THE REALITY IN SOUTH AFRICA
QUICK STATS SOUTH AFRICA 2018…
37 Million Adults & 20 Million Children
PORNOGRAPHY
77% of children ages 13 to 17 have watched a porn movie or accessed pornography regularly. (The Youth Research Unit – Unisa, 2015)
SEXUAL ABUSE
The Optimus Study SA shows that sexual abuse of children and adolescents is widespread: 36.8% of boys and 33.9% of girls reported some form of sexual abuse. That is, overall, 35.4% – one in every three adolescents – reported having experienced some form of sexual abuse at some point in their lives. (The Optimus Study, 2018)
PROSTITUTION &
HUMAN TRAFFICKING
It is estimated that there are millions of victims; though only about 50–100,000 cases are found each year. The University of Johannesburg reports that trafficking occurs at a slightly higher rate for girls than boys, with 55.5 female, and 44.5% male. It is estimated that more than three-quarters of all victims are between the ages of 12–25.(University of Johannesburg 2016)
About the Valuable to Jesus campaign
Some Issues that Made Us Think
South Africa is called the “rape capital” of the world.
Every 17 seconds an adult woman is raped in South Africa. [Interpol]
A child is raped in South Africa every three minutes, but almost nine out of ten cases of child rape are never reported. [Solidarity Helping Hand]
A girl born in South Africa has about a 1 in 3 chance of completing secondary school, but she has a 1 in 2 chance of being raped. [lostgirlssa.org]
According to an international BBC report, a female born in South Africa has a greater chance of being raped in her lifetime than learning how to read.
About 90% of the children are sexually abused by people they know [Child Molestation Research and Prevention Institute]; several studies indicate that up to 97% of perpetrators were child abuse victims themselves [Cape Town Trauma Dr Sebastion van As] and 87% molesters abusing girls and 77% abusing boys admit to regular use of pornography. [Report on the Use of Pornography by Sexual Offenders]
It is a reality that even parents (especially mothers) force their children into prostitution and that the communities are aware of child prostitution in their midst, but justify it as “a necessary evil”. An estimated 28 000 to 38 000 children are involved in prostitution in South Africa. [Molo Songololo].
The Backstory
Straatwerk has had the privilege of reaching out to women involved in prostitution and their children for many years. We found that a shocking amount of children get abused sexually and innocently get caught up in the web of prostitution. Furthermore, we all get exposed to or made aware of a flood wave of pornography and more information, further underlining the reality of this intolerable situation. We believe that it is time to come together, all over South Africa, in abolishing these atrocities! It is, therefore, a privilege to coordinate this campaign!
The vision of the Valuable to Jesus campaign is to see Christ conquering sexual abuse, prostitution and pornography through His Church and in His name by focussed prayer and compelled action. A campaign standing against something is actually standing FOR another reality! VTJ stand FOR the fact that the LIFE of ABUNDANCE and LOVE is possible in Jesus Christ, also for those who have experienced sexual abuse and addiction.
The heart of the campaign is to mobilise the Church and to develop community awareness, to LIVE the Lord’s heart in this regard and to stand up against these atrocities. There needs to be a circle in which our children can live safely. (The circle is not absent, but needs to grow in size, unity and enthusiasm.)
Valuable to Jesus prayer
Praise the Lord for the many ways in which He works and answers prayers!
Prayer for the campaign, that…
• the vision in God’s heart will take shape according to His will;
• we as the Church will see the vision clearly and remain committed;
• the coordinators in the various areas will receive what they need;
• every child in South Africa will hear the message;
• faith will grow and evils be eradicated;
• deep conviction of sin will come regarding abuse, prostitution and pornography.
Pray for the children, that…
• they will be protected;
• adults will rise up to help the children;
• the children will be open to receive and respond to the VTJ message;
• they will believe that God made them with His own hands, deeply loves them, He has a dream for their lives, He is stronger than the enemy, it is not their fault that they were forced into abuse, prostitution and/or pornography and Jesus wants to and can heal them;
• they will understand the definition of abuse, prostitution and pornography;
• they will choose to accept Jesus as the Saviour and Lord of their lives;
• they will make good choices as to how people may touch them and how they touch others.
Pray for the perpetrators, that…
• God will draw them to Him (John 6:44);
• satan will be stopped in making them blind to the truth (2 Cor 4:4);
• God will send someone to lead them to Christ (Math 9:37,38);
• they will accept Christ as Lord and Saviour (John 1:12);
• they will turn from their sin (Acts 3:19);
• they will leave everything to follow Christ (2 Cor 5:15).
Practical/symbolic prayers
• Walk around in your neighbourhood and pray for the children whenever you see toys or signs of them.
• Pick up garbage and pray that the Lord will clean our environment from these evils.
• Get a fixed time/activity (e.g. when brushing your teeth), to pray the VTJ prayer: Lord, teach me to get to know You better – You, who are love. Teach me to see with Your eyes. Show me how You want to use my hands today to bring an end to every form of sexual abuse, prostitution en pornography. May I, as part of Your whole Church, continually pray for this and follow as you lead. This is the prayer of my heart. Amen
