5 Facts about Human Trafficking you may not know
 

5 Facts You May Not Know:

•  Every 30 seconds a child or teen is sold in the commercial sex industry in the United States.
• The majority of teens tricked and groomed into human trafficking met their trafficker or communicated with their trafficker online.
•  More than 90% of trafficked youth still attend school regularly at the start of their exploitation.
• More than 50% of all sex trafficking cases in America involve kids under the age of 18 (U.S. Dept. of Justice)
• 88% of victims of human trafficking in the U.S. are U.S. citizens, not foreign nationals (U.S. Dept. of Justice)

5 Tips for Parents to Prevent Human Trafficking:

1. Educate yourself about the realities of human trafficking (Red Flags, Warning Signs, Grooming Techniques, Profile of a Predator and more). Understand that NO CHILD IS IMMUNE, not even yours.
2. Establish open and ongoing communication with your kids about sex trafficking, child exploitation and predation. 
3. Teach your kids about online safety and how to detect predators on social media and online gaming platforms.
4. Monitor their online activity and social media/gaming platforms and smart phones. Watch for warning signs such as being secretive or hiding “new friends” online.
5. Implement the guidelines contained in Enough Is Enough^®'s "Rules 'N Tools" to protect children on all internet-enabled devices. 

Essential steps include: 

• Set Parental Controls and use filters and monitoring software on all devices that connect to the internet.
• Turn on privacy settings on social media, gaming and smart phone accounts.
• Know who your child is communicating with via texts, instant messages, social posts, and while using voice chat on gaming systems.

Learn more about Human Trafficking, including the link between internet pornography and sex trafficking. View our "Predators/Traffickers 101" section here. 

It's critical, now more than ever, to monitor all online activities and keep your children's digital devices secured!