It starts off innocently enough…in places where our children play and make new friends; where they enter imaginative worlds of make-believe — building structures in Minecraft, creating homes in Roblox or entering the fantasy world of My Little Pony.  

But amidst the imaginations of our children and the creativity of these virtual worlds, lurks a darker, more insidious reality that plagues our country, our neighborhoods and happens in the very homes where we think our children are safe.  

Jan. 11 marks the National Human Trafficking Awareness Day and Feb. 8 is the International Day of Prayer and Awareness Against Human Trafficking. When we hear the term human trafficking, we may conjure up the image of the movie “Taken,” think about women being followed and kidnapped at shopping centers or Pizzagate – the conspiracy theory that falsely connected several high-ranking Democratic Party officials and U.S. restaurants with an alleged human trafficking and child sex ring.  Unfortunately, the media often portrays this issue in ways that are misleading, creating a false sense of awareness that takes away resources and time from law enforcement, who need to focus on real cases.  

While human trafficking can involve kidnappings and imprisonment, it most often happens in much more pervasive ways in which victims are tricked, manipulated, and brainwashed into a life where they feel trapped through threats, fear, limited knowledge and resources. Learn more here: https://polarisproject.org/.  

The online sexual exploitation of our children increased 98% during Covid, according to the Center for Missing & Exploited Children. That’s because while they were safe at home from Covid, many fell victim to another threat that plagues our communities. While parents had to return to work, they left their children unprotected with another insidious threat that targeted their well-being online and through their devices. Unfortunately, the tools that traffickers use are placed right in our children’s hands. While we wouldn’t send our young children to the local playground to play unattended and have them engage with strangers, we sometimes fail to explain that many of the real dangers they come across are on the internet and the strangers they encounter come across as friends, boyfriends and someone who cares.  

The sad reality is that these people who have earned their trust can exploit them without our children ever stepping outside. This is done through the online manipulation of our vulnerable youth. It may start simply by asking for a picture of their feet, escalate to a bathing suit pic. until it progresses beyond the point of no return. Once that illicit picture has been sent, there is no turning back because now the exploiter has the ammunition they need to ask for more photos, which are then used to blackmail children into sending them money through what is called sextortion or additional videos and photos that will be sold on the internet to make a profit.  

When a child becomes a victim of sexual exploitation and a profit is made, this is considered sex trafficking. Their trafficker may threaten them or their family if they don’t comply. In some cases, victims never meet their trafficker, who may arrange for an Uber to arrive at their house, take them to a hotel and tell what sex act is expected from the customer, before being dropped back home by another Uber.  

Pornography is the no. 1 fueling factor driving this demand, according to the U.S. Institute Against Human Trafficking. No longer are we seeing pornography of yesteryear, of Playboy magazines but videos, readily accessible to children of all ages and depicting children of all ages. We may have heard the term child pornography when, in reality,it is online sexual exploitation of our children. The pornography of today of adults, teens and toddlers depict violent, degrading acts that is rampant on the dark web but also at our children’s fingertips. The sad reality that this issue is so prevalent, there are not enough resources to address the number of reports that the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children and law enforcement receive daily. According to USA Today, one of Joe Biden’s laws when he was senator to investigate child abuse has never been fully funded by Congress. (PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008). Although $60 million a year was authorized, the most Congress has earmarked was $35 million in the 2019 fiscal year. Read How are you going to stop the internet?: Online child sex abuse explodes to crisis level (yahoo.com). 

While the 2- or 3-year-old may be prioritized in an investigation, that leaves older children and teens at the merciless hands of their perpetrators without hope of being rescued. While law enforcement may be aware of it, limited resources hinder investigations and rescue efforts. Victims, such as Lex Smith, who was 13 when she escaped harm by chance because she hit puberty and was no longer in demand, not because law enforcement intervened (USA Today). However, the sexual abuse she endured when she was 9, 10, 11 and 12 lives on forever on the internet through videos and images, and her exploitation continues well beyond her escape from that life. 

Last year, the center took nearly 22 million reports of abusive images or videos, but funding only covered less than 1% of abuse reports. The Child Rescue Coalition, a Florida nonprofit that was formed out of a small team of law enforcement officers, collects and indexes 30 million to 50 million reports of online users trading Child Sex Abuse Material every day. How are we, as a society, o.k. with this and what can be done?  

Many of us are unaware of the dire realities of what our children are facing daily. The Diocese of Orlando Human Trafficking Task Force hopes to bring about this awareness through our presentations to enact and advocate for change. In addition, the Diocese of Orlando is hosting its first Safe Haven Sunday on Feb. 12 to address the issue of pornography and the darkness that invades the light of our churches, homes, children’s lives and the dignity of every individual.  

We have a duty as parents to make sure our children feel like they are loved unconditionally; that they are getting the attention they need so they are not seeking it from those with a more insidious intent. As a diocese, we have the obligation to provide resources, healing and understanding for those suffering from addictions that steal the innocence of our children and are sucking the life out of our marriages. As a task force, we have the responsibility to educate others on the harsh reality of the evil that plagues our parishes and neighborhoods.  

We are called to speak on behalf of the voiceless, to contact our legislators to educate them on this pervasive issue and demand action to protect our children – those who are most innocent; to provide more resources to fight the scourge of human trafficking and demand justice from the perpetrators. We also need to realize that those who struggle with pornography addictions need support and resources. Together, we can stand united to pray, speak out and demand action to protect those who are powerless and vulnerable. Together, we can turn the tides of modern-day slavery, so no one has to feel the pain of exploitation again.  

To schedule a presentation to learn more about how traffickers are targeting our children and what you can do to help, contact the Diocese of Orlando Human Trafficking Task Force at 407-658-1818, ext. 1122 or email [email protected]. Your may also visit https://cflcc.org/human-trafficking-task-force/.