- [Announcer] In 2012, author Charity Mack

agreed to do research on human trafficking

for a local non-profit.

What she found, lefther feeling paralyzed.

Since then, Charity has beenworking to educate leaders

on the scope of the problem

and helping victims get to safe houses,

both here and abroad.

Charity also wrote "TheUnseen" to illustrate the need

and call people to action ina way that mere numbers can't.

(somber music)

- She's with us now,

Charity welcome to the show.

- Thank you for having me.

- Tell me a little bitabout what discovered

about human traffickingand how it impacted you.

- When I was asked to look intothe U.S. side of awareness,

what we can do to helpAmericans understand

that this happens and hashappened for many years,

I found that the articles and the reports

and the government documentswere just too overwhelming.

The statistics were hard, it's true,

and they were well done,

but most Americans don'thave time to consume that,

to understand that.

So I thought that a novelwould be a great way

to really get the heartof what does this mean.

- The impact, mm-hmm.- Yes, the complexity

of the situation yet, sofinding the hope to end it.

So, that's why I wrote the book.

- I wanna talk about the book in a moment,

but first talk a little bit,

in the research that you did,

talk about what you discoveredfuels this industry.

- For me I think I was the most shocked

that they would not admit the connection

between pornography and sex trafficking.

And Americans are hugeconsumers of pornography.

And I don't think that inhouseholds you understand

that when you turn that screen on,

that this action isgonna cause this action.

And at the end of thataction are real people,

children, men, women,

boys, girls, it runs the gamut.

So recognizing that

that you just turning that offwill then stop fueling that.

- Is the reason, one of the reasons,

there's probably more than one,

that they don't wanna recognize that

because the porn industryis such a moneymaker.

- Right.- I mean,

you're dabbling withsome dark stuff there.

- Right, I think that is part of it.

I mean money speaks, money moves.

And so if we cut that off,

then we cut off a lucrative industry.

- You decided to do somethingto fight human trafficking,

and you talked for amoment ago about the book,

where did the concept for this come from

and what did you considerin putting it all together?

- Sure, I work for a non-profitand I have some heroes

that I very much admireat that non-profit.

And what they've gone through

and then when they found Jesus,

it's quite a game changer.

And so for me, if we don't putJesus into the mix of this,

you're not gonna end it.

But Jesus will end it andhe can end it through us.

So that non-profit inspired it.

But it is a situation thatneeds security and protection,

so a novel was a greatway to help that out.

- It is a novel, but it's based on stories

that you have heard or readabout in your research.

So, you chose some unusual characters

to put in here, (laughs)

talk about the mix.

- Yes, so we have a sex trafficker

and then we have a midwife

and then we just havesort of your usual gal,

American, who just wants to do right.

And so those three stories interweave

and the readers are gonna be curious,

do they connect?

Do they not?

What is the connection?

And there's two differenttime periods, 1968 and 2016,

and so, you have to read itto find out how they connect.

(laughs)- Absolutely,

and worth the read, may I add.

I wanna know also, you know,

you're a parent.

- Yes.

- I'm a parent, grandparent as well.

And you can go online andfind out whether there are

any people who have beenconvicted of child molestation

in your neighborhood,

but would people be shocked to find out

the kind of trafficking that goes on in

normal-looking communities?

- Sure, to find out in 2016that Virginia was number six

on the list of the most trafficked.

And that's not sayingthat we just bring in

trafficked victims,

that's our own Americans being trafficked.

And that could be the militaryhere or it could be D.C.,

but those numbers are big.

Number six is not good,

you wanna be fifty or you wannanot be on the list at all.

And so, I wanted to know why,

why was that happening.

And so we find that the pornography again,

you get into that and that dopamine,

it hits your brain right here,

that's same awesomeconnection that you have

when you hold a baby.

And you say, "Hey, wow, this kid is mine,"

your brain does that.

But when you look at porn,

it will do that in a very negative way of,

"Okay, I'm connected to this."

And so you're addicted to it.

- But most people, likeany addiction, feel like

I can stop or startthis any time I want to,

I'm in control of it all.- Right.

- But really when that thing happens,

that you're talking about,

in your brain, the addiction is there.

And some say it's strongerthan crack cocaine

or many other drugs.- Sure.

But again I believe that Jesus can help

any of that, you know.

But we also need to change the cultural

thought process of this.

Let's when we say porn,

don't say, "Oh, you're awful, that's it."

But yes, that's a problem,

so let's address it, let's change it,

let's get help,

let's change our habits.

- Do you think that, I mean I'm not sure

that we're gonna see this comefrom our culture in general,

because of the money involved in it,

because of the number of people who are--

- Sure.- But the other thing

that it is usually enjoyed in secret,

so there're people who are addicted

and people who are contributing

to this whole trafficking issue

without ever having it known publicly.

But do you think thechurch is prepared to deal

with this in the way you just described?

- I think we're getting there.

I'm hopeful, I know my church

and I'm very proud of the staff there,

that they do address these things.

And then on my websiteI even got to partner

with the non-profit to writesome curriculum for parents

and for youth groups,

and they are welcome todownload it for free.

I'm not saying it's perfect,

but it's a starting point.

If we don't start somewhereit's not gonna change,

but let's get started.

- So what are you doing as a mom?

Because you've got three darling kids,

and they're in age now where you can talk

to them about these things.

- Right, they say that average age

of pornography exposure is 11.

I would say, it's probablymore like eight or nine.

And I have a 10-year old,

an eight-year old and a seven-year old,

and they matter to me.

And so if they matter to me,

I have to be open with themof what they can access.

We have phones in our house.

I'm married to a techie, who's great.

- [Terry] That's a good thing!

(laughs)- Right!

And so the upside ofthat is that he can help

protect and put the right safeguards,

the downside is we will alwayshave technology in my house.

And that's not bad if you use it

correctly.- It's how you use it.

- It's how you use it.

So we talk aboutpornography and how is that

demeaning to girls and boys.

So, yeah, my 10-year old already knows,

my seven-year old and myeight-year old, they know.

- "The Unseen," what doyou want the takeaway to be

for people who read your book?

- I want people to be inspired

that even when you are in the nitty-gritty

of a really awful situation,

once you find Jesus and youbecome a Jesus follower,

things can just turn

to an amazing hopeful situation.

And this is just a great way to know

of the terrible situation that is going on

and then how we can change it.

- And to be careful that weare not contributing to it

by being foolish in our own lives

with what we expose ourselvesor our households to.

It's not a pleasant thing to look at,

but it's a necessary thing to look at,

if we're going to see some change.

Charity's book is called "The Unseen,"

it's available where books are sold

and there's some wisecounsel in here as well.

Thank you so much.

- Thank you.- Good to have you with us.

- [Charity] Thank you so much.