Protecting Children from Traffickers on Social Media

Central Piedmont Community College Colin Hickey ENG 112-B101 February 16, 2024 The Need To Protect Children From Traffickers On Social Media America has long struggled, not just with racism and discrimination against the LGBTQ+ community, but it has also struggled with the problem of Child Sex Trafficking (CST). Many people do not realize that CST is one of the leading humanitarian crises in society today, particularly because of social media’s ability to allow predatory adults to find, stalk, and prey on minors for the purpose of CST. Because of this, many people were prevented from realizing, not only the horrors of CST, but also that it is very much alive today. Social media users, especially those under 18 years of age, need to understand not only how to protect themselves, but also how to prevent the spread of CST in order to build awareness of the issue before it escalates. According to an article, called Human Trafficking's Impact and the State of North Carolina Response, the state of North Carolina is currently ranked in the top ten worst states for CST (Jackson et al.). In fact, Charlotte, North Carolina is also dealing with one of the worst rates of CST in the country at the present time. Because of this issue, the North Carolina General Assembly introduced and ratified Senate Bill 279, which requires, among other things, the acknowledgment and need to address CST prevention and awareness in the state (Jackson et al.). When using social media, children must be constantly monitored to ensure that no dangerous images or messages are received by adults that have inappropriate intentions for children. Because of this, CST becomes increasingly challenging to defeat since more and more young children are now online and using sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. The one method to ensure that children are protected from CST is for parents to establish reasonable guidelines for their children’s social media experience, such as using social media at certain times, enforcing time limits, and educating themselves and their children about the serious dangers of both social media and sexual predators (“Commercial Sexual Exploitation”). Charlotte had a 62% increase in the US attorneys for human trafficking from 2011 to 2023 and 64% percent of the victims were minors under 18 years old (“The Hidden but Growing Problem of Human Trafficking”). No country is immune to this crime, as it goes through borders and affects both developed nations. However, it is crucial to recognize that child sex trafficking is not limited to a specific region or culture but a universal problem that demands immediate attention (“Commercial Sexual Exploitation”). Greater awareness of this issue is why it is important to know how to protect children from traffickers kidnapping children from families. Another example of how CST is downplayed, and even ignored, is reflected in the case of Anthony Jermaine Foman, who was sentenced in the state of North Carolina for multi-state CST, i.e., he committed CST in multiple U.S. states. Foman met and groomed a 14-year-old girl into forced prostitution, drugging her and forcing her to work for him as a sex worker, not only in North Carolina, but also in Florida, South Carolina, Delaware, Georgia, and Virginia. He was also charged with creating and possessing child pornography, which he filmed with his victim (“North Carolina”). One way Charlotte can solve this issue is Iowa’s law that has been changed in 2023, the Iowa state government changed its laws to create harsher punishments for criminals convicted of CST or Human Trafficking (HT) (Alvez-Gransee). Before, the laws in Iowa were much more lenient toward perpetrators of CST and HT, which got them back on the streets and allowed them to re-offend multiple times; however, HT is now a class B felony, meaning perpetrators are now sentenced to 50 years, with a mandatory minimum of 35 years, in the Iowa state prison system (Alvez-Gransee). However, if convicted of CST, Iowa state law now bumps this offense up to a class A felony, meaning perpetrators will be sentenced to life in prison (Alviz-Gransee). Iowa has also changed the laws regarding enticement and exploitation of a minor. Before this change, if a perpetrator were caught enticing a minor, and that minor was a decoy for a police sting operation, the perpetrator wouldn’t be convicted since the decoy was mostly likely not a minor and the sting would constitute entrapment (Alvez-Gransee). However, since last year, this law has changed. Even if they are speaking to a police decoy during a sting operation, and not an actual minor, they could still be convicted for enticing and exploiting a minor (Alvez-Gransee). States should be encouraged to change their laws similarly, if they haven’t already, to help their police forces capture as many human traffickers and/or pedophiles as they can before any horrific crimes against children can take place (Alviz-Gransee). Another way to protect children from CST is to know the signs of someone who has inappropriate intentions toward children. Suppose there is a child who is developing a relationship that seems too close with someone they know solely on social media. In that case, an adult is touching a child inappropriately in a restaurant or in any other public place that someone is in, or recruiting for an opportunity that requires them to move far away. Still, their recruiter or prospective employer avoids answering their parent’s questions or is reluctant to provide detailed information about the job (“Recognizing The Signs”). These are major signs of a child who is being trafficked or about to be trafficked and to stop it from happening, people need to either report it to the police or record the adult with the child that is being trafficked and take it to the police for them to take further action. These two solutions can help the child from being trafficked and make sure that they are safe in the hands of a professional. An example of this would be Italy which has a problem with CST and HT. To solve this issue, the government has now provided training for police officers to combat CST and HT. They also provided funds to an anti-trafficking organization to help spread awareness of the issue and help police officers and people in Italy improve international judicial cooperation (“Italy”). This can help people who could find something suspicious and would go to a police officer who would recognize the signs of CTS or HT, then would arrest the person that has done the trafficking and save the child that was about to be trafficked. Even if someone cannot take action for themselves, reporting the issue to a police officer and providing evidence is enough for the child to be saved. In conclusion, while social media has numerous benefits for communication with people far away, it can also be dangerous and cause children to be targeted by traffickers. If people do not educate themselves, then society will fail as a whole to not be able to acknowledge the issue and protect the children. We must protect the children from traffickers that can cause the children to form trauma in their bodies and their mental health. These kids could be someone’s daughter or son who would not be seen again because not many people know about this issue. Work Cited Alviz-Gransee, Noelle. "Punishment for Human Trafficking Heightened: Iowa Law Making Arrests Easier Goes into Effect." Des Moines Register, Aug 01, 2023. ProQuest, https://login.proxy035.nclive.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/newspapers/punis hment-human-trafficking-heightened/docview/2843974029/se-2. Italy. United States Department of State, www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/italy#:~:text=The%20governm ent%20provided%20training%20to. Jackson, Forrest W. Human Trafficking's Impact and the State of North Carolina Response, St. Thomas University, United States -- Florida, 2020. ProQuest, https://login.proxy035.nclive.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-these s/human-traffickings-impact-state-north-carolina/docview/2557474476/se-2. "North Carolina Man Sentenced for Multi-State Sex Trafficking of a Child." Department of Justice (DOJ) Documents / FINDFederal Information & News Dispatch, LLC, 2022. ProQuest, https://login.proxy035.nclive.org/login?url=https://www.proquest.com/reports/north-carol ina-man-sentenced-multi-state-sex/docview/2635700787/se-2. Recognizing the signs National Human Trafficking Hotline. Available at: https://humantraffickinghotline.org/en/human-trafficking/recognizing-signs. Saved in America — Missing Children Statistics. Saved in America, www.savedinamerica.org/stats. The Hidden but Growing Problem of Human Trafficking in Greater Charlotte. Carolina Journal -, 12 Oct. 2023, www.carolinajournal.com/opinion/the-hidden-but-growing-problem-of-human-trafficking -in-greater-charlotte/#:~:text=The%20Mecklenburg%202023%20Human%20Trafficking.