“Committed to ending modern-day slavery and sexual exploitation by raising awareness through the media and grassroots mobilization, education, advocacy and policy.” 
 

WARNING: This newsletter may be disturbing because it’s all true.

     
 

Dear Warrior:

We all can agree that slavery is an affront to human dignity. Congress passed the 13^th Amendment to abolish slavery on January 31,1865 and it was ratified on December 6, 1865. 
 

What is the true meaning of slavery?

 
A condition in which one human being is owned by another. A slave is considered property and deprived of most of the rights ordinarily held by free persons.

It’s 2023. Slavery is escalating and thriving in the United States. It is called human trafficking. It is called sexual exploitation. It is called modern slavery. There are many different meanings of modern slavery. All involve aspects of control, involuntary actions, coercion and exploitation. Today these crimes are happening online and in real-time.
 

Let’s Learn More

 
Most people think slavery is a term and thing of the past. It is anything but. A recent International Labour Organization (ILO) report shows that 50 million people – that’s 1 in every 150 worldwide – are in situations of slavery globally. More than 3.3 million of these are children. What is the true number of people, including vulnerable children trafficked in the United States? We don’t really know. Today we must contend with exploitation happening in every town, city and rural area in America. It's in our homes. At schools. Our places of business. It is all over. It’s called the Internet. Where sextortion, image-based sexual abuse, cyberbullying and more harms flourish with seemingly no end in sight.
 
However, there is much hope. Our youth is the answer. Let us make the commitment in 2023 to rally around kids. We will start by being aware. We will teach them openly and honestly about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. We will create a partnership of trust and build momentum. We will engage, educate and empower ourselves and our children. We will listen to survivors and learn from their lived experiences and share with our kids. We will read, follow the Warriors and others all working to protect children, research, share facts not fears about child safety and above all else, talk to our kids. We will listen to and give voice to our youth, uplift them and teach them to educate others. Peer to peer. They will share information and resources. They will take action. It’s time for much more combat against the predators. Our precious youth will make the difference. They are Warriors.  
 

January was first declared as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month in 2010. It is a time to acknowledge those experiencing enslavement and those who have escaped. People must wake up. Slavery is thriving in 2023. Human traffickers generate hundreds of billions of dollars in profits by trapping millions of people in horrific situations around the United States and the world. Traffickers use violence, threats, deception, debt bondage and other manipulative tactics to force people, including children, to engage in commercial sex or to provide labor or services against their will. We must say no more.

 Engage. Educate. Empower ourselves and our children.

So What Are We to Do?
Community Creates Change

Take Action. Resources. The National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN) in recognition of January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month has compiled resources for children, teens, parents and caregivers, educators, child welfare and juvenile justice professionals and mental health providers.

Take Action. Blue Campaign. For tweens, teens and you. Come together for several events hosted in January to educate and empower you. Members of the public are invited to attend webinars where representatives from the Blue Campaign will provide an overview of what human trafficking is, the indicators, how to report a suspected human trafficking situation and available resources to raise awareness in your communities. Get the kids involved with #WearBlueDay Follow @DHSBlueCampaign on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more information about #WearBlueDay and Campaign efforts throughout the year.

Take Action. January means a fresh start. Talk to your kids about forming digital safety clubs and pods in your community. Parents and caregivers need to get involved. Conversations will be about online and real-time safety and basic facts about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Encourage peer to peer raising awareness and education. Do some research. There may be an organization in your community already. If you are in the New Jersey area, check out the fabulous Wonder Girls. There is also the national World Without Exploitation Youth Coalition. Both organizations promote young leaders in the fight to educate about exploitation. Listen to my recent interview with Dahlia Locke, Co-Chair of World Without Exploitation Youth and learn why she and the coalition give us hope for a strong future without exploitation. Learn more and encourage our youth to join or form their own safety clubs today.
 

Please share this newsletter with family and friends.

                 
                                There is help. There is hope. 

Please always check on your loved ones and friends who might be in need of someone to talk to and care. Find more resources at 988 Lifeline.

                                         

                                    
                   
                     Wherever the kids are . . . so are the predators.

                                   

           If we help one child a day, then we have done our job. 

                                               


                                       

                           
                                           

                                          

                                         BE A WARRIOR!

                 

Gabb Wireless – Technology has countless benefits and allowing children to use safe technology in moderation can help them learn phone etiquette and media literacy skills. However, too much of anything can be harmful. By taking the steps to balance tech in their lives, kids have more time to be kids and learn healthy tech habits.

                   

Sound the Alarm. December 30. Take Back Control. If you and your child have been a victim of sextortion, there is help and hope. Financial Sextortion schemes are on the rise and targeting children under 18 according to the FBI. Know what to do. It is overwhelming but you are not alone. Take action immediately and report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Just Announced. December 22. American Medical Association Issues Brief: Nation’s drug-related overdose and death epidemic continues to worsen The epidemic affects youth in particular in every state and now is driven by illicitly manufactured fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine, often in combination or in adulterated forms. More than 107,000 deaths were reported in the United States between January 2021 to January 2022. The AMA continues to urge policymakers’ action to increase access to evidence-based care for substance use disorders, pain and harm reduction measures. Urge your representatives to take action and provide more resources to educate kids and rid our country of this poison.
 

Washington DC. January 3, 2023 Congress. Use your voice. Without legislation, human slavery and sexual exploitation crimes against our youth will continue to flourish. Use our Warriors Tool Kit and guidance to contact and urge your representatives to sponsor, co-sponsor and get involved in child safety issues, found at Lynn’s Warriors, on a local, state and federal level. These are bipartisan bills to protect our youth from horrific and escalating human rights abuses online and in real-time. In New York State, we have the Sex Trade Survivors Justice and Equality Act. Learn more and how you can help. Everyone can and must learn more, take a stand and protect our vulnerable children and communities.
 

In the News. January. How Capital Eats Its Young Capitalism’s endgame of harvesting the future is in play, now that markets value children’s attention as more valuable for revenue than for learning. There are possible solutions if we can first acknowledge the problem. A review of Dr. Susan Linn’s Who’s Raising the Kids? provides many clues to the solution. Also, please listen to my TNT podcast with Dr. Linn to learn more and how you can take action to create a difference in a child’s life.

 
Good News. January. Take Away Their Cellphones… So we can rewire schools for belonging and achievement The historic downturn in the well-being of young people coincided almost exactly with the dramatic rise of the smartphone and social media. More specifically, it coincided with the moment when they both became universal and being disconnected or an infrequent user was no longer viable. The pandemic only added to all of this. The unrealistic idea of getting rid of digital devices in 2023 will not work. Restriction is a far better strategy. These efforts won’t be simple to execute, but the alternative is simply too damaging to students’ learning and well-being. Keep cellphones turned off and out of sight during the school day—and give students and educators a fighting chance to focus, reconnect, and build school cultures that nurture belonging and academic success.
 

 Tech Talk. December/January. Report: 96% of K-12 Apps Share Student Data With Third Parties SHOCKING. According to the nonprofit Internet Safety Labs, most ed-tech software tools share student data with third parties, in many cases without user consent, and schools should treat data privacy as an enterprise IT problem. Thanks to Protect Young Eyes for bringing this to our attention. Talk to your kids. Do you know what Apps they are using in school? Start asking. #DigitalSafety #PostWithPermission #ProtectOurKids

Media Microscope. December/January. Dr. Gail Dines Explores How Hypersexualized Media Legitimizes Prostitution Culture Reframed Founder & President Dr. Gail Dines explores the ties between pornography and prostitution and breaks down how hypersexualized culture grooms young people into porn. With the advent of the Internet, pornography has become more accessible, affordable and anonymous. From both behind the screen of production to habitual viewership, the pipeline to porn further compounds harm for everyone involved.

Warrior Reality. January 2023. View A New Guide to Raise Awareness About Human Trafficking from the Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) to help you and/or your organization develop and carry out its anti-trafficking awareness campaigns during National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in January 2023 and throughout the year. The guide contains outreach tools and sample materials, including sample social media posts and a blog, to help you quickly and capably develop and carry out your anti-trafficking campaign. Share with our youth. Facts, truths and take actions to help them.

Warrior Spotlight. 

Warrior Thanks. 

Mark Your Calendar. January 11. Wear Blue Day! National Human Trafficking Awareness Day is recognized each year on January 11^th. In recognition of this important day, and throughout the month of January, Blue Campaign hosts several special events and educational activities. Blue Campaign’s largest initiative is #WearBlueDay to raise awareness of human trafficking. They invite the public to take photos of themselves, friends, family, and colleagues wearing blue clothing and share them on social media – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – along with our #WearBlueDay hashtag. All kids are invited to participate. All you need is a piece of blue clothing!

                                             

DO YOU KNOW WHAT SEXTORTION IS? The practice of extorting money or sexual favors from someone by threatening to reveal evidence of their sexual activities. 

                          

                                                  ENGAGE EDUCATE EMPOWER

JANUARY RECOMMENDED READING 
 

You Are Your Own Best Teacher! provides a remarkable variety of teachable antidotes to the punishing forces bearing down on youngsters from harmful marketing, the insidious grip of ‘virtual reality’ and the tyranny of peer groups. Apprehensive parents and burdened teachers will delight in the lessons of this book for Tweens (nine to twelve year olds). It will spark their innate curiosity, imagination and idealism. Tweens, who are whipsawed by relentless distractions, profit-driven manipulations and oncoming addictions, are guided toward elevating their own sense of significance, protection and realizable achievements. Through this process of discovery, they explore wider frames of reference with roles inside and outside the family environment.Many motivating stories from history to the present make Claire Nader’s gentle nudges toward self-educational experiences exciting. 
 

CLICK ON COVER 

                                                       

                                          

                                                                    WARNING!  

                                             
                        

The number of young kids who ate marijuana-laced candy rose sharply over five years, putting many in hospital, according to the latest study warning against America's experiment with legal pot.

Between 2017 and 2021, US poison control centers witnessed a 14-fold increase in calls about youngsters who got their hands on cannabis edibles, according to a study in the journal Pediatrics.

Though many of the children experienced only minor symptoms, like excessive sleepiness, researchers say nearly a quarter ended up in hospital and warn about the emergence of a new household safety hazard.

RELEASED by SHARED HOPE INTERNATIONAL. Every year, Report Cards on Child & Youth Sex Trafficking are released to update anti-trafficking stakeholders, state legislators and activists on each state’s status related to legislative efforts addressing child and youth sex trafficking. Learn more. Take action.  

              

                         

                 

 
                

                                                     
                                                                                                                                       

                                    
 

                             COMMUNITY CREATES CHANGE

 

Take Action. Warrior Workshops emphasize that communication is key and supplies the tools and resources to accomplish this. Lynn’s Warriors educates children, teens, parents, teachers, trusted adults, healthcare professionals, law enforcement, community leaders and businesses and places of worship about the escalating impact of the Internet and protection from predators lurking online and in real time. Lynn’s Warriors focuses on and offers education and training about human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The emphasis and challenges are for everyone to become a Warrior in their own homes and communities. Lynn’s Warriors are essential, critical and now available to you and your community. Here we come, NY, CT, NJ and the entire United States! Stay tuned. Please learn more  

Lynn’s Warriors is at the forefront of raising awareness and mobilizing and coordinating community, state and national advocates, elected officials, representatives and leaders to work in a comprehensive and integrated approach to best address the issues and work at ending the demand that confronts our most  vulnerable and precious citizens. Lynn’s Warriors utilizes a coordinated synergy to educate about all forms of digital predation, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), sextortion and all forms of human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Learn more about becoming a Warrior and why Warrior Workshops are needed in your community. For more information Email Lynn. 

Please use these helpful hashtags on your social media platforms to raise awareness about human trafficking and sexual exploitation issues and initiatives:   

#HumanTraffickingAwarenessMonth
#EmpowerOurYouth
#YouthGivesUsHope
#PeerToPeer
#CommunicateWithKids
#ProtectChildrenOnline
#RealTimeSafety
#EngageEducateEmpower
#MissingKids
#WarriorWednesdayRadio
#WarriorSaturdayRadio
And always #LynnsWarriors 

CLICK ON IMAGE ABOVE FOR SHOW INFORMATION

The Warriors joined the Steve Malzberg Show on TNT Radio on 12-29 for an end of year wrap up plus what you need to know about human slavery and exploitation in 2023. Policy. Resources. Take actions.

 Warrior Wednesday WVOX 01-04-2023 lays out the Warriors groundwork for 2023! The theme is Rallying Around Youth. Learn how you can help engage, educate and empower all kids to say no to predation. Make sure to listen to my 12-28-22 interview with Dahlia Locke, Co-Chair of the World Without Exploitation Youth Coalition. A group of young leaders 15-25 forging a path to creating a world where no one is bought, sold or exploited. EVER. A must-listen. Buckle up! Only on Lynn’s Warriors WVOX Radio. Join us every Wednesday from 3-4PM ET 1460AMNY WVOX App WVOX.com = Across the Universe!
 

                  
                                                     CLICK ON IMAGES ABOVE

And don't forget to listen to Lynn's Warriors on WVOX Wednesdays at 3PM ET and Lynn's Warriors TNT Radio Live Saturdays at 2 PM ET and always follow Lynn’s Warriors for current news and updates about our mission to end human trafficking and sexual exploitation. Please tune in to the Lynn's Warriors YouTube Channel and subscribe. 

HELP FUND THE FIGHT AND KEEP THE SURVIVOR VOICE FRONT AND CENTER. Your Lynn’s Warriors donation supports the mission of stopping human trafficking and promoting sexual exploitation education as well as helping survivors reclaim their lives through purpose and providing financial support.    
 

The time is now.
Healing.
We must protect our vulnerable children.
We can do this.
We must do this.
We are #Warriors