Human Trafficking Prevention

In Texas, the Office of the Attorney General reports there are 79,000 victims of youth and minor sex trafficking at any given time. It is important for parents to monitor their child’s personal relationships and online activity.

 

Children and adolescents are more susceptible to becoming targets of human trafficking due to their use of various social media, gaming, and other online platforms. Traffickers are also spending more time online, and children and adolescents may not recognize the danger they are in.

 

Traffickers pose as friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends. It is essential to watch for some of these potential indicators that your child may be a victim of human trafficking:

 

 

 https://txssc.txstate.edu/tools/parent-safety/3-bhss/3-7-human-trafficking.html

 

Safety Tips for Children:
1. Know your name, address, and phone number(s).
2. Learn how and when to call 911.
3. If you are scared of someone, RUN to safety.
4. It’s okay to be RUDE to a grownup if you feel you are unsafe.
5. Learn the difference between an “OK” secret and a “NOT OK” secret and beware of an adult who asks you to keep a secret from your parents.
6. Don’t let anyone on the phone or at the door know that you are home alone.
7. If you ever get lost in a mall, ask the closest store clerk for help and then stay where you are until you are found.
8. Avoid shortcuts when you are walking from one place to another.
9. If you are ever “scooped,” scream, kick, bite and FIGHT as hard as you can to get away! NEVER trust what the “scooper” tells you.
10. Tell your parents or a trusted adult if someone is asking you to do something that makes you feel uncomfortable. Listen to your “uh oh” voice.
11. Always ask your parents for permission before getting on the internet.
12. Never talk to people online without your parents’ permission.
13. Never fear someone else threatening you to keep a secret and not tell your parents.

Safety Tips for Parents:
1. Work hard to establish trust and communication with your children from day one.
2. Don’t ever leave children unattended in a vehicle, whether it is running or not.
3. Make sure you know how to find or contact your children at all times.
4. Have a “Call List” of emergency contacts and make sure your child knows the numbers for who to call if they can’t reach you.
5. Take an active role in your children’s activities.
6. As tired as you may be, take the time to listen intently to your children when they tell you they had a bad dream. There could be a reason. Trust your instincts.
7. Talk to your children about inappropriate incidences you hear on the news and get their perspectives.
8. Question and monitor anyone who takes an unusual interest in your children.
9. Teach your children that they can be rude to an adult if they feel threatened in any way. They need to hear it from you directly because this message often contradicts everything they have heard before.
10. Teach children the difference between an “OK” secret and a “NOT OK” secret. Assure your children that you would never want them to feel like they should keep a “NOT OK” secret from you.
11. Have your children practice their most annoying scream. They may need to use it someday.
12. Check websites for registered offenders in your neighborhood. Talk to your children about why these people should be avoided.
13. Keep your family computer in a central location that is easily monitored and avoid letting your children have internet access in unsupervised areas (such as computers in their bedrooms).

 

Stolen: The True Story of a Sex Trafficking Survivor- First recruited while staying with her family at a hotel in Miami Beach, Katariina Rosenblatt was already a lonely and abused young girl who was yearning to be loved. She fell into the hands of a confident young woman who pretended friendship but slowly lured her into a child prostitution ring. For years afterward, a cycle of false friendship, threats, drugs, and violence kept her trapped. As Kat shares her harrowing experiences, readers will quickly realize the frightening truth that these terrible things could have happened to any child--a neighbor, a niece, a friend, a sister, a daughter. But beyond that, they will see that there is real hope for the victims of sex trafficking. Stolen is more than a warning. It is a celebration of survival that will inspire. Order you soft cover book copy today!

 

Dr. Katariina Rosenblatt is an author, consultant, public speaker, educator, and lived experience expert with over 20 years of experience in the anti-trafficking field. She is the founder of the anti-trafficking non-profit There is H.O.P.E. for Me and has served as a consultant for various federal agencies. She has also held positions in academia, non-profit management, and the real estate industry. 

 

Dr. Kat has received numerous awards and recognition for her work in anti-trafficking. She is the first and only known US survivor of sex trafficking to be included in the National Center for Civil and Human Rights Museum in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Kat was appointed to the Ad Hoc Committee for Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking and the Survivor Inclusion Initiative for the United Nations. She has also been a keynote speaker at various events and conferences, and has published several books and articles on human trafficking.

 

Dr. Kat is a mental health professional, offering trauma-informed care to survivors.

 

For more information or to donate to There is H.O.P.E. for Me, visit: https://thereishopeforme.org