“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 true.
 

Dear Warrior:
 

"Prostitution is not a job. And it never will be. Sex work is not work. It’s exploitation. Talk to survivors." — Lynn Shaw

Reality. It’s 2023. We don’t talk about prostitution enough. We must. A recent spate of media pointed out that “Prostitutes charge Davos attendees $2500.00 a night as sex work demand booms” or “Business booming for sex workers in Davos as prostitution rises during World Economic Forum.” 

Media reporting or media promoting? Propaganda for attention and web traffic? “Sex” always sells in the media. Sex sells to the public. Anything deemed scintillating. “Sex work” is anything but. And where are all the media attention on the sex buyer? There is none.

                                      


                                             Let’s Learn More

 
It is possible to identify certain moments where prostitution is more concentrated. Large gatherings of people and events such as the Super Bowl, attract human traffickers and global criminal organizations. There is money, and lots of it, to be made. It is supply and demand. Criminal pimps and traffickers seek to take advantage of the influx of visitors and temporary prostitutes or as the media and society refer to them, “sex workers.” Indeed, it’s estimated that up to 66% of the global profits from human trafficking (approximately $150 billion) come from sexual exploitation and major gatherings such as sporting events that have become their own human trafficking Super Bowls. A perfect storm of exploitation.

However, any major gathering of people will show an increase in prostitution. Whether the World Economic Forum, the Super Bowl, large concerts and festivals and/or conventions, all prove to show an increase in prostitution.

“Prostitution is an illegal activity. Sex trafficking is embedded within prostitution. In order for us to identify sex trafficking victims, you must address prostitution.” — Eric Pauley, the supervisory special agent for the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children and Human Trafficking Squad in Atlanta and supervisor of the Metro Atlanta Child Exploitation Task Force.

 
                                                        DATA DATA DATA
 
January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Awareness Month. There is a direct correlation between prostitution and sex trafficking. We do talk about sex trafficking a lot but not enough about the prostituted person. Man. Woman. Child. The lifelong harms caused. What about the buyer of sex? Why isn’t ending demand at the forefront of de-escalating prostitution? Why is there not more accountability? Why are these sex buyers allowed to walk away with usually no more than a slap on the wrist? If there was no demand, less people would be forced into prostitution and any form of sexual exploitation. Supply and demand. Big business. Big money. It’s that simple. Not that any of this is.

            Engage. Educate. Empower ourselves and our children. 

                                     So What Are We to Do?
                                Community Creates Change

Take Action. Why Sex Buyers Must Be Stopped and How to Do It. Is ending sexual exploitation possible? Yes, but only by addressing the root cause: the sex buyer. Without those who choose to buy other people for sex, there would be no prostitution and no sex trafficking. Yet sex buyers are often left unchecked and as a result inflict incalculable harm on individuals and society.

Take Action. Survivor Leader Rachel Moran shares her journey. Learn first-hand the harms caused by prostitution and why ending demand is so urgent in protecting all vulnerable people. Rachel is the author of the bestselling book Paid For - My Journey Through Prostitution, which has been regarded by legal scholar Catharine MacKinnon as “the best work by anyone on prostitution ever.” Paid For has been published in more than a dozen countries and numerous languages including German, Italian, Korean and French, with a Spanish translation currently underway.  

Take Action. Use your Lynn’s Warriors Tool Kit and contact your elected representatives. Ask them what they are doing about prostitution and holding sex buyers accountable in your community. Sex buyers are at the root of prostitution = sex trafficking.
 

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. January 25. Join the World Without Exploitation  (WorldWE) Youth Coalition for "Organizing on College Campuses: Students Against Sexual Exploitation." The conversation will include Dahlia Locke, Símir Hampton, Taylor Parker and Nabile German Bigurra, the leadership of WorldWE Youth 5C and WorldWE Youth ASU. Listen as they share their experience as youth activists on college campuses and learn how to engage other young people in conversation about sexual exploitation.
 

Just Announced. January. Take It Down. A FREE service provided by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. It will help you remove or stop the online sharing of nude, partially nude, or sexually explicit images or videos taken of you when you were under 18 years old. You can remain anonymous while using the service and you won’t have to send your images or videos to anyone.

Washington DC. January 19. The federal government is investigating the possible human trafficking of children who cleaned slaughterhouses. Federal investigators are looking into whether 50 children — some as young as 13 — who were allegedly illegally employed cleaning Midwestern slaughterhouses were victims of labor trafficking, said three officials from the Department of Homeland Security.
 

In the News. January 13. Pills bought through Snapchat caused deaths of 8 teens and young adults from West and Midwest, lawsuit says “Snapchat knows that its platforms are being used by drug dealers to facilitate the sale of fentanyl-laced drugs,” Matthew P. Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, told McClatchy News. “They have actual knowledge that young people are dying as a result, and they turn a blind eye.”

Good News. January 18. New York State. New bill directs the commissioner of DMV to establish a sex trafficking awareness and prevention program to provide education and awareness literature and educational materials to all drivers with a commercial motor vehicle license.

Education. January 12. Don’t Ban ChatGPT in Schools. Teach With It. OpenAI’s new chatbot is raising fears of cheating on homework, but its potential as an educational tool outweighs its risks. It is capable of writing cogent essays, solving science and math problems and producing working computer code. ChatGPT is new — it was released in late November — but it has already sent many educators into a panic. Thoughts?

Medical. January 11. Psychiatrists’ Response to Human Trafficking: An Update Minors involved in commercial sex are always considered trafficked under US federal law. Trafficked children endure psychological and medical consequences that are complex and long-lasting.                

 Tech Talk. January 16. Thorn CEO Julie Cordua: My Vision for 2023 “We were tested time and time again by the many ways technology can be used to exploit children – from grooming to sextortion to sharing nudes. As the many facets of this issue continue to grow in the public discourse, we are continually reminded of the importance of our shared vision, and are even more committed to building solutions to defend children from sexual abuse.” Key themes for kids, parents and caregivers as we enter 2023.

Media Microscope. January 17. NBC NonStop  Local. App  helps truck drivers prevent human trafficking Truckers Against Trafficking, or TAT, works to educate semi truck drivers about the signs of human trafficking and what to do when they notice them. The organization has an app for phones and tablets that gives anyone access to resources like red flags to look out for and a hotline to call with anonymous tips. Jill Snyder, an advocate for victims of trafficking, said once people are aware of the signs they are difficult to miss.

Warrior Reality. Concerns raised about sex trafficking in the Phoenix area ahead of Super Bowl For years, headlines in host cities have sounded the alarm about potential increases in sex and labor trafficking ahead of the big event. Watch here.

 

Warrior Spotlight. 

Warrior Thanks. 

Mark Your Calendar. January 29. Human Trafficking Awareness Night Join Paving the Way, Reflective Spaces Ministry, Nurses United Against Human Trafficking and local organizations for the panel in the first hour. In the second hour, look out for breakout sessions for youths, parents, seniors and first responders. An effort to educate more people on how we can all work together to disrupt the cycle of human trafficking and child exploitation. 

                                             

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. 
 

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                                                                    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 

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 01-25-2023 is a double-header. Chris Salcedo from Newsmax joins us to talk about the ongoing border crisis and Wonder Girls USA will tell us about how they are empowering their peers this January, Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Make sure to listen to my 01-18-23 interview with legal and media analyst LIONEL. 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 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