** Content warning: some readers may find content, upsetting, controversial or offensive.**
ROBYN
Mathew 18 v 5 & 6 "whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and be drowned in the depths of the sea."
New Zealand law defines "sex trafficking in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud or coercion, or in which a person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age". New Zealand is subject to international law (for e.g. ILO Convention) [International Labour Organisation] "prohibiting slavery, trafficking in persons and forced labour in New Zealand".
Is this a problem in New Zealand or do you think its an overseas problem? Human trafficking is a global crisis and is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world and linked with drugs involving gangs, cartels, networking and underground activities.
Due to populus, California has one of the highest rates for sex trafficking in the world. Two states in USA namely Nebraska and Wyoming currently provide immunity for prosecution for trafficking children and adults.
Don't be deceived. New Zealand has a reputation and is classified as a destination country for human traffic. According to 2023 Global Slavery index. an estimated 50 million people were living in modern day slavery on any given day in 2021. According to "Walk Free" estimates in New Zealand in 2021 there were 8,000 individuals living in modern slavery. New Zealand Police have an Adult Sexual Assault (ASA) team and a Child Protection Team (CPT) as a part of the Criminal Investigation Branch (CIB) which cover any sexual complaints. They work closely with partner agencies like Womens' Refuge and Oranga Tamariki.
On the day a young 11-year-old girl was booked to fly out to Hawaii, Robyn stopped a sinister chain of events. This innocent young girl had turned to an online kid’s game chat room seeking friendship and connection as her own Mum had begun to progress through the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease. What started out as a friendship on line she thought, developed into the 'groomer' asking her about her family and her body assuring her at each chat, how much he loved her, however he was becoming more confident and suggestive as time went on. He posed as an 11-year-old boy but Robyn suggested the girl ask him a few probing questions and it became obvious that he was an adult. He said he had booked her a one-way ticket to meet him in Hawaii. His intent, sex trafficking. This young girl had her bags packed and was ready to fly that night.
Robyn relays an account of a family of children she rescued here in the Bay of Plenty. "The Mother of these 4 children 'groomed' [prepared] them for a life of prostitution and drugs from a very early age. She was involved with a local powerful gang, her father was leader in the gang until he died. Generations of gang culture and abuse robbed these children of the basic rights of innocence and safety. The children aged 3, 6, 8 and 11 were given drugs and put into bed with adults. The mother starved them and abused them physically, emotionally, spiritually and psychologically. She was violent, threatened them with knives, was neglectful and controlling". 'Don't you tell anyone. If you tell, I will hurt your brother' was a familiar phrase. "At times the children were tied to the clothesline, punched full on in the face and on cold winter nights would climb into the oven to keep warm while the mother did sex and drugs in the adjoining room. All of the kids had been raped and at the age of 3 a rape kit was done on the youngest". Robyn developed a relationship with the children so they could be safe. "Over 15 notifications of a serious nature had been made to a local government organisation but were buried. The mother had 22 family members but it was found through Police background checks that none of them were safe". A call came to Robyn one day, "Auntie Auntie we're out on the street, can you help us?' The Police became involved and eventually long term safe Christian homes were found for the children. "Child coaching doesn't just happen with men. Women can be bad and very cruel. The child learns very quickly there are no idle threats".
The Salvation Army states "under the guise of immigration, people have been trafficked into agriculture, fishing, construction and hospitality industries. They are often stripped of their passports, forced to work long hours for little or no pay, and kept in appalling conditions. In New Zealand estimated victims of human trafficking have risen from 3000 to 8000."
Robyn continues with a case about slave labour. "I met a male in his late 80's living in a local beach suburb in an attractive unit. He seemed friendly and polite and I had seen him before always with a group of foreign looking women around him. The women gave me the 'help us' signal so my friend and I jollied the man along and invited ourselves to his unit for a friendly cuppa. When my friend and I arrived at his unit he proudly told us, since WW2 he had been going over to the islands and coerced local families with young girls to send them to New Zealand to work in the fruit industry, luring them with the promise of good wages and living conditions. 'Just send them over and I will look after them'. He boasted to us, he would bring in 4 or 5 at a time under the radar'. He would hold their passports and feed them poorly to control them and prostitute them". Due to a language barrier they would be helpless with no one to turn to. Robyn involved the Police and Internal Affairs shutting this man down. The girls lost their identities, lost their power, lost their dignity, confidence and all their money. The man was eventually prosecuted and the girls returned to their families in the islands.
Isaiah 61 6 "He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives, and release from darkness for the prisoners."