'Sound of Freedom' film is no conspiracy theory

Buzz and backlash summarize the release of the new anti-trafficking film, “Sound of Freedom.” The Angel Studios production tells the true story of an operation that rescued children from forced prostitution.

Despite the efforts of critics to discredit, silence, or ignore the film, its impacts are inescapable. “Sound of Freedom” could be the necessary catalyst for the next great abolition movement in the same way William Wilberforce used the shackles from slave ships to spur the abolition of the slave trade in the 1800s.

This very well could be our Wilberforce Moment.

Wilberforce is considered one of the greatest abolitionists. He used his voice and political influence to advocate for the abolition of the British slave trade for nearly 20 years before it was abolished in England in 1807. He continued his efforts until slavery itself was ended in England in 1833. He died a few days later.

During Wilberforce’s time, the horrors of slavery were hidden beneath carefully constructed false cover narratives that made the life of slaves seem good. These cover narratives were propagated and funded by those who benefited most from keeping the system of slavery in place.

Benjamin Nolot, founder of Exodus Cry, an anti-human trafficking nonprofit currently fighting sexual exploitation says, “The slave masters of Wilberforce’s time have morphed into the traffickers, sex buyers, and pimps of this present manifestation of slavery we call trafficking and prostitution.”

The act of abolishing any kind of slavery begins with tearing down the false narratives our culture uses to justify it. For Wilberforce, this dismantling began by showing the British House of Lords the actual shackles slaves were bound in and the inhumanity of the slave ship quarters. For the abolition of sex trafficking, it could be political leaders, pastors and everyday people watching the horrific true story of two children ensnared in sex trafficking and the nightmare of their abuse in “Sound of Freedom.”

“Sound of Freedom” carries the same potential for change as the shackles, but only if we take up the torch. We must be moved enough by this injustice to not be silent about it, no matter the discomfort or backlash.

The makers of the hit series “The Chosen,” Angel Studios, released “Sound of Freedom” to 2,600 theaters across the country on July 4. The film is a true story based on Tim Ballard, a Homeland Security Investigations officer who investigates and pursues pedophiles in the United States.

After rescuing one Cambodian boy who was being trafficked through the Southern Border to be sold for sex, Ballard heads to Central America to find the boy’s sister who was also kidnapped and being trafficked. The film goes on to highlight the deep-rooted trafficking networks that prey on vulnerable children and the American sex buyers that fuel it.

Tim Ballard is now the founder of the anti-human trafficking organization called Operation Underground Railroad (OUR). OUR conducts sting operations within the United States and abroad to rescue victims and aid in the arrest of traffickers.

As anyone who sees this film can attest, it is a sobering slap in the face, leaving the audience shocked, horrified, and burdened.

Surprisingly, the mainstream media has been working overtime to discredit or completely ignore the film. The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, two news outlets that often publish film reviews have yet to do so for “Sound of Freedom.” Meanwhile, Rolling Stone and several other outlets have labeled the film a “conspiracy theory.”

But sex trafficking, especially child sex trafficking, is no conspiracy theory. More humans are being sold today in the world than at any other point in human history, including when the slave trade was legal. An even more sobering fact: The US is the number one consumer of sex worldwide.

For many, sex trafficking is considered a third-world problem. For others, their framework for sex trafficking in the United States begins and ends with notorious child trafficker Jeffery Epstein. But contrary to what the mainstream media tells us, human trafficking is the fastest-growing type of organized crime in the world, raking in $150 billion USD annually.

“Sound of Freedom” has faced relentless backlash from critics who claim child sex trafficking is not as big of an issue as the film portrays, but once again, that assertion is false. According to UNODC’s 2020 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, which is compiled using official figures from over 148 countries, one in every three trafficking victims detected is a child. In a survey of 260 survivors of domestic minor sex trafficking, one in six were trafficked under the age of 12.

The statistics are damning. So, the real question is, why are so many people denying the pervasiveness of child sex trafficking? 

Recently, the anti-sex trafficking movement has been labeled by some critics as a conservative or Christian issue. This should be an issue for every person, no matter their political or religious affiliation. Any attempt to brand this film as “extremist” or “right-wing” is a pathetic attempt to minimize and discredit the issue at hand.

Sex trafficking is one of the greatest injustices on this earth, exploiting and abusing millions of women and children across the globe. But it is an injustice that we have the power to stop by exposing the darkness and cutting the demand for sex trafficking off at its source.

To address sex trafficking, we must acknowledge what fuels it. Porn and sex trafficking are undeniably connected as porn not only creates an appetite for purchasing sex, but women are also exploited and trafficked in the creation of porn itself. The desire for child sexual abuse material (CSAM), or child porn, is birthed from deep-seated porn addiction. And Americans are among the worst offenders.

As shown in “Sound of Freedom,” American men are some of the most frequent buyers of child sex, often flying to countries like the Philippines and Cambodia where they are granted easy access to trafficked children. (Exodus Cry highlights this issue extensively in the film “Nefarious: Merchant of Souls”). The United States is also the number one consumer of CSAM and one of the top destinations for sex trafficking. Coincidentally, the United States is consistently listed as the top consumer of porn on Pornhub’s “Year in Review.” American culture is becoming more widely accepting of porn as a daily and “normal” habit for singles and couples alike.

The connection between the consumption of porn and the consumption of purchased sex is not mere correlation, it is causation.

If we truly want to end sex trafficking, we must cut off the demand fueled by porn. We must also pass legislation that criminalizes sex buying, pimps, traffickers, and brothel owners while decriminalizing those in prostitution and providing them with the proper resources to find a life outside of exploitation. This model of legislation is called the Abolitionist Model or the Nordic Model.

“Sound of Freedom” has the potential to be the necessary catalyst for the next great abolitionist movement. The question now remains: Will we take up the mantle and fight with the same fervor and determination to see the abolition of sex trafficking as Wilberforce before us? Or will we let this moment pass us by for the sake of comfort?