January is sex trafficking awareness month, which is an opportunity to educate the world about the grave reality of sex trafficking going on in our backyards.
Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good, author of “Groomed” and CEO of The Foundation United, has served as an accomplished leader in the anti-sex trafficking movement for more than a decade, including helping thousands of survivors find freedom and a new life.
Out of her passion to end exploitation and to protect children globally, Elizabeth established The Foundation United to provide best practices and proven models to eradicate sex trafficking and sexual abuse around the world through creating lasting, systemic change in the key areas of Prevention, Protection and Policy.
With a Master’s Degree in Clinical Psychology, Fisher Good realized a key factor among survivors was childhood sexual abuse, and she has since implemented preventive training in schools, hospitals, police departments and churches, trying to get ahead of what makes children susceptible to trafficking. (1 in 3 girls and 1 in 5 boys are affected by childhood sexual abuse, with 1 in 9 approached by predators via their smart devices.)
"Today, our children are being inundated with images on their iPhones and the American Academy of Pediatrics says that 75% of 4-year-olds are given smart devices," Elizabeth explained. "They say half a million predators, at any given time, are looking for your child on their social media."
Elizabeth says to protect our children from falling victim to human trafficking, we have to be the parent that is there no matter what happens, and we need to remove the paralyzing fear involved.
"Predators are pretty textbook. I'm gonna give my kid the antidote. I'm gonna be that mom. They're gonna be so prepared for this. They're not gonna be a target because quite honestly, they're just looking for low-hanging fruit. You guys listening today can arm your children. You are like armour bearers here with it, I would say get your arsenal of weaponry and let's go. It's about talking.
Today on Connections, Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good, CEO of The Foundation United, educates us on human trafficking and how children are easily groomed. She'll also share how we can protect our children.