We live in a world where an abuser can spot a vulnerable child from a mile away, or from across a crowded room, yet every other adult in the child’s life is likely to miss it.

There is a video that went viral on Facebook titled The Dangers Of Social Media (Child Predator Social Experiment). Watching it hits you right in the feels, especially if you’re a parent. The video shows a guy pretending to be a 15-year-old boy on social media who lures three girls from different families to meet with him. It turns out he is not a 15-year-old boy and he gets the surprise of his life to find the parents waiting for him along with their daughters.
 

Savannah Sanders’s first encounter with sex trafficking at the age of 16 was as a victim. But during the years since, she has tackled this shockingly prevalent problem as an educator, a mentor, a social work student and most recently an author. Her debut book “Sex Trafficking Prevention: A Trauma-Informed Approach for Parents and Professionals,” to be published by Unhooked Books on September 1, weaves her plight together with research on the U.S. sex trade and advice for everyday people to minimize children’s vulnerability.

I was what gets judged in our society. I was the homeless girl wandering the streets. I was the addict “sucking off the system.” I was the prostitute, the attention whore, the girl with no teeth, the chick falling asleep on public transportation, the lady who forgot her kid in the car, the run away, the cutter, the smelly one, and the list goes on.