. I went into the pageant with a clear focus, end human trafficking and the sexual slavery of my sisters around the world. I was intentional in my decisions leading up to the pageant and throughout the pageant. No revealing evening gowns, no fake hair extensions, fake nails or bra inserts and no swimwear competitions…No matter how fierce the competition may be, I refused to alter who I was or water down my message. Winning a title is never worth compromising in your convictions.

God is daily challenging me to deepen in my convictions and strengthen my character. I named my blog “With Conviction” and I sign all my emails with the signature “With Conviction” because I want everything in my life to be drenched with conviction. I’m not perfect but I’m willing to learn the hard lessons in life because I know that it is through these that my character is strengthened.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day

Today is January 11, 2012- Human Trafficking Awareness Day.

Watch this.

Then read this list of 12 actions that you can take to help fight human trafficking in the world today. Let’s do this now so that next year, we won’t need a “Human Trafficking Awareness Day”.

Little Thought of the Day

I often forget that love is patient.

Patience is not my strongest character trait; rather it is the one that I, personally, need to intentionally work on getting better at. The worst part is that I should be most patient with the ones who I love the most and yet most of the time, I am the least patient with them.

Love is a choice. Patience is a choice.

I’m going to choose to be more patient, show more love.