January 23, 2019
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month
Friends,
Let this sink in:
In the United States, more than 8,500 human trafficking cases were reported to the National Human Trafficking Hotline last year alone.
More than 99 percent of trafficked individuals trapped in forced sexual exploitation globally are women.
More than 21 percent of those trafficked for sex are children.
Of the nearly 25,000 runaway children reports to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, one in seven were likely victims of child sex trafficking.
(Source: White House)
Human Trafficking is an attack on human dignity and it needs to end. Compounding its proliferation is the unprecedented worldwide consumption of pornography which drives demand for trafficked women and children.
Did you know that some types of pornography constitutes sex trafficking? Specifically, porn production often involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to prompt the performance of those being depicted. Additionally, traffickers often further exploit their victims by recording the acts they perform and post these videos and pictures online for commercial profit. Much of this pornography is prosecutable under the federal obscenity laws. ?Make no mistake about it, porn is NOT just harmless fun!
In April 2018, President Trump signed FOSTA/SESTA, historic legislation to combat online sex trafficking, holding perpetrators accountable and ensuring justice for survivors. Enough Is Enough® (EIE) was instrumental in the law's passage.
The law was a fulfillment of EIE's Children's Internet Safety Presidential Pledge, signed by then candidate Trump in 2016, calling for this specific law and for the advancement of public policies to further prevent the sexual exploitation of youth in the digital world.
Despite this great progress, our work ifs far from done as sexual predators, including traffickers, will continue to seek out ways to target innocent, vulnerable and unsuspecting youth online.
Parents, please talk to your children and loved ones and teach them to never engage with anyone seeking personal information or asking to send a photo of themselves. This includes not playing online games like Fortnite with anyone other than a parent-approved buddy list!
EIE's Internet Safety 101® website has many great tips to help you initiate these important discussions and life-saving tips to be the first line of defense to protect your kids online.
As a show of support to all trafficking survivors and victims, please consider making a special donation this month to help to Fund the Fight as EIE continues to combat sex trafficking and the sexual exploitation of women, men and children across the nation.
With gratitude,
President & CEO
Enough Is Enough®