Children are targeted and pimped online for sexual exploitation. You can help end it.
Traffickers lurk both in the dark corners of the internet and hide in plain sight, seeking to gain the trust of children. These online pimps and pedophiles pretend to be someone they aren’t, a nice friend, until it is too late.
More than 150,000 escort ads are posted every day in the United States. Hiding in that pile of ads are children being bought and sold online for sex. And the amount of online advertising is only increasing with time.
Many victims write their own ads with keywords provided by their traffickers to indicate they are underage. So many victims also communicate with the buyers themselves that when a trafficker is communicating with the buyers, the victim is likely to be younger than 14 years old.
These traffickers and many others used social media to lure teenagers in. When children and teenagers meet these perpetrators online, the perpetrator will earn their trust and often within 2 weeks, use a sexual image obtained from the minor or some other source to demand more images or sexual interactions. This is called sextortion, and 45% of perpetrators carry out their threats to share sexual images of their victims.
Sextortion starts young, so teaching children how to be safe online also needs to start young. Love146 has this amazing page explaining online safety tips in a fun way for tweens and teens, including rules of thumb, red flag phrases, and a funny video full of tips!
So, what is being done about sextortion and online trafficking?
Spotlight, a technology developed by Thorn: Digital Defenders of Children, helps law enforcement filter through the online ads to locate and identify trafficking victims and perpetrators. It is a free tool for law enforcement and is currently being used in all 50 states and Canada. And it’s working:
Other organizations are also working to fight human trafficking online. Operation Underground Railroad has been collaborating with Washington State Patrol since August 2015 in order to identify and arrest individuals trying to pay for sex with children.
As of August 2018, Net Nanny operations across Washington State have led to a total of 205 arrests and rescued over 30 child victims.
Operation Underground Railroad also supports digital forensic technology labs in other countries to rescue victims outside the United States. Just last week, they shared that 3 traffickers had been arrested and 6 survivors rescued in South America.
How can you help?
Dressember is partnered with both the organizations Thorn and Love146 to help bring and end to child exploitation on the web. Through fundraising efforts, Dressember is able to provide strategic grants to Thorn and Love146 so that they can continue with their rescue operations.
You can help free a child from a life of sexual abuse and exploitation by giving a monetary gift to our Dressember fundraising advocacy page today.
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