August Updates

Meet our new US executive director… What’s a “Not a Red Gala” anyway?… Our “My Body is Mine” flipchart debuts in Sierra Leone… Our Philippines Survivor Care team led a training for families about earthquake preparedness… Making recommendations to states through the National Advisory Committee on the Sex Trafficking of Youth in the United States… Our latest Impact Report… and our social media takeover by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Ian Urbina.

Facebook’s “Privacy-Focused” Future Won’t Do Enough to Protect Children

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.

We Type Them Up: A Father’s Day Memory

“My father, now 89 years old with Alzheimer’s Disease, can’t recall my name. But my memories of him from my early years are more vivid today than ever— including what he taught me by example about being a father, and how I see a similar approach in how Love146 cares for children.”

Unpacking the Rapid Response Backpack

How can we equip a youth in a short period of time to protect themselves from the dangers they could be facing?

Action Update: Jail Traffickers, Not Victims

Connecticut lawmakers are considering a number of bills that impact child trafficking. Among them is a bill would be a powerful tool that will help bring traffickers to justice. And two others that could actually harm children who have been affected by trafficking. You can help: Please call your legislators and let them know you stand with children who have been trafficked.

Flying High At Wilderness School

What happens when you bring a group of eight wary young survivors in our long-term services to a Wilderness School for a day of trust-building outdoor activities? They soar.

The Trafficker of One of the Youth in our U.S. Survivor Care Sent To Jail

What does justice look like for the youth in our care? For one youth in our survivor care program, justice includes having the person who trafficked and abused her convicted, sentenced, and publicly admonished by a judge.

Children Who’ve Had To Live As Adults

Many say they can’t relate to others their age; they date older men, and explain to me that since they’re more mature they need to be with more mature men. They see other children their age as “kids,” whereas they themselves are “adults.”

I’m in this sticky position where I need to acknowledge the fact that they have been through more than any child should have to go through, and yet encourage them to be a child. To put down that burden of “adulthood,” and to experience childhood. They deserve to be children.

The Art of Not Asking Questions

At Love146, we cultivate a long-lasting relationship that models healthy boundaries and allows the youth to “dig” when they feel safe, trusted, and valued. Youth then allow us to bear witness to their stories in their own time, in their own way. They are in control, which is one of the most important things we can restore to their lives.

“I used to think I was invisible. But you see me.”

Our Rapid Responses help youth understand how a perpetrator uses manipulation, tricks, and force to take advantage of them. We talk about how easy it is to be taken advantage of. How everyone has things they need, things they struggle with, and how someone could use these things to build trust for the sole purpose of exploitation. This may be the first time that he or she is told: “It is not OK that someone treated you this way.” It may be the first time they hear: “It is not your fault.” Or that: “You are valuable and important.”

Brianna’s Story

“I’ve heard of pimps and I knew to be scared of them – but I didn’t realize that the person I thought was protecting me was actually my pimp.”

— Brianna, one of more than 200 youth who have been served by our U.S. Survivor Care program

I look around to see if people notice…

I open my email and begin reading the details about another youth coming into our care. I’m infuriated that another kid has experienced this. Infuriated that another adult thought it was okay to use a child as a sex object. Infuriated that all the adults who should have protected this child, have failed her so horrifically.