his week, Love146 is highlighting the work of Ian Urbina, who has spent the past several years reporting on trafficking at sea – with some of the boys and girls being as young as 13. Ian Urbina is an investigative reporter for “The New York Times” based in Washington. He has received a Pulitzer, a George PolkAward in Journalism, as well as being nominated for an Emmy. Since then he’s been at sea and continuing reporting for a book titled The Outlaw Ocean.
What’s the world coming too??? The truth is it’s coming to a place where we see things that have always been wrong… where we are sick of it… where we demand justice… where we stand with victims… where we say NOT ANYMORE.
When federal agents kicked in the door of Jeffrey Epstein’s 21,000 square-foot New York City mansion it was a big first step for justice for Epstein’s victims.
“My dark-skinned friends and I were sold for less. These aren’t just ideas about relative worth in society or perceived racial disparities – these are cold, hard numbers that taught us that white children were literally worth more than children of color. Trafficking exemplifies the continued racism and oppression that exists in modern-day America.” Due to the disproportionate number of children of color who are trafficked each year, human trafficking is a racial justice issue. It is time that we begin to have a comprehensive conversation about this matter in order to identify the root causes and be proactive about dismantling systems that perpetuate this crime.
Perpetrators we all read about in the headlines have hurt children now in our care. When I read these headlines, I always ask myself, “Where are the children?” One of those children is Maya, who is quoted above about a man in one of those headlines. When we say “survivor” we mean a lot of things. But one of the things we mean is that some don’t make it out alive. Maya made it out alive.
Facebook has a long history of taking a vocal and ardent stance against child sexual exploitation, yet it continues to be one of the most popular platforms traffickers use to groom and recruit the youth we serve. Still, Facebook knows and encourages children to use its platform, and does nothing to further protect the privacy of the children who use it. But there is one tweak they can make that will actually help address the problem.
Earlier this year, police say New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft was filmed receiving sexual services at the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida. I think a year from now, Kraft will be filmed sitting in his box seats at the Superbowl, as though nothing happened. I have a hunch that next year, my family will be watching the NFL championships again – and just like this year, Kraft will be up there in the box clapping. He’ll probably pay criminal fines that amount to what he might pay for a few nice bottles of wine; another expense in a luxury budget.
In the trenches of parenting, there aren’t always right answers — but there are strategies & wisdom tested by the day-to-day tangle of family life. For January, during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, Love146 shared new resources for Parents & Caregivers to keep children safe. Then we asked: What specifically works for you? How do you raise children to be safer in our world? We received several beautiful responses, filled with tips and insights from fellow Love146 supporters who are parents.
We were thrilled when we noticed a spike in the number of people who viewed one of our videos. Until we looked deeper and discovered how the video had been hijacked as clickbait to attract precisely the audience we fight against — which only makes the problem worse.
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month and we want to share what our prevention strategy is all about.
Students are growing up in a world of social media. Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat — these are today’s gathering places. The space where youth engage in the normal adolescent behavior of exploring and testing their boundaries. As a preventative measure, we want to teach kids how to safely navigate the Internet, how to recognize when something may be getting out of control, and how to access help when needed.
As a parent, you have a miraculous connection to your child. That connection is the fuel that propels you out of bed in the middle of the night when a baby cries, soothes tears when a child falls and scrapes her knee, or is the last one picked for the team. And when the worst happens, when your child goes missing, when your little girl becomes someone else’s Jane Doe, sold on Backpage.com, you harness the synergy of that miraculous connection and put that same determination into changing. the. law.
Kik’s new virtual money increases risk for teenagers online.
Hike, Talk, Laugh, Cry… However you make time to take care of yourself, it’s important that you do! Life is intense – here’s how we take care of ourselves at Love146.
When listening becomes one of your true, living values it can be a powerful tool for social change.
Listen to Love146’s UK Chief Executive, Tania Bright, as she shares more about the significance of this day for our work combatting modern day child slavery in the UK, and abroad.
I’ll never forget the first time that my youngest son recognized that I was a different color than him.
Tips on staying safe and minimizing your vulnerability while playing Pokémon Go. Because you’re worth more than Mewtwo. (And you’re DEFINITELY worth more than Pidgey.)
The fall of 1961 was marked by turbulent times in the U.S. The entire nation was gripped with fear.
There are too many forces in this world that make young people’s worlds feel smaller. We’ve found in our prevention work that the solution doesn’t come from new rules to follow or new things to fear. The solution is stepping into a bigger world.
If there were more of us who carried shame when we should, there would be fewer people carrying it when they shouldn’t.
One of the most disturbing things about the recent Stanford rape case is that there seems to be a willful refusal to see the victimization and Brock Turner’s responsibility for it.
We’re reminded of the power of simply SEEING the problem when, in our prevention program, a teen boy looks at us with tears in his eyes and says, “I think I’ve hurt someone.”
We opted to go through his apps and messages. Kik was the first one we opened. That’s when we discovered “Laurie Bartlett.” This attractive, 20ish, flirty blond with great taste in underwear had, for some unknown reason, taken an interest in and privately messaged my 12-year old son.
Don’t ask for more details. Don’t feel you should reciprocate vulnerability. Do believe them.
My investigation into the source for a commonly shared trafficking statistic led to a horrifying conclusion: That the stat was just not true… and was the result of someone doing some really illogical math.
While law enforcement wrestles the tech industry over encryption and privacy rights, what’s a parent to do?
An inside peek behind “adult” advertising
175 years later, the Supreme Court decision in the Amistad case is a part of an unfinished conversation about racial justice as the nation confronts the problems of police bias, voter suppression, mass incarceration, and educational inequity as the scourge of slavery persists in the form of human trafficking.
Do many fans come to the Super Bowl with a pocket full of cash to buy sex? And do traffickers amp up their businesses to cater to this flash audience?
Lynne Chitty, our UK Care Director, met Quyen when she was 16. She arrived from France, where she had been trafficked and sexually exploited…
Anti-trafficking training and awareness is starting to show results.
I find answering loaded questions that come in through social media is…
What is it about controversy and scandal that attracts us and triggers…
When I was growing up, my mom taught us to “count to…
“No one was looking for them.” These are the words used by…
The state known for its exceptional pizza is also one that harbors human trafficking.
Love146’s CEO Steve Martin shares how looking towards Love146’s future involves delving into history.
Kylie Abegg, our Texas Regional Coordinator, talks about what child trafficking looks like in Texas, in her hometown.
Kelly, a Love146 Task Force Leader and Florida resident, talks about the unique characteristics of human trafficking in Central Florida.
Love146 supporter Ruth Tam talks about the unique ways human trafficking is discussed and present in her city: Washington D.C.
Two years ago, as I was sitting in the back of one…
In an attempt to get the world to pay attention to the dark realities of human trafficking, we might actually be hurting the people we’re trying to help.
Human trafficking in rural areas has it’s own, unique characteristics. From our experience in the field and our direct work with survivors in these types of locations, here are some patterns we have noticed.
The Supreme Court decided this week to strike down a Los Angeles ordinance allowing police to inspect hotel guest records on demand and without a warrant. Here’s what this could mean for trafficked children.
Among the heartbreaking headlines this week was the news that UN peacekeepers barter goods that meet basic needs, including food and medicine, in exchange for sex with the populations they’re meant to serve. It’s incredibly difficult to find a sense of relief in the UN’s response.
What do bake sales and brewery tours, taxi drivers and hotels all have in common?
When most of us hear the words “online child predator,” we picture a creepy older guy in dark basement. But there is no stereotype.
Who makes sure that charity groups are playing by the rules that make up best practices? Well, that’s where the charity watchdog groups come in—the Mr. Spock’s of the nonprofit world.
I walked into my office this morning and was made aware of an online fundraising effort by Patriot fans to raise money to help pay the one million dollar fine…
What can we learn about modern day slavery by looking at the African American experience?
James Stewart, Founder of Historians Against Slavery, shares his thoughts on the contrasts between slavery “then” and “now.”
February 1 is National Freedom Day, a day for commemorating the signing…
January has officially been proclaimed National Slavery and Human Trafficking Month (thanks…
How do we create an environment in which child sex trafficking and…
We’ve all seen the images, a malnourished child (usually African) with a bloated belly, a tortured look and a fly which has landed near an eye or mouth. The child seems to be begging us for help and with that image comes an easy answer. For a certain amount of money you can save this child by helping them have daily food, water and an education.
Well, there would be a “war on trafficking” of course. It would be front-page news every day. The talking heads would not shut up about it. There would be “freedom concerts” and “tea parties” demanding action.
(stuff that makes you smile and never clogs your inbox)