Odds ‘n’ Ends

Today we’re opening up the odds ’n’ ends drawer to pull out some updates and news in the anti-trafficking world. Let’s take a look together.

Up, Up, and Away

Survivors often don’t have decent access to safe transport when leaving trafficking. Agencies helping them also find it difficult to find efficient and safe transport. Our first news update takes us to the skies with cofounders Stephanie Lamar and Jared Miller of Freedom Aviation Network, a group dedicated to transporting survivors of human trafficking to safety.

   

Seeing the need to create distance quickly between survivors and their former traffickers, Jared obtained his pilot’s license. Then he began getting the word out to other pilots to volunteer their time and energy to transport victims and their advocates.

   

Pilots working with Freedom Aviation Network often find that their passenger has never ridden in a plane before. The fact that they get a personal flight to safety makes them feel special and encourages them to fly again. Who knows? Maybe some of these first-time riders will themselves become future pilots!

   

You can read more about these airborne volunteers at Freedom Aviation Network. Perhaps you know of some pilots who would like to join them!

A Mom’s Gotta Move!

Speaking of transportation, Jaco Booyens Ministries is helping a survivor mom get a car. They are in the process of raising $10,000 for her so she can get to therapy, medical appointments, school, and more. This is a great reminder to pray for the transportation needs of survivors.

   

Jaco Booyens Ministries (newsletter, May, 2024)

THORN

With the rising number of reported files of child sexual abuse materials (CSAM)—104 million in 2024 so far—THORN is adamant about building a safer world for children.

   

To protect children from online grooming and exploitation, they employ a product called Safer, which protects a platform or network from CSAM using a scalable, comprehensive solution that filters and removes harmful content. Using hash matching (think fingerprint of a file) and artificial intelligence, Safer detects known and unknown CSAM and recognizes text-based online conversations that could lead to child exploitation.

   

Here are a few highlights of what THORN has been up to:

• THORN has stopped revictimization and flagged over five million files of CSAM for removal since 2012.
• They’ve accelerated victim identification and had 120,000 conversations with youth about internet safety.
• They believe everyone has a role to play in keeping kids safe and every child has the right to a happy childhood. 

   

See Thorn for more information.

THORN and NCMEC Collaboration

THORN has collaborated with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) to analyze fifteen million reports made to the CyberTipline from 2020 to 2023. They sought to locate cases of sextortion against minors and to “examine the evolving scale and nature of financially motivated sextortion.”

    

Some key findings from this study show the following:

• Perpetrators are often operating in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire but use slightly different platforms and techniques.
• Instagram and Snapchat are the most common platforms, with Instagram reporting the most instances, yet other platforms are most likely underreporting. 
• When nudes are shared, the perpetrator increases the victim’s worry by statements such as “this will ruin your life.”
• Perpetrators tend to move victims to secondary platforms and make use of Cash App and gift cards for payment.

   

THORN parental sextortion guides

THORN parental discussion guides

But There’s Hope

The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) offers a free service called “Take It Down” to help remove or stop online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit photos and videos taken before age 18. A person can remain anonymous and, there is no need to send images in order to use this service. 

   

I highly recommend taking a look at their straightforward, simple directions offering real hope to those finding themselves in this fearful predicament. Pass this along to teens you know.

   

Take It Down

Prayer

Lord, you’ve given us your authority to take dominion and work creatively together to annihilate the plans of the enemy concerning our children. We come together as the body of Christ, those who have been adopted into your forever family and joined together as one, to exercise that authority today. Jesus, your blood is sufficient and gives us the victory over every sinful practice and every demonic stronghold. We seek your wisdom to say what you’re saying and to do what you’re doing.

   

Thank you for the creativity mixed with actionable steps taken by anti-trafficking groups. Bless and multiply their efforts. 

   

Attract pilots to the roster of those supplying safe transport for the rescued. Provide all transportation, whether by plane or vehicle, that is needed for survivors. Give Freedom Aviation Network your insight for flight plans, timing, airports to be used—the when and where of everything—and protect every flight.

   

Give us your wisdom to use every tool available, guided by your Holy Spirit, to remove, block, and expunge every element of child sexual abuse materials, not only those online, but everywhere and anywhere they are found. Convince lawmakers, judges, law enforcement agencies, and all of us that this has no place in our communities, and strip it of every protection it would wickedly seek under the guise of freedom of speech or freedom of expression. End this wickedness among us. Change our hearts. Renew our minds. Give us a fresh start in this arena, and bring full healing to all those who have been maligned by its evil.

   

Cause teens to grow up in this area of deception, where people with nefarious intentions beguile them into sending photographs exposing themselves. Give them a strong will to warn each other about falling prey to this destructive behavior and its detrimental consequences. Expose and bring to justice all those exploiting teens through sextortion. Restore purity to this generation. Reveal to each heart the true purpose of their lives, and deliver them from spending time in front of a screen. Show them the more. Show them you, Jesus. Bring them into life. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Decree

We decree our children are delivered from evil, and will have a joyful childhood!