{"id":4770,"date":"2023-01-27T19:05:18","date_gmt":"2023-01-27T22:05:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/?p=4770"},"modified":"2023-01-27T19:41:58","modified_gmt":"2023-01-27T22:41:58","slug":"dallas-casa-provides-staff-and-volunteer-training-to-recognize-the-signs-of-child-sex-trafficking-and-advocate-for-survivors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalcasagal.org\/dallas-casa-provides-staff-and-volunteer-training-to-recognize-the-signs-of-child-sex-trafficking-and-advocate-for-survivors\/","title":{"rendered":"Dallas CASA provides staff and volunteer training to recognize the signs of child sex trafficking and advocate for survivors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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January 27, 2023<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t

Dallas CASA provides staff and volunteer training to recognize the signs of child sex trafficking and advocate for survivors<\/h2>\n\t\t

NEWS<\/strong><\/p>\n

On December 30, 2022, President Biden issued a proclamation declaring January 2023 as Human Trafficking Prevention Month<\/a>. Each year in this country, more than 100,000 children are reported as victims of sexual exploitation, or trafficking, as it is also known. The actual number is higher; tens of thousands of children are exploited without anyone noticing or reporting it. As many as 4 out of 5 victims have spent time in foster care.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s easy to understand what makes children in foster care so vulnerable\u2014frequent shuffling from place to place with little warning and no say, often little sense of belonging and, as young people in foster care get older, more unsupervised time during which offenders can draw them into trafficking. As Withelma \u201cT\u201d Ortiz Walker Pettigrew, a young woman who experienced child sex trafficking put it, \u201c Young people normalize the idea of being used for financial gain because they\u2019re already going through that in foster care.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese traffickers are cunning and they look for the most vulnerable, which is all too often kids in foster care,\u201d said Chad Frymire, Director of Public Policy at Dallas CASA. \u201cThey go to shelters and residential treatment centers. They brainwash these kids to feel like the trafficker loves them, but the trafficker is making money off them. It\u2019s sick and disgusting, and we want our community to come together and fight this horrendous crime.”<\/p>\n

Care and concern from a trusted figure can prevent a child\u2019s exploitation. National CASA\/GAL, together with its network of state organizations and local programs, is working to prepare CASA and GAL volunteers to prevent trafficking and to fight for children who have already been victimized.<\/p>\n