The Commission Files
Journalist and broadcaster Will Leitch brings you regular Christian faith stories and meets the people making a difference in society. Produced by Commission Christian Radio
The Commission Files
A Tipping Point
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It's estimated there are at least 50 million people caught in a modern form of slavery across the world. The Christian organisation, International Justice Mission, (IJM) seeks to tackle that, and has an impressive track record. Now, in 2026, it says we're at a "tipping point", on the edge of radical change. Will meets Biju Mathew and Hannah Elliott of IJM as they explain their bold vision to protect 300 million people from violence and bring a million of them to safety - by 2030. And we find out why their work is painfully relevant in the UK and Ireland.
Produced by Commission Christian Radio
Hello, we'll hear some groom issues in this episode. Do please be careful, but who is listening with you? Here comes the music. Hello and welcome to the Commission Files. I'm Will Leach, back in Studio 2 at Commission Christian Radio, just outside Belfast. And here in the studios we've had the builders in. Well, the builders, electricians, IT engineers, audio engineers, painters, or as I call them all, Alan and Chris. And me, sometimes with a bit of filler and a paintbrush, and the Hoover and the Mr. Sheen. What are you up to, Will? I hear you cry. Well, it's all for exciting video reasons. More of that to come in an episode or two's time. We'll be showing you what happens in a radio studio episode by episode. But this time on the Commission Files, we're revisiting an issue we first looked at a couple of years ago with IJM, International Justice Mission. Modern slavery, exploitation, violence, abuse. And IJM say we could be at a tipping point. And also there are fascinating new ways of tackling online abuse, particularly of children using technology. And even, dare I say it, a phenomenon we've tackled here in the Commission Files within the past year, using artificial intelligence, AI, as a way of protecting people. Well, I'm delighted to welcome to the studio IJM's Hannah Elliott, the Ireland director that covers the island of Ireland. Hi, Hannah.
SPEAKER_01Hello, it is really great to be here.
SPEAKER_04On the line from England, a pleasure for me to chat once again with Bidu Matthew, who brings loads of experience in IJM's global operations, who until recently was interim chief executive steering the organization through Change at the Top, and a man whose experience covers right across Southeast Asia as well. Hi Bidu, how are you doing?
SPEAKER_03Good, good. It's so wonderful to be here with you, Will.
SPEAKER_04Bidju, IJM exists in the simplest terms to stop modern slavery. And remind people who didn't hear that episode a couple of years ago just how much modern slavery there actually is.
SPEAKER_03I was surprised to learn when I was just finishing up university that there slavery still exists in the world today. And recent estimates, I think it was 2021, says that there's about 50 million people that are currently in modern forms of slavery around the world. A shocking number, uh something too big for me to understand. Uh and yet it's something that we look to fight for and fight against, to support governments to lead the way to fight against modern-day slavery.
SPEAKER_0450 million would be a sizable proportion, for example, of the population of the UK. So that's a very, very stark number.
SPEAKER_03It is. And I, you know, I was trying to think about it from the vantage point of Northern Ireland. And in many ways, I enjoyed going to the Titanic Museum. And the Titanic carried about 3,300 people. Uh and uh if you imagine, that's 50 million people is roughly 15,000 fully loaded Titanics that would be the number of people in modern-day slavery.
SPEAKER_04And in tackling it, I know that you look at justice systems and bringing criminals to justice and bringing people to freedom and thinking about the demand for protection and how to scale it. That's no small work. So these days, how big an organization are you?
SPEAKER_03So we are operating in multiple countries around the world, and part of our hope is that we can bring to safety the one, the one child, the one adult who are in extreme forms of abuse or modern-day slavery. And so what we try to do is uh work with every part of the system of justice. The pol uh officers, the police, the prosecution, the uh, and various trainings of judiciary. We also support uh survivor services. And what we're trying to do is look at every single angle to ensure that the rule of law is working on behalf of the poor and behalf of those who aren't sheltered. Uh so what we're trying to do is exactly what you said by training, by equipping, by supporting with almost consultants to the government, we seek to strengthen systems of justice. How do we do that? Is we want to see the criminals brought to justice so that they can be accountable for the crimes that they're committing. That's crushing communities and society.
SPEAKER_04And yet you're working in countries where you're often saying, in as polite and diplomatic a way as you can to the justice system and to the police authorities, you could be doing more. So that that's a delicate and difficult thing to do if it isn't to be taken the wrong way.
SPEAKER_03We work with so many different people around the world, and we're conscious that a lot of systems are just taxed, that governments, uh, police, they're they're running after various types of issues and criminality. And so what we've realized is when we first started in some of these nations, they don't realize the scale, the scope, and the money involved in uh in modern day slavery. Uh there is huge sums of money uh in cash that is uh going between accused and criminals and various networks. And so what we began doing is letting letting those those folks know, letting police know that this is not just uh a social crime. There is uh this is an economic crime. And if people can smuggle individuals, human flesh, they can smuggle in arms, drugs, and other illicit issues into society. And so this is the the to help them stop this will help strengthen the entire system of justice, the entire rule of law.
SPEAKER_04Anabidju used uh a wonderful analogy there of the Titanics, and he's no stranger to Ireland and no stranger to Northern Ireland. But when you assess the understanding of the problem as he's laid it out there globally in Ireland, how people hear get it or don't get it, do people even grasp that slavery is a problem, that it's something that needs to be dealt with?
SPEAKER_01It's a great question. I think often people think that slavery is a story from the history books or something that we've already dealt with. Um but as Bijie says, those 50 million people here who are experiencing that today, that's actually more than it's estimated now more than at any other point in history, about one in 150 people. So it is it is an enormous issue still today, and I think people can be surprised when they hear that. But with even within the UK, we know there's an estimated 120,000 people in the UK who are experiencing slavery. So I think people find it hard to understand sometimes that actually this can be an issue that is right on our doorstep as much as it is around the world as well.
SPEAKER_04Bidju, I'm going to ask you to set out your stall here because IJM has said in presentations I've seen in the past few months that you believe we could be at a tipping point here.
SPEAKER_03What do you mean by that? It is true. We as an organization have been fighting against this issue for decades. And early on, what we were seeing is and trying to prove is that one individual could be brought to safety. One could taste freedom. Over those years, we began seeing that number grow. And uh governments were beginning to get attracted and understanding this issue. And then we began looking and asking another hard question to say what would it look like for an entire community, entire justice system, entire jurisdiction to be changed, to be protecting those who uh were at risk so that they never were uh going to be trafficked in the first place. We have seen to date nine different jurisdictions, nine different cities around the world have dramatic change in how protection is working on behalf of those who need it most. The prevalence of the crime has dropped. The reliance from the community on the system of justice has increased. It's fantastic to go into some of these neighborhoods, walk the streets, meet with government officials, which I have done, and they say to me, These streets are now safe. These communities are safe. Neighbors are beginning to interact with one another. So the tipping point we're at is scale. What we've learned in those nine different jurisdictions around the world, different countries, different continents, we are taking to another 46 locations to say we want to grow what we have tasted and seen as being so good. And we have seen over 480,000 individual people brought to freedom. We've seen nearly 8,500 convictions. And our hope is outlandish, it's crazy, but we think it's plausible that 300 million people could be protected from uh this issue uh going forward in the future, and that's our hope. And we want to do this with supporting the rule of law, with collaborative casework. We want to see communities transformed, and we want to empower survivors so that their voices are heard and that we are understanding their challenges and they can inform the system of justice. And we're equipping partners around the world that we're excited about, that is taking some of our methodology and growing it and scaling it faster than we could ever. And what I love that we're doing is we're not just saying this anecdotally. We are measuring ourselves, we are having external evaluators come in and measure our impact. Why? So that we can learn and we can keep evolving the solution as we get keep going forward.
SPEAKER_04Is there a time limit in this? Have you said I'd like to we'd like to see this amount of work done, 300 million people um protected, maybe up to a million people to safety. How quickly or how soon? Or is that far too optimistic to say it'll be done by whenever?
SPEAKER_03We we tend to be an ambitious organization. So we would love to see 300 million people uh protected by 2030, and that would include about a million people brought to safety who were not tasting freedom before and will taste freedom by 2030.
SPEAKER_04That's three and a bit years, Hannah.
SPEAKER_01It is correct. It's a big, big vision. We're excited and determined, in fact, to um use all that we have in our hands to work towards that.
SPEAKER_04And in terms of practically making it happen, bid you you need people, you need support, you need connections, you need networking, you need funding, you you need know-how. As far as I can see, you're confident it's pretty much in place. It's just a case of getting on with it.
SPEAKER_03Yes. We feel like we've tested this, we've measured it in different locations. What's holding us back are the people, the resources, the support, the connections, the networks. And so we are we are looking for that as we grow this movement, as we grow this goal. We don't want it to just be our hope or our vision inside. We want it to be a collective effort. We want society to wake up, to know that slavery is real, that it exists, and that it can be stopped. And we've got the power to stop it, governments have the power to stop it, and how hopeful that message is.
SPEAKER_04I'm going to come back to someone I said a minute ago, Hannah, because I I think there is a determination of those listening in the UK and Ireland, and I'm going to explode the myths that they cling to in a minute, but there is a sense of, I'm glad none of that happens here. That's for overseas countries. That that's where people are poor and they get exploited. And yet I've sat in Laganside courts as a journalist in Belfast and reported on modern slavery situations where the PSNI were very excited to enact new legislation that enabled them to say, look, a passport was taken from someone, they're not paid any money, they're held in this home, they're required to do this, this, this, and this. Even if it's just domestic drudgery, it's not just domestic drudgery, it's slavery of a kind. So in saying that here's what we would like to do in three or four years' time, people have a lot to take on and understand as you go about the place explaining what it is you do. Do you get resistance? Do you get a lack of belief? What do you encounter?
SPEAKER_01I think uh the vision of IJM is both a little wild and it will be a big mountain to crack, to climb. And at the same time, when we explain some of the situations that people are in, when we lift the lid a little bit on what it looks like for kids and women and men around the world who are living in poverty, who are vulnerable to being exploited, and then the realities that they face, there are very few people who don't want to get on board with trying to do something to help. And so, from that, from that sense, as I as I tell the story of IJM here in Northern Ireland, more often than not, people say, yeah, what can what can I do? What can I do to help? And whether that is funding the work, praying the work, praying for the work, spreading the news, um, advocating for legislative change, all sorts of different things. People generally are very much willing to get on board once they're over the surprise of the extent of some of the things that we see at IJM. People are generally very up, up for the challenge, up for up for getting on board.
SPEAKER_04I suspect they're gonna love those three words that you used there. If the vision is, quote, a little wild. Because it's bold and it's exciting and it's determined to tackle something. So we're gonna look at one particular thing that you tackle at IJM. Uh, there are different terms for it. The one I'm used to is onsec, the online sexual exploitation of children. It's a problem worldwide. We know that the Philippines are a hotspot for such abuse originating. They're certainly not the only place that it happens. Bidju, I take it it's it's much bigger than just the Philippines, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03Philippines has been our primary focus, but we have been training governments around the world on this issue. We've partnered with corporates and have teams uh going around uh to various locations, various countries that have said to us, hey, we we want to understand what this is and how do we tackle it. So it's not just Philippines, it's many other spaces.
SPEAKER_04And this Anna is where people go onto a website, pay money to be on that website, and can direct the abuse, the sexual abuse of children online. Why does the UK have reason to hang its head here?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so through recent research, we've discovered that the UK is in the top three global consumers of this kind of content. What that means is that people sitting in the UK, as you describe, are able to access, pay for, and direct the sexual abuse of children in places like the Philippines. Um that the prevalence of that, the demand side of that in the UK is one of the reasons why we're trying to change, to make a change here in the UK. We have teams in the Philippines who are trying to work with the individual kids to bring them to safety, to work to strengthen their the justice system there, to protect them on the sort of supply side as such.
SPEAKER_04But if those UK buyers were removed.
SPEAKER_01Correct. We have a responsibility here to also address this demand side that is a hugely prevalent um thing that's happening in the UK as one of the top global consumers.
SPEAKER_04Now if you're listening and find that hard to believe, go and look at the statistics from the UK National Crime Agency. Go and look at what Europol say. They say livestream sexual abuse is now the main form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. And also if you look at what Childlight or a global research body say, they say men who abuse children online are more likely to go and abuse children in person should they ever have the opportunity. Whenever you get your head round it, it's a very disturbing place to be. It's a very disturbing idea to get into your head. And I'm going to give you an example of someone who was disturbed by that. Now seems a good time for us to hear a clip of the President of the Philippines, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. at a summit in 2024 that was explaining the problem. He gave a speech afterwards, and this is some of what he said as he got to the podium visibly upset and visibly horrified.
SPEAKER_00As I was listening to the young lady, and she is a lady, I could not help but shed a tear. To think to try to have to relive the suffering that she went through, and to think how many other children are even as we here sit in this fancy hotel room, eating our fancy food, continuing to suffer the same fate as she has. And accompanying those tears that I just shed with a deep sense of shame, because we have not done enough for the Philippines to now be considered the epicenter of well, let us not shorten it into a clinical term of side. It is sexual abuse and exploitation of children. And I leave it to your imagination. And I would imagine in some cases your imagination cannot even begin to fathom what is done to these poor children, to our poor children. And so we must do more. We must do more.
SPEAKER_04Bidji, that's a clearly very shocked president of the Philippines saying we need to do more. We w we are ashamed of what is happening in our country. Hannah, you've outlined why we can be ashamed in the UK because of our consumption of that kind of material. Bidju, does a someone like that who's so well known, so well noticed, getting it, does that help you in your work?
SPEAKER_03I love hearing that clip from the president of the Philippines because I resonate with that. I have three girls, and if I knew that my children were being abused and harmed online, uh, that would be my reaction. And so that's my question to all listeners is if that were our children or our children of our friends or family, shouldn't that be our reaction? So then I ask the question, who is our neighbor? And why do we allow that to be distant or held at bay? And so having someone like the president of the Philippines recognize that this is his responsibility, his daughters, means so much to us because he will have the agency and the authority to begin pushing forward change, legislation, and other type of work in his vicinity. That is also true for every single one of us because we all have spheres of influence. We all have access to technology. How do we make change ourselves? Uh, and I I I I'm so grateful that he his heart is broken. And my hope is that your listeners' hearts would be broken as well.
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SPEAKER_04This is the Commission Files with Will Leach, and I'm chatting with Hannah Elliott and Bidju Matthew of IJM, International Justice Mission. Hannah, did you refer to technology there? We referred a moment ago to the situation and the consumption of this horrible material in the UK. And there's a term you've used to me, tech that protects. What is that? What's the potential of it?
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. So we are looking at tech that protects children online as an organization. Kids like we've talked about in the Philippines. It's possible now through new technology that the live-streamed abuse of children could be prevented, stopped in real time. So far, technology has enabled us to report and remove uploaded content, but live stream content has remained a really difficult. It's a very difficult thing to track, to monitor, to stop. We're talking about normal platforms here, like a WhatsApp video call or FaceTime, that sort of thing. And so that is where this has been able to thrive in the live stream element. And so there is new technology that has the ability to, on any camera-enabled device, to prevent live streams abuse in the moment. It just won't record it. It will be prevented. And that's really what we're working on right now in the UK, trying to address this UK demand for this type of content by actually preventing it from being possible. We're sort of trying to move from a reactive space into a preventative space and being able to tackle it before the content is even made.
SPEAKER_04And immediately I can think, well, wait a minute, how's that going to work? Because no one's going to download that. So it has to be built into the device when you buy it, that it stops you using it for this purpose. Is that right?
SPEAKER_01Correct. The technology is available, it's been proven to work. But as you say, there would need to be a requirement that this is on all devices in the UK. And that's exactly what we're trying to do at the minute, to lobby the UK government to pass new legislation that would mean that any camera-enabled devices in the UK sold would have this installed on their operating system prior to sale, which would mean that uh the UK landscape, it's just not able to commit that crime. It's not able to produce that content right from the start. Yes, it will address the UK demand side, but for the UK government to pass such legislation would be a huge leading voice globally in addressing what is a global crime.
SPEAKER_04It isn't easy engaging with government in the UK these days, not least because Prime Ministers keep changing with astonishing regularity. But is there any receptiveness on the part of the UK government, the current Labour government, to representations about this kind of thing?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, absolutely. The team have been working hard to connect with the right people, and um there's been a really warm reception so far. In fact, one of the common comments that we receive in speaking to various um members of parliament and and other um actors is why wouldn't we do this? Um so there's definitely a warm reception, um, and the government have made some steps so far. They're moving in the right direction, they're passing some legislation that would um uh prevent nudity on children's devices. We need to we need to get that to go one step further to be really truly protective for kids around the world um from adult devices. Um but they're very much making steps in the right direction. Um, and our our hope and prayer is that that that continues and we we do get to just respond to that comment. Why why wouldn't we do this? Why wouldn't we want to protect kids online and stop something that that is illegal?
SPEAKER_04Bid you, you you know the way people think and you know the law. And when people will say, well, wait a minute, what about our freedom of expression, our freedom to go wherever we want, frankly, on the internet? There are plenty of arguments we can say, this is about abuse, this is frequently about children, this is about vulnerable people. But but you are going to get pushback, aren't you?
SPEAKER_03We assume we will. And we we recognize that uh what we're talking about is unregulated and is a new space for the world where AI and technology is going. Uh, and so there are, I think with time, we're going to begin realizing ways we need to hold ourselves accountable to ourselves and to society. And that's my hope that we will see uh individuals in the context of community as well. And the manufacturers, they're gonna hit this, aren't they? That's a good question. I think the manufacturers would uh be open to this if there is a demand from regulators and from people. So they are subscribing to what market forces are saying and asking them to do. So the question I would have is well, we are the voices in the market. We are the ones helping to bring attribution to what those forces will be. So why are we how do we become instruments of change? Uh, because that's what these providers want. They want to sell things that the market wants and desires. So that's the way where we I think we can bring change.
SPEAKER_04You used a wonderful term there. You said hold ourselves accountable. And I think that's really important for everyone listening and everybody thinking about these issues. The other thing I wanted to ask you, Biju, and Hannah hinted at it, if you saw a change like this in a country like the UK, which uh third in the world in terms of consumption, profoundly depressing statistic, how much of a difference would it make? How much of a signal would it send around the world?
SPEAKER_03It would be incredible uh and would be earth-shattering, uh, in my opinion. If the UK was leading the movement to prevent children from being abused online, other nations would fall in line and the UK would be that leader. And so others are waiting for the first respondent, and nobody wants to be the first. So that's where the UK has this moment to be a leader among so many nations who are looking for somebody to step in, and there is a v a leadership vacuum at this time. That's where I hope the UK could step into that vacuum and other nations would be probably very happy to join, maybe a little nervous to be the first one.
SPEAKER_04Yeah. Um that's an interesting thought because it it's getting the first domino toppled over, isn't it, Hannah? And and I I don't imagine, I could be wrong, and you can tell me. Are there any other countries that are looking at it the way the UK government has been asked to look at it?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, it's being addressed in a number of different contexts. Um I think because of the stats that have come out around the UK being um in the top three consumers, that gives us a unique position to maximize the opportunity with both government and the new tech that is available.
SPEAKER_04Aaron Powell Begs the question. Where's the top two?
SPEAKER_01One of them is the States, and the other one.
SPEAKER_03I would say I think it's Australia.
SPEAKER_04So the United States, Australia, and the UK. There are so many stories, and we looked at this a couple of years ago, of people who have been on the wrong end of this. Let's bring it back to the people who are suffering for a minute. The people who have gone through pain and humiliation and abuse and have been rescued and have started rebuilding their lives. There are a lot of stories that IJM can tell, Hannah.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Correct. In fact, one of those stories was a story that I encountered in my very first week on the job. Um, whenever I joined the IGM team of a girl called Joy. Joy grew up in the Philippines, and she, in my first week as part of the team of IJM, was writing us a letter to let us know and to celebrate with her that she'd become a social worker. Um wow. Yeah, which was just incredible. She was had been inspired by a social worker who'd worked with her over years and years as part of the IGM team. Um when Joy was a when Joy was a child at age eight, her dad lost his job, and so her parents had to move. Uh they moved away from the Philippines to look for work. And that meant that Joy spent a lot of her childhood moving between family, family members and family friends. And when she was 10, um, so still in primary school, she uh was she moved in with her aunt, and her aunt, along with some other girls like Joy, um abused them online. She was sold online for paying customers in places like the UK to perform sexual acts with each other, with family members, all sorts of different things. Um and that that happened for Joy um at age 10, but lasted until she was 17. A number of years later, the IGM team caught wind of what was going on and began to investigate in collaboration with local police and conducted an operation that basically um brought Joy and um 15 other girls to safety that day. Um and Joy moved to a safe shelter and went through years and years of um trauma counselling and healing, and eventually went back into education and as I say, um became a social worker herself. She's now um also part of the Global Survivor Network, which is a network of survivors of um exploitation and trafficking um who are leading voices in the global effort to end this. Um their personal stories and testimonies are so powerful um amongst uh governments and um various networks that hold par and also amongst their communities who might also be um experiencing similar things. Um so yeah, Joy, Joy um is an amazing woman and is is the reason why we are doing this. She is her story. Um I think of a little eight-year-old. Um I have a five-year-old, and I think of the little P4s going in um to school a few years ahead of mine. Yeah, it's for those kids that we're doing this work and that we would love to see them uh not only brought to safety, but more than that protected from experiencing it in the first place.
SPEAKER_04And it is important. The the people who were behind that abuse were convicted, were jailed.
SPEAKER_01Mm-hmm. Correct. And it's those sorts of um holding criminals to account sends a massive message to others who for whom they have often um historically operated with impunity. And this is sends a message that says, actually, you will be held accountable for your actions. This is not acceptable.
SPEAKER_04And if you can't hold yourself to account, justice will be. Correct. Correct.
SPEAKER_01Strengthening that justice system for people who um are living in poverty, for people who are vulnerable, um, for people who often have nobody else to call, um, it's it's strengthening those systems so that they are protected in the first place. That that's the whole that's the whole point.
SPEAKER_04Bidju, the the power of those stories and testimonies and experiences are vital to the work that you do, aren't they? But you have to make it real for people to say, look whose life was changed, improved, look who was rescued. And we're gospel believers, we're Christians here, and this is about rescuing people, freeing them from slavery at the heart of the gospel message, isn't it?
SPEAKER_03So it is incredible to stand with people. I've I've stood with survivors in courtrooms as they've given testimony. Their courage, their strength, their bravery uh puts me to shame, to be honest with you. I've not faced the trauma that they have. And so seeing them walk this journey of freedom has helped me understand what freedom is. And I think uh for the audience you have here who are listening, we often just talk about freedom as if it's a word we throw around, uh, or salvation, or all these other words. It is something that it means life and death to people in the world right now. Uh, and I've never thought about it that way of what does it look like to bring this, not in an esoteric or theoretical way, uh, of something that might happen later, uh, once I pass, but that is people that are people crying out right now, just like we've read stories in the past of people in desperate need of freedom and rescue and support and safety. And that's the opportunity before us. And that's the privilege of working in an organization like this, uh, as well as uh for many who support us to be journeying as partners in this journey of freedom and asking what does that mean? What does that mean for me? What does that mean for communities in the UK and around the world?
SPEAKER_04Hannah, what can we do? How can we help?
SPEAKER_01Good question. Um, there are many ways that people can get involved in this kind of work. I think one of the things we we learn at IJM is that there's there's few quick fixes in this kind of work. This work can be long, it requires investment and commitment to see um long-term change. And one of the ways that people can journey with IJM and partner in this work of justice is to become what we call a freedom partner. That's uh somebody who signs up to pray and give regularly with IJM. And we've had freedom partners in the past who've said things like, um, you know, I can't go and knock on the door of a brothel somewhere in Asia, sitting here in Northern Ireland. Um but what I can do is pray and give regularly so that those that are equipped to do that can do that. And so I guess yeah, pray praying and giving regularly is is by far the best way to partner um in this work. But aside from that, to also spread the word, like lift the lid, these things can only thrive in secrecy. And so spreading awareness about the issues, talking to people about content um on their phone, being open and up for conversations about how we make online spaces safer, all these things contribute as well.
SPEAKER_04Bijou, it's very sobering, and and I've been getting my head around this for a couple of years now since I I first learned a bit more about IJM's work. And I find myself sitting in buses and um on trains and at airports and in city centres and on benches, looking at people walking past and thinking, if the UK is the third highest consumer, how many consumers have I seen walk past unwittingly in the last few minutes? How do you help people who want to support and encourage you get their head around that very sobering reality that chances are you might well know someone or engage with someone who views this stuff?
SPEAKER_03That's a hard one because for us at the at IJM, we we hear these stories, we encounter these stories, and we recognize that um people around us in our communities, in our uh places of work are broken. They're not perfect, uh, even though sometimes we strive to be. And so recognizing that so many people are doing things unwittingly, they don't know what is behind some of these industries, whether it's pornography or abuse, uh they they don't realize what ripple effect their actions are causing for another child at that moment, or they may not realize the road they're about to walk that often leads to a next step and a next step and a hunger for more, or a hunger for greater darkness. And so for us, it's we want to get the word out. We want to say, danger, danger, be careful. There is this dark space out there. Uh it could be happening in your home, it could be happening in your community or someone you know. Let them know what's on the other side. Because Hannah and I have interacted with these children, we've seen them, we've talked to them, and we've gotten the fortune of interacting with children who have survived, who are in better situations, but there are so many more that are not. And we need everyone's help, otherwise, we won't be able to do it alone with our small group. We need the word out. We need the people of um Ireland, of the United Kingdom to to wake up to this.
SPEAKER_04My final thought is about you how you do your jobs and how you deal with what you have to deal with. You're a Christian organization, Christians working together to make this happen. You're not a direct missional organization, but you're doing what I consider to be a gospel work. How do you look after each other, Hannah?
SPEAKER_01It's a good question. And that looks different depending on what team you're in and where you're sitting and what you're facing every day. One of the things um IGM takes really seriously is uh spiritual rhythms. Um so as um as staff, we uh take a half hour stillness every morning to remind ourselves why we're doing this work, who we're doing this work with and for. And then together, once a day as a team, we also come together to pray. And I think those spiritual rhythms are absolutely vital in looking after each other and also um having the stamina to continue. You know, as I say, the roles all look very different. What we do here in the UK looks very different to the Philippines team, who are very much in the thick of some of that darkness. And so being able to be honest and vulnerable with each other in in prayer is really, really important. And a verse that I that I come back to time and time again with with IJM is that at the beginning of Joshua, you know, be bold and courageous, you know, be afraid, you know, be discouraged, um, for I'll be with you. And I think that's really important for IJM's work. We are inspired by our faith and believe that God is with us in this work. And you know what, you want to protect 300 million people in a few years, you're gonna need a bit of help from the Lord of a few miracles along the way to get there. And yeah, I think doing this as part of who we are as Christians is just that is the center of of how this all happens, I suppose.
SPEAKER_04How important has that approach been to you, Bidgie?
SPEAKER_03We will we would not be able to survive this work if we didn't learn how to cling on to stories of hope, learn to meditate, learn to pray, learn to recognize that the darkness can only go so far. And when you can light a match in the darkness, it flees. And when that light grows stronger and stronger by many people joining in, there is no more place for the darkness to be. And so that's our hope, that's our joy, that's our desire, is that uh the stories that you hear from Hannah or myself or others, these are the things we cling on to because that's our a hope of a future that should be, uh, and a potential for a future that we can all participate in making happen.
SPEAKER_04Hannah Bejou, thanks both of you for joining us on the Commission Files. You've taught us a great deal, given us some sobering and challenging things to think about. But thanks for what you do at IJM. Keep it up. Um, everyone listening, I know, will offer you every blessing and and pray for every blessing for you as we aim to see changes and see justice done. But thanks both of you for joining us.
SPEAKER_03Thank you. Thanks, Well.
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