‘Need an Army’: Tim Tebow Urges Others to Join Fight Against Child Sex Abuse
By Movieguide® Contributor
Tim Tebow is encouraging others to join his battle to end the spread of child sexual abuse material.
“I want to share with you an evil that may be growing at an even faster rate than human trafficking,” the former football star wrote in an essay for Fox News. “It’s called CSAM–child sexual abuse material. Sometimes people will refer to this as child pornography, but that’s not the truth. It’s just not. These sexually explicit videos and images taken of children are so much worse than that. It’s not child pornography, so let’s call it what it is, it’s child sexual abuse.”
Tebow explained that, while many think human traffickers are making this material, “fathers are the number one producers of CSAM. The other most common abusers are within their circles of trust, with stepfathers and family friends also on the list for committing these horrific crimes.”
The issue is so pervasive, Tebow explained, that every single minute, 156 CSAM images and videos are shared online.
“So, you may ask, ‘Timmy, what can I do?’” he continued. “The first thing I would say is please pray. I can only imagine these children have been hoping that someone will come for them, someone will protect them, someone will love them enough. They may have even prayed many times, ‘God, help me, show up. Where are you? I need you.'”
“While they may be unKNOWN to us right now, we know they are known and intimately loved by God. He knows their name. He knows where they are. And we pray for His guidance in how we can be a part of these prayers being answered. Please join me in this prayer!” he added.
Tebow then encouraged readers to go to his Tim Tebow Foundation website and join his unKNOWN campaign.
“Our heart with unKNOWN is to partner with our amazing heroes in law enforcement and other organizations to help identify and protect a specific group of more than 50,000 children we know have been sexually exploited but whose identities and locations remain unknown,” he explained.
The football player elaborated on the unKNOWN project on his website, writing, “Each of these [law enforcement members and other experts in the field] have played a pivotal role in today’s fast-paced and complex world of child exploitation, where specialized knowledge is paramount to solving intricate challenges in the field. These individuals are highly knowledgeable and experienced, possessing deep expertise and insights that make them invaluable resources to our foundation and so many others around the world.”
“We need an army,” Tebow told readers. “We need people who refuse to look away. For my 36th birthday, I pray to do just that—rally an army, ready to fight for these boys and girls living in this nightmare.”
“As big and daunting as this evil of trafficking and CSAM is, our God is so much bigger and we can have hope that He is rescuing and redeeming lives all over the world,” he concluded. “Let’s do our part today. Let’s pray and let’s act.”
In addition to his work in ending CSAM, Tebow is also an outspoken voice in the battle against human trafficking.
“I believe that human trafficking and child sexual exploitation are two of the greatest evils we face today,” he wrote in an Instagram post about his work. “@timtebowfoundationhas been in this fight for more than ten years and been blessed to expand our impact across 30 countries. Through our team and partners, we have created and operate 20 safe homes with 22 more in progress, and protected more than 2,000 victims while helping bring 500+ perpetrators to justice.”
Movieguide® previously reported on how Tebow’s passion for fighting human trafficking around the world began:
Tim Tebow penned an emotional op-ed for Fox News about his personal connection to human trafficking—and why he’s so determined to fight it.
The former NFL quarterback detailed how his father “purchased four young girls” while on a trip overseas. But instead of purchasing the girls for his own gain as thousands of others do every day, he did it to free them from a life of trafficking.
At the time, Tebow said he was “completely unaware such a transaction was even possible.”
“People buy groceries. Shoes. Annual passes to Disney World. They don’t buy other people,” he wrote. “But I had heard him correctly. My dad had opened up his wallet and bought as many girls as he could with the cash he had on hand.”
When his father returned home, Tebow said there wasn’t a safe home to take the girls to, so they built one.
“Honestly, we weren’t prepared. We never saw that moment coming. But over the years, that single moment in time – a moment where one man took a stand for what was right – was the beginning of a ripple effect still in motion today,” he explained.
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