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Empowering Children to Protect Themselves |
As young people seek acceptance and love, they are incredibly vulnerable to manipulation. And human traffickers are master manipulators.Through the use of fraud and coercion, they are often able to convince a young person to perform commercial sex acts. Note we used the term “convince.” It is important to understand that while we as a society are hyper-aware of kidnapping, we are less savvy to the tactical workings of traffickers. These perpetrators often make the victim believe that it is their choice through selling a dream and implementing further methods of coercion. The only way to prepare children is to provide them with an empowering awareness education about sex trafficking, healthy relationships, media literacy and internet safety. If they are equipped with the knowledge of the existence of such predators, then they are empowering their own decision-making abilities and disempowering those who wish to prey on them. It is a method of prevention where the child is equipped with the knowledge to guard themselves … |
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Why Teach Healthy Relationships? |
While we would like to think children are shown good examples of healthy relationships in the home, they are many times not privy to what a healthy relationship actually is.If a child is raised in home that fosters unhealthy relationships and abuse, then it is a natural sentiment of the young person to assume that is what all relationships look like. Abuse is normalized. That is why, when children go to school, they should learn what a healthy relationship actually is. Once a child understands that abuse, exploitation, control and manipulation are out of the bounds of normal and that they are entitled to better, the whole game changes. Empowering youth with knowledge about healthy relationships encourages them to stay out of unhealthy relationships. This is sex trafficking prevention because sex trafficking exists on the foundation of an abusive and exploitative relationship. |
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Why Teach Youth About Internet Safety?As technology becomes more a part of every day life, the internet plays a vital role in children’s socialization and education. It is also where traffickers are increasingly going to recruit potential victims. Teaching children the red flags of online communication and behavior is imperative in allowing them to identify what is an unsafe exchange and what is a poor idea. When children are able to understand the dangers, they are less likely to be ensnared by them. |
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N.C. Law Says Teach Sex Trafficking Prevention … BUT … |
While there is a law in North Carolina that requires all school districts to implement sex trafficking prevention education into the sex education curriculum, there are some fundamental flaws to its implementation:1.There is no enforcement mechanism to the law. |
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A CALL TO ACTION: |
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Contact your local school district and ask whether sex trafficking prevention education is a part of the sex education curriculum. Get details about the curriculum, and LET US KNOW! Email melinda@ |
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Great Harvest Bread Company of Greenville donated more than $400 to NC Stop Human Trafficking.Great Harvest chose NC Stop Human Trafficking as its nonprofit of the month. Through collecting donations and selling the nonprofit’s signature dessert, The Big Kahuna, Great Harvest Bread Company was able to provide for four hours of free anti-human trafficking community education and two hours of professional training. |
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Working in the state: |
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North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking meetingFounder Pam Strickland attended the North Carolina Coalition Against Human Trafficking’s quarterly meeting in Raleigh. She is pictured with Victim Advocate Sharon Langley and Captain Chad Suggs of the Pitt County Sheriff’s Office. |
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Umbrella Market Kicks OffFair Traders has landed at the Umbrella Market. May 1 marked the first market of the season. Food, beer, wine, music and shopping . . . what else could you want? |
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North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence – Technology Facilitated Stalking/Non-consensual PornCommunity Outreach Coordinator Melinda Sampson attended a training presented by the North Carolina Coalition Against Domestic Violence about technology facilitated crimes. |
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Fair Traders Take on Market on MainThe Farmville Dogwood Festival was teeming with people just looking for a great fair trade find, and the Fair Traders couldn’t resist! |
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Local EventsFair Traders Take on the Umbrella MarketWednesday, May 8 Family and Community Resource FairWednesday, May 8 Fair Traders Take On the Umbrella MarketWednesday, May 15 Pitt County Coalition Against Human TraffickingThursday, May 16 NCCASA Biennial Conference: Movement and MomentumMay 14th-16th, 2019 Fair Traders Take on the Umbrella MarketWednesday, May 22 Advanced Law Enforcement Human Trafficking InvestigatorMay 20-21, 2019 Forensic Analysis of Fake Massage Businesses Engaged in Sex TraffickingMay 23-24, 2019 Beyond the Basics: Human Trafficking Workshop with Survivor/Leader EleSondra DeRomanoMay 29 Fair Traders Take on the Umbrella MarketWednesday, May 29 Save the Date: NC Prevention Educators ForumJune 18 |
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Webinars and Out-of-State EventsMultidisciplinary Team Response to Child Sex Trafficking (MDT to CST)May 6-9 July 22-25, 2019 Sept 23-26, 2019 WEBINAR: Homeless Youth PreventionMay 7, 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. WEBINAR: Freedom From Sexploitation: 2019 Webinar SeriesMay 15, 2019 Criminal Connections: Child Pornography and Child Sexual AbuseMay 8 – 9 Build Beyond 2019May 30-31, 2019 Conducting Child Abuse InvestigationsJun 3 – 7 | Phoenix, AZ Coalition to End Sexual Exploitation Global Summit Following the Evidence in Child Exploitation CasesJun 24 – 25 | Westchester, OH WEBINAR: Emerging Tech: What Are The Current Trends for Teens and KidsJuly 25 Sex Trafficking Response and Awareness Program: National Sex Trafficking ConferenceAugust 20 – 22, 2019 |