Lauran Bethell

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Lauran Bethell
Church American Baptist Churches USA
Title The Reverend Doctor

Lauran Bethell is an American Baptist missionary[1] and human rights advocate residing in Eastern Europe.[2] She is one of the founders of Chiang Mai, Thailand's New Life Center, in which former prostitutes or sex trafficking victims are provided with a Christian-based education aimed at making them literate and employable.[3] She holds the position of Global Consultant with the American Baptist International Ministries.[4] She is currently based in the Netherlands.[5]

Biography

Bethell was the only daughter and oldest sibling growing up in San Joaquin Valley. Her father was a Baptist Minister.[6]

Bethell attended the University of Redlands.[7] Soon after, she followed her childhood dream of visiting far-away countries and started teaching in Hong Kong in 1978 and a year later, visited Thailand.[7] Inspired by seeing the prostitution district in Thailand, she founded and became the director of New Life Center in Chiang Mai in 1987.[8][9] By 1995, the New Life Center, under her direction, was aiding approximately 120 women every day, teaching them vocational skills and enabling them to attend night school for literacy.[10] She also worked with local police and families to remove women and children from brothels in Thailand.[6]

In 2001, she began working as an international consultant on human trafficking and human exploitation for the American Baptist Ministries.[5] In 2000, she testified for the United States Committee on Foreign Relations about sex trafficking.[11] In 2003, she again testified about human trafficking at the United States House of Representatives.[12] The next year, in July 2004, Bethell spoke at the pre-conference to the Baptist World Centenary Congress.[13] In 2005,[14] she received the Baptist World Alliance Human Rights Award.[15]

In November 2006, Bethell spoke at an evening gathering in Orlando, Florida in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the American Baptist Churches USA.[16] In March 2009, Bethell spoke at a conference called "STOP Sex Trafficking: A Call to End 21st Century Slavery" at Mercer University.[17]

Bethell's philosophy is that prostituted children can recover from their abuse and said that those who suggest otherwise are "not giving enough credit to the power of the human spirit."[18] Bethell also supports the "Nordic Model" of fighting prostitution.[6]

References

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