the first time I set foot in a brothel
smell of stale urine was so pungent that
it literally knocked me back a step and
as I stepped into this particular
brothel was the middle of the afternoon
so it was bright outside but as I
stepped in it was so dark the my eyes
were adjusting to the darkness and I
noticed movement all around there were
huge rats just resting and leisure and
as I made my way in a little bit further
and started up these sort of warm wooden
stairs as I got toward the top of the
stairs I could start to hear the sound
of abuse echoing off the walls and if
the walls could talk as the saying goes
few of us could actually stomach those
stories as I got to the top of that
staircase it opened up into a long
corridor with literally woman after
woman just lined up in front of these
little closet sized rooms with nothing
more than just a mattress and a pole
Kurt and I walked into that hallway and
I couldn't realize what was in front of
me I had never seen slavery face to face
as I looked into the eyes of some of
those women it was lifeless void place
where a life once lived and as I stepped
out onto the street
I left that place because I can I'm not
a slave commercial sexual exploitation
is a significant issue in virtually
every country around the world but in
certain countries the the confluence of
factors and systemic issues can a
coalesce to actually cause it to thrive
in some places far greater than others
the State Department's u.s. trafficking
in persons report reports and some of
these South Asian countries that
millions of women and children are sold
for sex on a consistent basis when we
consider how this process works when we
consider that it's it's those who are in
a position of authority that are
exercising that authority that power
over those who are in a position of
vulnerability we have to ask the
question how can things change we have
to understand kind of how the process
works to
understand how you bring solution you
see ultimately it is those in authority
abusing those in a position of
vulnerability here's how it works in
some cases in our particular context
someone called the Dalal will actually
go out to the countryside and typically
to the rural poor and begin to shape and
tell all these stories of economic
opportunity that exist within the city
what happens next is that person will
then bring that young woman into the
city and oftentimes sell her to someone
called the mailing who will put her in
the box and it's in this place where
this becomes her life her existence
where she eats where she sleeps where
she's forced to do things none of us
would desire day after day night after
night until that Malik breaks her at
this point the male look then hands her
over to someone called the garhwali the
GAR Hualien in this hallway ultimately
is the one who's trying to help enforce
this fact that she who is never going to
leave this place and she has been
brought here for a specific person
purpose and that is to earn money and if
she doesn't there will be severe
consequence and it's at this point where
the garhwali starts to peel back and
strip any vestige of hope that remains
ultimately that Garhwali then hands her
over to a street-level pen and it's at
this point when we kind of see an image
where you know these women are on the
street or something like that we think
well why does it she run and at this
point the authority over her and the
trauma that she's experienced she's no
longer a flight risk
she's not going anywhere at this point
the trauma has done its work and she
sees herself as a sexual slave and by
the time she's handed over to that pimp
the pimp knows it matter of fact the
pimp will boast about it one pimp was
quoted to saying you do good or show up
a day late and leave a day or
he knows that those in authority have
the power over those who are a position
of vulnerability to beYOU to abuse them
as they so choose and he's banking
literally banking on the fact that those
from the outside who are in positions of
authority and influence aren't going to
take the time to actually engage in
engage in the need of those who are
vulnerable what we do about you see I
wanna I want to suggest that the the
issue is not awareness the issue is
action those in positions of authority
and power and influence exercising that
power and authority and influence on
behalf of the vulnerable and those in
need at great risk to themselves so that
we can all together flourish but it
requires risk a friend Andy Crouch has
suggested this he's written a number of
different articles and books on this
topic
the idea of Authority and vulnerability
and for our purposes have borrowed this
and kind of constructed them for our
purposes in consideration tonight
authority Authority is the capacity for
meaningful action whereas vulnerability
would be exposure to meaningful risk now
I want to suggest to you that the Nexus
of those two when we consider high
authority and high vulnerability this is
the point at which we find human
flourishing it's a point at which were
able to a voice who we are we're able to
use our voice and that voice is heard
and considered it's a place where we
have influence or we can actually speak
into things and have helped bring about
positive change it's a place where we
have relationship where we are known
where we're challenged where we're
trusted where we're loved and vice versa
mutually beneficial relationship now the
opposite of this human flourishing would
be in a position of
very low authority very low
vulnerability this would be considered
withdrawing and oftentimes when we
consider withdrawing it's it's seen from
those who have experienced enough
success maybe financially to be able to
step away from the risk of vulnerability
and neglect the responsibilities of
authority and inoculate their lives in a
place what might be considered safety
now what's interesting is some
researchers as they've kind of looked at
this and they've said these inoculated
lives are the ones that seem to have
patterns of what seems to be a sense of
purpose lessness that leads to a sense
of depression lack of meaning now the
real challenges we consider this is you
move up the scale and start to consider
high authority very low vulnerability
what we see in this quadrant is
ultimately those who are are seeking to
maximize power and get rid of risk at
the benefit of themselves and it's in
this sort of quadrant that is often
driven by fear of being vulnerable
so seeking in a maximized risk or
maximize power and reduce risk at all
costs regardless of who it affects and
who it hurts this is potentially the way
that a company cuts wages in the
developing country so that those who are
actually producing a product or are left
in significant dire consequences just so
that they can increase the profit margin
for the ultimate end of a select few
shareholders receiving more and
oftentimes we may be complicit in it in
purchasing the product and not even
realizing it now I'm not against
competition rather I think it's a great
thing as long as it's for the benefit of
the whole not just to select for you not
just those in authority at the sake of
the vulnerable because it's ultimately
the vulnerable this place of suffering
where there's virtually no Authority and
exposure to significant risk
it's in this position where people like
those who work in the fashion industry
who are paid pennies to produce things
to make the affluent look good it's it's
exploited young boys who are working in
the fishing industry in exceptionally
hazardous conditions to make sure that
the catch of the day lands on that great
plate in that great restaurant it's the
women in the box and the hallway and on
the street or silenced who are isolated
and rendered powerless and so the
question is simply this if the suffering
exists and yet if we consider where we
are positioned in this world today we
must ask the question what do we do
about all this do we withdraw or do we
double down on the power and the
authority that we have regardless of who
it affects or at great risk do we step
in for the sake of the vulnerable do we
step in to their need this is Authority
reimagined expressing authority and
influence for the sake of those who are
in need at great risk to ourselves so
they together we flourish and it's not
just a philosophy or an idea it's the
heart that drives Aruna
we got exposed to that need in that
red-light area we dug in and did tons of
research to simply try and understand
for those in the community why is this
thriving and we established a Runa
to simply be an option and a solution
for those who are in a vulnerable
position and in desperate need as an
athleisure lifestyle brand we create
functional luxury product that competes
here in the open market but what drives
it is creating lifelong freedom for the
vulnerable and those in need
specifically those who have been
trafficked for sex it's this system that
we've sought to create to empower those
who are in need we've got a training
center in the heart of the red-light
area where we go in to that brothel
system on a daily basis to try and help
empower the women so they can step into
that training center where they receive
a hot meal where they receive
trauma-focused kind of behavioral
therapy to help them move through and
process some of the trauma they've
experienced
financially incentivize skill and trade
development to equip them with the
skills necessary needed to move out from
that situation in addition to that then
we offer them transitional housing and a
job opportunity within the freedom
business it's in this business where
they're they're financially incentivized
they have a living wage they have
retirement they have health care all
wrapped in a community of care by others
who have overcome and what we're seeing
is these women are doing incredible
things they're creating incredibly
beautiful products and they're
challenging us and saying give us
something harder give us something more
beautiful products that are bluesign
certified fabrics which means it's
eco-friendly for the culture supply
chain check for questionable labor
practice from those who are sourcing
from the aluminum trends are all
strength tested the designs are all-day
functional and what's beautiful is the
women are driving this vision in
addition to that we're seeing an
incredible amount of people starting to
step in and utilize their authority and
their influence thousands across the
u.s. we're getting involved in a Runa
runs where they run for a particular
woman by name who's still enslaved to
try and help secure and bring about her
freedom and what's incredible is to
consider where these women are today
it's these women that are driving the
vision of Aruna
they're the ones who are using their
voice and their influence in their
relationships now that they're freed and
empowered unemployed one young woman
will refer to her as Farida born into
the system basically was turned out and
abused set free and then as she worked
within our production facility none of
us knew
she was saving up her money and as she
saved up that money over Christmas time
she went back in and purchased her own
mother's freedom a couple of months ago
as we're sitting in their apartment
we're having team we're spending some
time together two other women walk in we
have a great conversation and two other
women leave and as we're getting up to
leave we come to find out that is Freda
had freed her mother her mother then
freed those two women they are
exercising their voice their influence
their relationships its authority
re-imagined as they exercise that
authority on behalf of the vulnerable at
great risk to themselves so that
together they can flourish they're
leading the vision they understand it
because they've been in that position of
suffering and once they taste freedom
and step into that position of authority
they know how could they withdraw how
could they step up to to exploit others
no instead they exist in that position
of a flourishing where they're stepping
in for the sake of others who are in
need they're driving the vision and it's
beautiful to see the question is for us
how will we respond will we prove the
pimp wrong he's banking on the fact that
you won't we can choose to withdraw we
can choose to double down and maximizing
our power in eliminating risk and
potentially exploit or we can choose to
step in to flourish and reimagine
Authority exercising that authority on
behalf of the vulnerable at great risk
to yourself so that together we can
flourish
let's prove the pimp wrong because of
lives depend on it thank you
you