Cecilia Abbott Announces Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking

Texas First Lady Cecilia Abbott announced Tuesday that the Governor's Response Against Child Exploitation (GRACE) initiative will host a statewide interfaith Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking from January 11 to January 17, 2021.

Texas' Week of Prayer will coincide with Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and is meant to serve as a call to action to faith-based communities to not only pray for human trafficking victims, but to recognize the signs of trafficking, work to prevent it, and support survivors.

The Week of Prayer will start with a virtual interfaith event at 6 PM January 11 on Facebook, which will include remarks from state officials and a panel discussion of faith leaders and members of the Office of the Governor's Child Sex Trafficking Team (CSTT).

The Week of Prayer Schedule is as follows:

• Monday, January 11 - Pray for an end to human trafficking.
• Tuesday, January 12 - Pray for prevention efforts and those who are vulnerable.
• Wednesday, January 13 - Pray for all those working on the front line to support survivors.
• Thursday, January 14 - Pray for survivors to find healing.
• Friday, January 15 - Pray for all those working to bring traffickers and exploiters to justice.
• Saturday, January 16 - Pray for an end to demand and societal factors that lead to exploitation.
• Sunday, January 17 - Pray for discernment on the actions you can personally take to address human trafficking.

"The Governor's GRACE Initiative is working closely with communities of faith all across Texas to help prevent human trafficking and bring hope and healing to survivors, and the Week of Prayer to End Human Trafficking is an important part of our efforts," said First Lady Cecilia Abbott. "I urge Texans of all faiths across the state to join us in prayer and action so that we can put an end to human trafficking once and for all."

The GRACE imitative was launched in December of 2019 as a collaboration between Office of the Texas First Lady, CSTT, the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), and faith leaders from across the Lone Star State.