Get involved: Child Sex Trafficking Prevention Day

You’ve heard about it in the news. You may have worried about it when traveling with your kids or when they are away from you—especially your teens. Mayor Bruce Harrell will recognize parents’ worry and the brutal reality of young victims when he declares May 7 Child Sex Trafficking Prevention Day. StolenYouth, a Seattle-based non-profit, will hold its annual fundraising luncheon that day to bolster its efforts to end child sex trafficking in Washington state.

It’s happening where we live

Despite what we read or watch in news reports, it’s hard to believe that child sex trafficking is happening in neighborhoods across the region. According to the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office (KCPAO), the FBI and other watch organizations:

1. At least 500 children and youth under age 24 are trafficked each year in Seattle alone, and many more are at risk of exploitation online every day.

Committed to ending child sex trafficking in Washington

Stolen Youth was founded in 2012. The organization is dedicated to preventing child sex trafficking before it happens, connecting victims to resources, support and services, and empowering survivors to move forward with their lives in positive and productive ways. The organization has raised over $11 million to fight the sexual exploitation of children and youth and its annual fundraising luncheon on May 7, 2024 will continue those efforts. This event is geared toward educating the community about child sex trafficking locally and galvanizing King Country residents to take on the organization’s battle cry: “Not on our watch, and not in our state.”

An issue worth talking about

What are the issues surrounding the commercial sexual exploitation of children?

Click on the image below to listen to the King County CSEC Task Force Podcast. In this episode, experts take a deep dive into this important issue:

Know the signs of grooming

How does a predator groom a child sex exploitation? Knowing the signs may help protect your child. According to the Trafficking in America Task Force, groomers may be male or female and many children and youth don’t understand that they have been groomed. Here are the stages of grooming most commonly used by traffickers or online predators:

• Stage 1: Targeting the Victim
  The offender targets a victim by sizing up the child’s vulnerability — emotional neediness, isolation, and lower self-confidence. Children with less parental oversight are more desirable prey.
• Stage 2: Gaining the Victim’s Trust
  The sex offender gains trust by watching and gathering information about the child, getting to know his needs and how to fill them. In this regard, sex offenders often mix effortlessly with responsible caretakers because they generate warm and calibrated attention.
• Stage 3: Filling a Need
  Once the sex offender begins to fill the child’s needs, that adult may assume noticeably more importance in the child’s life and may become idealized. Gifts, extra attention, and affection from a non-parent adult should raise concern and greater vigilance.
• Stage 4: Isolating the Child
  The grooming sex offender uses the developing special relationship with the child to create situations in which they are alone together. This isolation further reinforces a special connection. Babysitting, tutoring, coaching, and special trips all enable this isolation. A special relationship can be even more reinforced when an offender cultivates a sense in the child that he is loved or appreciated in a way that others, not even parents, provide. Parents may unwittingly feed into this through their own appreciation for the unique relationship.
• Stage 5: Sexualizing the Relationship
  At a stage of sufficient emotional dependence and trust, the offender progressively sexualizes the relationship. Desensitization occurs through talking, pictures, even creating situations (like going swimming) in which both offender and victim are naked. At that point, the adult exploits a child’s natural curiosity, using feelings of stimulation to advance the sexuality of the relationship. When teaching a child, the grooming sex offender has the opportunity to shape the child’s sexual preferences and can manipulate what a child finds exciting and extend the relationship in this way. The child comes to see himself as a more sexual being and to define the relationship with the offender in more sexual and special terms.
• Stage 6: Maintaining Control
  Once the sexual abuse occurs, offenders commonly use secrecy and blame to maintain the child’s continued participation and silence — particularly because the sexual activity may cause the child to withdraw from the relationship.

Steps toward prevention

Parents can help reduce the chances of a child falling victim to sexual abuse or trafficking online by taking these steps suggested by the national non-profit Rainin and the Trafficking in America Task Force:

• Educate yourself about child sex abuse, its dangers, and the legal implications surrounding it. Keep the computer in a high-traffic area of your home.
• Limit the online sites children may visit.
• Enable parental controls on devices used by children to restrict access to inappropriate content.Make sure to monitor cell phones, gaming devices, and laptops.
• Surf the Internet with kids and ask them to show you what they like to do online.
• Know who is connecting with your children online and set rules for social networking, instant messaging, e-mailing, online gaming, and using webcams.
• Have an ongoing dialogue with your children.
• Share the stages of grooming with adolescents and teens
• Educate yourself about CSAM, its dangers, and the legal implications surrounding it.
• Ensure that your devices, including computers, smartphones, and tablets, have up
  

  SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  SDGs Addressed:

  1. SDG 5: Gender Equality
  2. SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth
  3. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
  4. SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

  Targets Identified:

  • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres
  • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor
  • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
  • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children

  Indicators:

  • Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months
  • Indicator 8.7.1: Number of victims of forced labor per 1,000 persons aged 15 years and older
  • Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and persons with disabilities
  • Indicator 16.2.2: Number of children aged 0-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month

  Analysis:

  1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

  The issues highlighted in the article are connected to the following SDGs:

  • SDG 5: Gender Equality – Addressing violence against women and girls
  • SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth – Combating forced labor and human trafficking
  • SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities – Promoting social inclusion and reducing inequalities
  • SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions – Ending abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and violence against children

  2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

  Based on the article’s content, the specific targets that can be identified are:

  • Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres
  • Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor
  • Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status
  • Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children

  3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

  Yes, there are indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets:

  • Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months
  • Indicator 8.7.1: Number of victims of forced labor per 1,000 persons aged 15 years and older
  • Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and persons with disabilities
  • Indicator 16.2.2: Number of children aged 0-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month

  Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

  SDGs	Targets	Indicators
  SDG 5: Gender Equality	Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres	Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months
  SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth	Target 8.7: Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labor, end modern slavery and human trafficking, and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labor	Indicator 8.7.1: Number of victims of forced labor per 1,000 persons aged 15 years and older
  SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities	Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic, and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status	Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex, and persons with disabilities
  SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions	Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking, and all forms of violence against and torture of children	Indicator 16.2.2: Number of children aged 0-17 years who experienced any physical punishment and/or psychological aggression by caregivers in the past month

  Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

  Source: seattleschild.com

   

  

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