Introducing a groundbreaking feature: you can now listen to Fox News articles! In unveiling this heartbreaking and shocking information, I must acknowledge that it may be distressing for some to hear. However, it is vital for people to be aware of the atrocities occurring worldwide. As you go about your nightly routine, reading bedtime stories and ensuring the safety of your own children, countless kids are enduring unspeakable acts of rape, torture, and abuse. These acts are often perpetrated by those who should protect them. To make matters even more horrific, these abuses are being recorded and shared for the perverse enjoyment of others.
Society has been blind to these crimes for far too long. We have turned a blind eye for an extended period. Thankfully, unKNOWN collaborates with law enforcement and various organizations in identifying and safeguarding over 50,000 children (source: Tim Tebow Foundation). Recently, there has been a surge in awareness and action against human trafficking, and I am grateful for that. Personally, I believe human trafficking stands as one of the most atrocious evils facing our world today. It is unfathomable to think that people are being bought and sold as mere commodities, but regrettably, that is the reality we face.
My foundation, the Tim Tebow Foundation, has fought against this injustice for over ten years, expanding our reach across 30 countries. Through the dedication of our team and partners, we have established and currently operate 20 safe homes, with 22 more underway. Additionally, we have protected thousands of victims and played a role in bringing hundreds of perpetrators to justice. I firmly believe that every individual on this planet is a unique creation, beautifully and flawlessly made in the image of God. Their worth is immeasurable, and they are not commodities to be traded.
It is imperative for us to continue identifying and protecting victims, caring for survivors, and working diligently to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place. Today, however, I want to shed light on an evil that may be growing even more rapidly than human trafficking. This sinister phenomenon is known as CSAM – child sexual abuse material. Although some refer to it as child pornography, we must disconnect from that inaccurate terminology. The sexually explicit videos and images featuring children are far worse than what the label suggests. It is child sexual abuse, plain and simple. This evil has long remained shrouded in darkness, lurking within our communities, homes, and the darkest corners of the internet. The time has come for us to expose it to the light.
While child trafficking garners significant attention, what most people fail to grasp is that the majority of victims are trafficked right under our noses, within their own homes. If this is the first time you are learning about CSAM, allow me to illuminate the depth and difficulty of this evil. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) reports that fathers are the primary producers of actively traded CSAM images online. Other abusers often fall within the victims’ circles of trust, including stepfathers and family friends. Shockingly, the United States hosts more websites containing CSAM than any other nation, according to the Internet Watch Foundation.
As you read this, 156 CSAM images and videos depicting the most heinous moments of these children’s lives are being traded and shared across the world through the darkest recesses of the internet, solely for self-gratification. Take a moment to fully comprehend this horrifying reality. Every single second of every day, images and videos capturing the sexual abuse of innocent children are actively being shared. Countless children suffer in silence, with no one to turn to, nowhere to go, and no one to confide in. Instead of finding solace, their own homes have transformed into their worst nightmares, and sometimes, tragically, their families have become their tormentors.
In a victim impact statement, one survivor of child sexual abuse shared the desperate message she once tried to convey as a young girl being photographed while enduring rape: “I used to try to send messages with my eyes down the lens, hoping that one day a good person might see and come help me.” My hope and prayer are that we can be those “good people.” We cannot avert our gaze any longer. While the narratives shared here may be difficult to digest, imagine the unbearable hardships these children endure daily. We ought to prioritize their freedom over our comfort.
So, you may wonder, what can you, as an individual, do to combat this evil? My first request is that you pray. I can only imagine that these children have clung to the hope that someone, somewhere will come to their rescue, someone who will shield them, someone who will love them genuinely. They may have uttered countless prayers, desperately pleading, “God, help me. Show up. Where are you? I need you.” Although they may be unknown to us at this moment, they are known and intimately loved by God. He knows their names. He knows their whereabouts. Let us petition Him for guidance on how we can play a part in answering these prayers. Please join me in this fervent prayer.
Secondly, I implore you to consider joining our mission at the Tim Tebow Foundation. Currently, we are running the unKNOWN campaign in celebration of my 36th birthday. Our goal for unKNOWN is to join forces with law enforcement heroes and various organizations to identify and protect a specific group of over 50,000 children who have fallen victim to sexual exploitation, yet their identities and locations remain unknown. As this evil grows, we need to assemble a dedicated team and unite experts. We must invest in top-tier training and technology while engaging with the government to create a sustainable workforce that focuses on addressing this issue head-on.
It is overwhelming to comprehend the sheer magnitude of the pain endured by countless boys and girls each day. At times, it may seem impossible to take the next step, given the enormous scale of evil, suffering, and anguish. However, let us remember the immense power of our God, who loves each of these lives more deeply than we ever could. Even in the darkest moments, amidst the heart-wrenching tales, we place our hope in Jesus, relying on Him to guide us towards saving one more life, and then one more.
Hope also springs from stories of redemption, such as this one shared by a cherished member of our survivor family: “Back when I was in my home, my mom would always belittle me, telling me I was worth nothing, that I was ugly. But God sent people into my life who loved me and provided the love my family was incapable of giving me. When I came to Compassionate Hope and the Tim Tebow Foundation, they embraced me as their own child, and I finally found a safe haven.”
We have reached a pivotal moment in our culture where we can no longer remain silent or passive. We must take action to combat and challenge the insidious nature of child sexual abuse and exploitation. As our eyes have been opened, we must now direct our efforts toward protecting these vulnerable children and the people suffering at the hands of abusers. We must do everything within our power to discover the unKNOWN. We need a team. We need an army. We need individuals who refuse to turn a blind eye. On my 36th birthday, my prayer and mission are to rally an army ready to stand up for these boys and girls trapped in this never-ending nightmare.
As immense and daunting as the challenges posed by trafficking and CSAM may be, we find solace in the knowledge that our God is far greater. We can hold onto the hope that He is actively rescuing and redeeming lives across the globe. Let us fulfill our part today. Let us pray and take action. Thank you…
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