expanded cw: child sex trafficking

Amber 🌸

expanded cw: child sex trafficking

While we're on the topic of human trafficking I'd like to touch a bit on child sex trafficking from my perspective. I live in a state where it's so common all of our public schools have posters plastered around them on how to spot the signs and what to do. I am not going to repeat all of that, just the one I've seen personally on fedi multiple times at this point. Minors please be careful. If you live in an abusive situation at home with no support group, and you make posts about such things... be very weary if an adult is telling you they have a way out for your situation. I know not every adult on here is extending that offer out of malice. I've seen it enough times though to be a concerning pattern. If they start to give you a lot of attention, in particular something akin to "love-bombing", if they start to flirt with you (whether that's little compliments that are just out of place or more sexual) please take a step back and talk to someone you trust.

I've seen too many minors (especially queer minors) seek out the internet because they can see people similar to them. Hell, I did it. I fell for it, my groomers made me feel things I never felt before. I liked the way they complimented my body, to me the age gap wasn't a concern (18-19 i was 14 but being 21 now I definitely have icks). It was something that I couldn't get anywhere else. I've seen minors on fedi get caught up in that sort of love bombing, isolation and what's even more concerning is the promise of "live with me". If an adult is telling you things like "oh your thighs are so pretty" and is offering you a place to stay, or is saying "well when you turn 18 we can live together"... run. You need to take a step back from that situation. I don't have a correct answer for what to do after you notice but I do know you shouldn't go with them. It's human trafficking 101, abusers want to isolate a victim away from their friends, family. Don't let them do it.

Amber 🌸

inb4 "amber does child sex trafficking actually exist on the fediverse", yes. yes it does. i've seen it with my own eyes. i talk to a victim that luckily did not go through with it. they're an adult now and i keep them by my side. i am not telling you who it is because it is not my story to tell but i am so so thankful that she did not end up as a statistic. if anyone ever wanted to know "what's so bad about fedi administration that amber won't ever acknowledge" it has got to be that. the fact that i very much saw someone in my community almost get sex trafficked and i had to try to stop it. that was a stressful time and i am still sickened by the entire thing.

Sterling Manor 🧭 (Piper)

@[email protected] A lot of people tend to be dismissive of risks like this because they're sick of hearing boomer-esque "Everyone on the internet is a pedophile"

So I just want to very briefly add our own personal experience- It actually happened to us. As an adult. We genuinely experienced the boomer's worst nightmare situation of "Went to visit a years long best friend we trusted and got actually fucking kidnapped and trafficked". Was only supposed to stay for ten days and the return ticket got moved way out after we were already there, because it was booked by the other party

It actually happens. We are proof that it actually happens.

So repeat after me, EVERYONE, not just minors: YOU DO NOT KNOW HOW YOUR ONLINE FRIENDS ACTUALLY ARE IN PERSON. DO NOT FOREGO SAFETY PRECAUTIONS FOR ANYONE. If you go to visit an online friend, make sure other people actually know where you are and have regular contact with you

- posted by Piper

Amber 🌸

@[email protected] I think the worst part is that I'm nearly powerless to stop this. Most of the time the contact is established off platform (discord, matrix, xmpp) and there's no way of me to know what's going on until after something happens.

Sterling Manor 🧭 (Piper)

@[email protected] It's genuinely painful. I get it. The person that did this to us, we realized recently, had a mole in our friend group literally reporting on our actions to them for at bare minimum MONTHS. And I was barely even mad about it tbh because I know our friends and I am so worried that the cycle is going to just be repeated with the person that did that

The best we can really do, whether it's as friends or as administrators, is refuse to shut up about it. We won't stop talking about it because if what we have to say helps even one person back away from this kind of thing, the danger that being open about this puts us at risk of is worth it.

- posted by Piper

FinalOverdrive

@puppygirlhornypost2 I won't force it or pry...but at some point there will have to be some kind of discussion. Here's the hard part, apart from the sensitive and uncomfortable aspect. We need to have this discussion:
-with a clear definition of what trafficking is, the worst part is that the law has become no help in this
-with the understanding the law will never protect trans people, youth or otherwise, even if written into law
-without losing our heads; the lack of level-headed discussion is part of the problem. At some point we need to face up to it as a plain fact
-while being able to understand the complex situations youth runaways end up in
-with the understanding no simple solutions exist
-without throwing sex workers under the bus
Beyond that, it is beyond my ken.

FinalOverdrive

@puppygirlhornypost2 What makes it worse is that the family in question may be abusive, and they may not have any friends they can trust. Making the offer all the more tempting. Without going into the complexities beyond this...

One thing I worry about is how a lot of the time it shifts into the opposite direction: I think no interaction between generations does its own kind of harm. There's a whole range of relationships between none and the dubious at least. Relationships that youth need to become adults ready for life on their own. The phrase it takes a village is not an empty slogan. It means, online and off, having connections outside ones immediate family.

And putting a kid in a position where they are unable to have those connections constitutes abuse of a kind.

[evil] Saabria Nejem LLC :neocat_floof_flag_trans:

@[email protected] I saw this shit almost happen multiple times with these people. its fucking sick