Naperville’s Grace Pointe Church recently hosted an online sex trafficking safety presentation by Kim Smith, a Shared Hope International ambassador. The presentation covered different forms of sex trafficking, tips to stay safe, and signs of online exploitation.
“If you have kids still at home that are on their devices, you are parenting and reacting to a world you never lived in. There’s a lot of tips and tools we can give you to help make that a little easier and help you figure out why this is such a hard conversation to have with our kids right now,” said Smith.
Common forms of sex trafficking
Smith began the presentation by breaking down the most common methods of trafficking into three categories: trafficker-controlled, familial, and online exploitations.
Trafficker-controlled includes physical methods like guerilla pimps and gangs; the “Romeo pimp”, a more subtle method where traffickers come across as friendly or romantic to lure the victim; and the “CEO”, where traffickers use the victims as products.
Familial includes sexual relationships with family members, selling sex for survival or shelter, and trading sex to fund addictions.
Online exploitations include sextortion, when a predator extorts money from the victim by threatening to release information about their sexual activity through images or other means; child sexual abuse materials; and sexting.
“The online piece has just added gas to an already out-of-control fire,” said Smith.
Tips for parents to fight against online exploitations
Smith shared several precautionary steps that parents, guardians, and families can take to protect their loved ones online. One recommendation was to set social media accounts to private, as public accounts can become an open door to information.
“If your parents, grandparents, and family members are not set to private, all of those pictures of you in every stage of your life are free pickings for the taking, and they’re just going to steal them. So clean up your contact list and set yourself to private. Protect your kids’ [and] your grandkids’ future online lives,” said Smith.
She added that the solution is not to block children from everything online but to be curious and maintain an open dialogue about their internet usage.
“Have fun with your kids online. Ask them how to make an avatar, ask them why Fortnite is fun. See what they’re doing. If they want a new app, we encourage parents to get on their first and go, ‘Let me see what it’s asking for.’ ‘Let’s talk about this together,’” said Smith.
Smith also advised parents to be cautious of apps or games with public chatrooms. Friends and family should also monitor loved ones for oversharing or a constant online presence, as these are behaviors predators often look for.
“If you have a friend that’s just putting all that personal information about how much they are struggling out there, you really need to talk to someone to see if you get them to start telling a real person and get them some help because a predator is going to swoop in, they are looking for that,” said Smith.
How to spot online exploitations
If a child is being communicated with or exploited online, Smith said there are signs that family and friends should watch for.
“We know that people when they’re being sexually abused, assaulted, or exploited, it shows up a lot of times in [their] clothing. They either dress more sexually or they cover up, it’s kind of extremes. Be a nosy friend and ask them about it,” said Smith.
She also noted that behavior and interests often change.
“We have kids quit activities to keep these relationships. That’s a big red flag. Watch for that in your community with your kids,” said Smith.
Smith said it’s not uncommon anymore for kids to encounter online predators. If a child falls victim to online exploitation, she emphasized the importance of offering comforting support rather than responding with anger.
“We want kids to understand their life is not over because there’s consequences. We will walk you out of anything. If you hear nothing else, just know that nothing is worth your life and you need to tell someone and we will help you clean it up,” said Smith.
About Shared Hope International
Shared Hope International is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending sex trafficking through prevention training, restoration services for survivors, and legislative justice initiatives.
The group is based in Washington State, with ambassadors all over the country.
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