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This episode will touch on the current impact we are seeing COVID-19 have on the crime of trafficking. Head on over to the full show notes once for links to all resources mentioned.You can find them here.

This season was designed to lay a foundation of knowledge around trafficking for listeners. It is our vision for future season to provide a space for survivors to share their stories.In the meantime it is time for American's to raise their voice for change in this space, to advocate for training, to support organizations and to get behind stopping this crime.Thank you for taking the time to listen to our show, we hope we provided you with more knowledge on trafficking than you started with. As Randy mentioned we are donor funded, if you would like to support our work please donate here. See full show notes here.

Training someone to recognize the indicators of trafficking is vital to stopping the crime. Think of it this way if someone robs your house, you recognize that the crime happened, you report it, action is taken. However, if you don't recognize that the crime was committed you never know to report and and therefore action isn't taken. By training the community we are providing opportunity for reports to be made and action to be taken. See full show notes here.

This episode covers the importance of the aftercare process. This is something Guardian Group does not provide directly, however, we have helped communities start a CSEC (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children) Response Team to ensure their aftercare response is  victim-centered, trauma-informed and their resources are leveraged efficiently. Definitions:CSEC - a multi-disciplinary team made up often of law enforcement, victim advocates, nonprofit resources and district attorneys. If you are interested in what this may look like check out our local team. We helped set this team up and would be happy to consult with you best practices to establish a response team in your area, just email us here. See full show notes here.

We are very careful when we talk about rescue vs. recovery. When you rescue someone you remove them from a dangerous situation, however, when you provide an opportunity for recovery you create a space that allows someone to return to a normal state of health and mind. Guardian Group simply exists to play a role in the overall recovery process. We believe the true heroes in this space are the law enforcement officers and aftercare providers.Full show notes can be found here.

The names and locations mentioned throughout this story have been edited for the protection of those involved. We understand this makes it a bit difficult to listen to and apologize in advance. This mother's story is powerful. Her daughter did not have the typical vulnerabilities that stereo-typically are associated with trafficking. Listen, learn and protect your young person.

Pimps or traffickers are responsible for running the supply aspect of the sex trafficking industry. Each uses their own tactics to recruit, manipulate and exploit the women and children involved. Selling people has become less risky and more rewarding than taking part in selling drugs or guns for two reasons: a person is a reusable product, they can be sold over and over. Second, a victim of trafficking experiences a lot of complex trauma and often times is too fearful to testify against their trafficker. See full show notes here.

Prostitution is not the oldest profession it is the oldest oppression.Yes, there are outliers out there that make their living selling their body for sex, but as a country we must stop focusing on this small percentage and start focusing on the children being sold as products. In most cases of consensual sex work there is a history of abuse or trauma somewhere in her story or another form of oppression that lead the the belief that this is her only choice in life.One of the number one contributors to who purchases sex is the fact that as a society we have created a culture where this is viewed as normal behavior, just "men being men." See full show notes here.

The breaking phase occurs when a trafficker introduces his victim into “the life”. For some this can be very violent, including gang rapes, for others it may be giving an illicit massage to one of the predator’s friends.Shame is often used to maintain power and control. Statements like: “You are just a whore now” “No one will believe you” “Your family won’t love you anymore” “You are the one committing a crime” may be used.If recovery of a victim is not made prior to this breaking phase it becomes much more difficult. See full show notes here.

Trafficking can be difficult to identify, especially in it's earliest stages. Often a pimp/trafficker will act like a boyfriend and groom his victims into the life by gaining emotional control over them as they fall in love with him. It can be tricky to see the red flags initially as this relationship develops.  It is important to listen to your gut.Full show notes can be found at www.guardiangroup.org/podcast

Assessment and recruitment is the first phase in the cycle of sex trafficking. Head on over to the full show notes for statistics referenced in this episode as well as definitions, resources and the survey mentioned. 

Guardian Group’s mission is to prevent and disrupt the sex trafficking of women and children while enabling partners to identify victims and predators in the United States. A veteran operated nonprofit with 10 years in the counter trafficking space. De Oppresso Liber was our motto in special forces, meaning Free the Oppressed, this is a motto that hasn't changed for us as we continue to use our skills against a new crime set. The "Selling Girls in America" podcast was born out of our desire to continue to educate our communicates and protect our young people. Please learn more about what we do and who we are here.For the rest of the show notes for this episode head to our website.