Psychological Warfare

For the past three months I've been leading a new Love146 Task Force and it has been very eye-opening, to say the least. The group had our third meeting this past Wednesday, and spent some time talking about the various psychological warfare tactics that traffickers use to accomplish their goal.

After the meeting I had a chance to catch up with a lovely girl who had just moved back to Hartford from Columbus, Ohio, where she had been involved with a ministry called Rahab's Hideaway. Even though I've been learning about child sex trafficking for years now, I was newly astounded at the depth and time traffickers are willing to put into luring new victims. The founder of Rahab's Hideaway has shared about how she was personally pulled in by a husband and wife team who moved into her neighborhood and for over a year and a half built the trust of the local kids--AND their parents.

We talked about how traffickers will use their "bottom girls" to register as students at local high schools and attend classes for the sole purpose of meeting girls, gaining their trust, and eventually trafficking them into the life. Often they look for the girls with low self esteem, who have bad family situations--the ones who can be "easily separated from the pack." However, this can also happen to girls who are "well-off" or even who come from stable home environments. If you are a lonely young girl who is desperate to be loved, you have a target on your back.

Education is critical. This week Love146 held a presentation at a Connecticut high school to talk frankly about the reality of trafficking and the tactics that traffickers use. Truthfully, I think this should become as commonplace a discussion as the anti-drug education we provide to our students.

GEMS put together this 5-minute video called "The Making of a Girl." I think it's fantastic at showing the psychological game traffickers have mastered--and gives us a chance to start thinking and understanding where we have to start providing education, awareness, and emotional support as a counterattack.

Searching for Good

Today, Google retained its position as my favorite search engine (sorry, Bing) by announcing an $11.5 million grant to fight trafficking globally.

It's believed to be the largest-ever corporate grant devoted to fighting slavery.

IJM (International Justice Mission) will partner with Polaris Project and Slavery Footprint, as well as several other organizations, to lead the grant's initiative. The initiative consists of three parts:

• Fighting forced labor in India
• Education and advocacy campaigns, also in India
• Mobilizing Americans to act in the fight against modern-day slavery

You can read more about it here. Or... you could Google it (ha.)

And while I applaud Google for this awesome effort, I also have to mention another fantastic search engine that deserves our support. Check out GoodSearch--you can select your favorite charity (like Love146 or many other trafficking organizations) and every time you use the site for searching, they will donate money to your cause.

Turns out that at least for today, you don't have to look too far if you're searching for good.

The Launch of Born to Fly

It's officially here--

Diana Scimone's e-book, Born to Fly, is available for purchase. I've read it and think it's a fantastic story. Diana has written a beautiful allegory that is entertaining and teaches kids how to make wise choices and avoid traffickers (here portrayed as "Dream Thieves") in a meaningful and age-appropriate way. As she says on her organization's website, wherever kids receive awareness training, the rate of child sex trafficking plummets.

The book is $5.99, and proceeds go to Born 2 Fly International to help prevent child sex trafficking. Consider purchasing one for yourself or as a gift for someone else. It's a very sweet story and more importantly, every dollar will have a tangible impact on the fight against child trafficking.

See the Born to Fly Facebook page and read an excerpt from the story on Amazon.com. There is even a chapter-by-chapter curriculum for teachers and parents, available here, to help children learn and process what they are reading.

Congratulations, Diana! What an accomplishment. I am thrilled that your hard work has paid off and I know that this book will serve such a practical and honorable purpose: educating and protecting children before they can become tricked and exploited.

More on Diana and Born2Fly:


Born to Fly International founder and director Diana Scimone is ajournalist who has traveled to more than 40 countries including Sudan, Zimbabwe, Thailand, China, and India. In 2003 she founded PawPaw’s Pals, Inc.—now called Born to Fly International—to respond to some of the most critical needs she has seen among the world’s children.

In the past, the non-profit organization has donated tens of thousands of dollars to help tsunami victims in Indonesia, India, Thailand, and Sri Lanka; childen in Vietnam disfigured by land mines; child slaves kidnapped in Sudan; AIDS orphans in Zimbabwe, and many other children around the world who live in tragedy, war, disease, and degradation.

Today Born to Fly International is focused solely on stopping the worldwide pandemic of child sex trafficking.