America Trends, with Aimee Fuller, Part B looks further into the growing problem of human trafficking. Joseph Travers explains how exploitation begins. It is a subtle problem that involves coercion and manipulation of kids. In fact, within San Diego alone, there are recruiters stationed at every middle and high school , slowly manipulating kids. Snatching kids off the street as they do a paper route or walk to school isn’t the way that these heinous criminals operate any longer. Instead, they work to gain the trust of these kids through manipulation and false relationships, also often including drug use, eventually setting their hooks into these kids before they even knew they were a target. Worst of all, most of these predators use the victims to go after even more victims through their social media contacts and networks. 

What a Victim Looks Like

While the victims of human trafficking can be from any background, they are most often kids that don’t have a good support system in the form of a traditional family behind them. Approximately 60% of all victims come from the foster care system because these kids are vulnerable to the influence of these predators since they don’t have the firm foundation of a good home life. It is important for all parents, even those within traditional homes, to learn the way that these predators manipulate kids through their social media world and be aware of what is taking place on their children’s devices. Never feel you are being intrusive to know what is going on within your child’s social media existence -it could literally save their lives. 

SIA To The Rescue

SIA steps in and serves as a superhero for missing and exploited children who have no one else standing up for them, like in the case of foster children who have no parents or guardians concerned for their well-being. As soon as SIA is notified a child is missing, they get to work immediately to track them down and find them before additional harm can come to them. In many cases, they successfully find these kids before they are sold into the horrors of human trafficking and can then return them to a safe environment and get them the help they need to recover and hopefully never fall victim to these atrocities again. #ChildSavedNotSold