Ep. 161: Rachelle Starr on healing father wounds.
Some conversations stay with you long after the microphones are off. This was one of them.
In this episode of the MercyCast, I sit down with my longtime friend Rachelle Starr — founder of Scarlet Hope, author of Outrageous Obedience, and one of the clearest voices I know on mercy, trauma, exploitation, and the love of God.
We talk about her new documentary, He Calls Me Daughter, a powerful film exploring father wounds, identity, healing, and what happens when women who have spent their lives feeling abandoned begin to believe they are truly seen by God.
This conversation moved me deeply because it gets to the heart of things.
We talk about the hidden wounds people carry from absent, abusive, distant, or emotionally unavailable fathers — and how those wounds often shape vulnerability, exploitation, addiction, performance, overworking, relationships, and identity in ways we don’t even realize.
Rachelle shares stories from nearly two decades of serving women in strip clubs, online exploitation, trafficking, and the adult entertainment industry through Scarlet Hope. She explains how their ministry now reaches exploited women across the country through digital outreach, including text-based intervention with women being trafficked online.
One story in particular wrecked me: a woman trapped in exploitation for nearly ten years receives a single text message from Scarlet Hope — and that moment becomes the beginning of her freedom.
We also talk about:
The rise of online sexual exploitation and trafficking
Why “daddy issues” is often a cruel oversimplification of real trauma
Compassion fatigue and burnout in justice work
The difference between being a savior and being a neighbor
How healing rarely happens overnight
Why faithful presence matters more than quick fixes
The power of staying when it would be easier to walk away
One of the most moving moments of the episode is when Rachelle shares the story of Priscilla — a woman she met in a strip club who wanted nothing to do with God, Christians, or ministry. Over years of consistency, meals, conversations, and love, everything changed.
Not through pressure.
Not through performance.
But through presence.
If you’ve ever wrestled with wounds from your past, burnout, identity, faith, trauma, or what it means to truly love people well, I think this episode will meet you where you are.
In This Episode
Father wounds and healing
Human trafficking and online exploitation
Trauma-informed ministry
Compassion fatigue and burnout
Scarlet Hope’s outreach work
The documentary He Calls Me Daughter.
Faith, identity, and belonging
Hospitality, mercy, and long-term presence
Technology and trafficking intervention
What it means to be called “daughter.”
About Rachelle Starr
Rachelle Starr is the founder of Scarlet Hope, a ministry serving women in the adult entertainment industry across the United States. She is the author of Outrageous Obedience and appears in the documentary He Calls Me Daughter, which explores the impact of father wounds and the healing available through God’s love.
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Listen to the full episode:
Follow Rachelle and Scarlet Hope here:
Watch the documentary, He Calls Me Daughter. You can also get a copy of her book—Outrageous Obedience: Answering God's Call to Shine in the Darkest Places—at Amazon.
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Email us at info@mercycast.com.
For more conversations like this one, check out my book, Vulnerable: Rethinking Human Trafficking.