Kevin Sorbo, Alan Powell Take a Stand Against Sex Trafficking in 'Caged No More'
January is regarded as "national human trafficking awareness month." It's estimated that 27 million people are enslaved worldwide and 1.2 million children are trafficked each year, this includes the United States.
Both Sorbo and Powell are fathers, and when asked by this CP reporter how they protect their children, they each responded by saying they see their roles as parents as being the ultimate protectors of their children.
Powell has three daughters with his wife, Brycie, ranging from ages 1- to 5-years old. "I'm an incredibly protective parent so to be quite honest, when I'm outside of the house and I'm with my girls they are by my side." he asserted.
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"They don't go to anybody's house that I don't know really really well. But I think just being an attentive parent, being aware of your surroundings, being aware of what's going on in the world — the travesties that happen and not being blind to them and how we can shield them from that. That's my job as a parent; I protect my girls. I want them to feel loved and I want them to feel protected. That's what I do as a dad."
"There are thing you can learn and I learned throughout the course of this movie," Powell explained. "You see it in the movie, just being aware [that] these things can happen. Just [learning] typical ways of how girls and little boys get seduced I think is incredibly important as a parent."
Sorbo added: "I'm at the next level, so to speak, my kids are older. They are 10, 11 and 14. So when they started getting 5 and older, that's when I really started talking to them about stuff."
"I said 'look, anybody comes up to you that you don't know, and they say anything to you ... you get away from them. You yell 'You're not my dad!' you yell loud. Don't worry about ever making a fool of yourself around people.' Because I tell them 'this could happen, a van could pull up and grab you.' It happens in people's front yards. So I'd say, 'be vocal, let people know that you are around somebody that you don't know [and] somebody in that crowd will come to help.'"
"Caged No More" provides many tools on the film's website to aid in connecting people to anti-trafficking organizations, and to equip parents, schools and churches to support in trafficking prevention.
"We got involved in this project for the same reasons. The subject brings awareness. So my hopes are simple: that kids are either prevented from even going into trafficking at all or maybe they're brought out of sex trafficking because of the efforts of this film and our efforts as actors and filmmakers," Powell said. "To go make $100 million is great, but in my opinion it pales in comparison to that potential impact."
Sorbo agreed, adding: "Movies and media can promote a variety of agendas and we hope that this movie is a positive one and that people would wake up to some of the problems that are going on out there, because we live in a very apathetic world right now.
"People are very selfish with their time and their world right now. You see stuff happen around you and people don't want to know anything about it because people don't want to get involved. It starts with a lot of things. We put that value in human life. How many abortions since Roe v. Wade? Over 50 million. But that's not a life, right?"
When confronted with the question, "Why God allow this to happen?" both actors became very still and handled their responses with care.
"I don't know," Powell responded.
Sorbo echoed: "I agree, I don't know. Why do we have everything going on right now with ISIS and people beheading people because they're Christians, all in the name of God? Christ is the light of the world. What does ISIS represent? Look at what they represent! Are all Muslims bad? Of course not. But that [particular] group they represent darkness. Their flag is black, they represent death. They don't represent hope [or] a message of love and giving."
"There's nothing in the New Testament about killing," he persisted. "Everything with Jesus deals with love. It's all about love and spreading light."
According to the Polaris Project victims of human trafficking are frequently lured by false promises of a lucrative job, stability, education, or relationship. While they share the trait of vulnerability, human trafficking spans all demographics.
Runaways, homeless youth, victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, war, conflict, or social discrimination casualties are frequently targeted and lead to a higher susceptibility to be victimization by sexual slavery.
"I think some of them feel like they have no other option in life. they feel lost, they feel forgotten, they've given up on life and they are probably on alcohol and drugs themselves too," Sorbo shared. "They are looking for what most people are looking for — they're looking for hope."
Powell followed by saying, "I would tell them that they have value. That their important and there's nothing that we can do that ever changes that. We are God's children and that's the way He sees us. I wish that I could extend my arm and grab them and pull them out of whatever it is their going through. I would encourage them to find a way out."
Sorbo interjected, "If you can save one life it's worthwhile and if they read this, any of these people that are going through this, they can go to the site and look at the options on the website. It really comes down to having the bravery to reach out to the links that will be on the website to expose the people doing this.
"Caged No More" hit theaters Jan. 22 to find out more information visit cagednomoremovie.com.
If you or someone you know is a victim of sexual slavery call this
human trafficking hotline 888-373-7888.
