What Is the Connection Between Abuse, Neglect and Exploitation?
Abuse, neglect and exploitation are all forms of human rights violations. No matter the age of the perpetrator or the victim and no matter the relationship between them, anything that deprives someone of life, liberty and security of person, or any action that results in slavery, servitude, inhumane treatment or punishment, is violating that person’s rights as a human being.1
Human rights violations can come in the form of sexual or physical abuse, human trafficking, violence, child neglect, prostitution, debt bondage and much more. No one feels safe or cared for in any of these scenarios. The long-lasting effects of ensuring any one of these include mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, self-harm and the inability to create or maintain healthy relationships.
Genesis 1:27 tells us,
“So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (NKJV).
Each human on this planet is a reflection of the good and kind Father in heaven who longs to be in relationship with His children He created. He never intended for any of them to experience harm at the hand of another.
James told us how we can reflect Christ:
“Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world.”2
GFA provides many ways to live out this calling in our lives as followers of Jesus Christ. Throughout Scripture, God points to those people in our midst who might fall through the cracks of society and be forgotten. Widows have almost always been some of the most forgotten members of our societies, and God longs for us to care for them.
Through GFA, you can specifically support the Widows and Abandoned Children Fund at https://www.gfa.org/donation/items/widows-and-abandoned-children/. In some cultures, women are often unfairly blamed for their husbands’ deaths, something that dates back hundreds of years in their culture. They are often left without any means of income or support, and if their husband dies while they have small children, their problems are manifold.
Give today and help prevent these women and children made in God’s image from enduring the effects of exploitation or neglect that so many experience without the love and support of organizations like GFA and faithful Christians like you.
Learn more about what is exploitation
1 “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” United Nations. Accessed March 10, 2022. https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights.
2 James 1:27, NKJV.