Bringing Hope to the Voiceless
By Meahgan Pear nonfiction
There he was ; a sophomore in college , who , on a mission to complete his general education requirements , signed up on a whim for a Women ’ s Studies course . What he didn ’ t expect was for it to change the course of his life , and start him out on a journey he would never forget .
Now , a senior at the University of Michigan , Luke Hassevoort is a lot like other 22 year-olds his age . He ’ s your typical college student who enjoys spending time with friends , and loves to watch and play sports ( a football and softball fan at heart ). But , there is one thing that sets him apart .
He ’ s dedicated his young life to working toward a just society .
It was back in that Women ’ s Studies class that Luke first realized what it was that he was passionate about . He always had a kind heart , and valued helping others , but it was in that class where he was first exposed to the horrors of human trafficking .
“ I had learned about human trafficking in my Women ’ s Studies class , and when I came home after that semester I talked with a friend of mine whose youth pastor was working on a project related to this very issue ,” explains Luke . “ He was looking at the connections between pornography and the demand for human trafficking , and the way pornography potentially shapes our views of sex and sexuality in harmful ways .”
Through talking with his friend ’ s pastor , Luke quickly became involved with this new project and organization called Hope for the Voiceless ( HFTV ). “ Hope for the Voiceless is just a group of people who are passionate about anti-human trafficking , and we felt we needed to respond in some way .”
And that way , recalls Luke , was addressing the issue of demand .
“ We had the skills and abilities to address that conversation . We ’ re not social workers or therapists , but we knew we could be advocates .” Through HFTV , Luke and the others have devoted their time talking with people from all walks of life about the root causes of human trafficking . Things like strip clubs ; pornography ; objectification of women in media , advertising and reality TV ; escort services ; and even things like spring break wet t-shirt contests .
“ We ’ re living in a culture that , sadly , embraces the objectification of women , especially in the media ,” explains Luke . “ Sexualization ( a form of objectification where a person ’ s worth and identity is reduced to their sexual being and physical bodies ) in advertising , pornography – it ’ s all a fabric of exploitation . And it creates this natural progression to human trafficking .”
It ’ s this natural progression , and increasing demand , that HFTV is committed to stopping . They ’ re focusing on exposing these root issues that condition people to exploit others on many different levels .
“ As a county , it ’ s getting more and more progressive . We ’ re dehumanizing women . There ’ s no one answer to changing this ,” says Luke . “ Legislatively things need to be changed . Punishment for trafficking needs to be stronger , the prosecution of Johns needs to be enforced , and emphasis needs to be placed on providing support for survivors of human trafficking .”
And that ’ s exactly where HFTV hopes to bring in change . Luke , and the others at HFTV have dedicated their summer to traveling across the country creating a documentary showcasing how people can get caught up in these dangerous behaviors that lead to human trafficking .
“ We were thinking about what we could do to reach the largest audience , and realized documentary films are a great way to do this ,” says Luke . “ Through this film , we hope to show how someone can go from Point A ( being a husband , father , mother , etc .) to someone who is buying sex .”
The documentary will focus on personal interviews of current convicted sex offenders and men / women who have been arrested for soliciting sex .
“ We want to pick apart this process and see what things are influencing them and what we can do to address these demands .”
The documentary is a multi-year commitment , but HFTV knows that it could really help bring this topic of demand to the forefront of the overall issue of human trafficking .
“ These were things that I never thought were connected to human trafficking . For us to be able to show all these things , that as a culture we actively engage in and could have grave consequences , is essential .”
HFTV and Luke have already set out on their journey to document these stories , and are grateful to be able to share their experiences with the world . But , they know that it will take more than just their efforts to really make a difference .
“ Think about your passions and what you ’ re good at ,” encourages Luke . “ Trafficking is so interconnected with other issues – homelessness , poverty , crime – we all need to work together to stop this , and together we can make a difference .” And Luke has set a great example of this . “ As a man , I feel a bit culpable in a lot of ways , and I feel like working with HFTV is a lot like redemption ,” explains Luke . “ Hearing stories about girls who ’ ve come out of human trafficking and to see them come out of that and have that redemption is really powerful . This is a really big problem to tackle – but there ’ s a lot of victories along the way .”
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