Child trafficking on the rise during pandemic, Tulsa demonstration next Thursday
OklahomaCrimeEventsCommunity
(TULSA, Okla.) With predators using the COVID-19 pandemic to target and entice more children, people are taking to the streets next week to call for government support.
Local organizer Lisa Wood said RISE UP FOR CHILDREN is a worldwide campaign initiated by Operation Underground Railroad, a non-profit organization committed to rescuing children and ending child trafficking and exploitation.
She told VNN human trafficking has profits of more than $30 billion a year worldwide.
“There are 40.3 million modern day slaves,” Wood said. “One in four victims are children. 71 percent of victims are women and girls. The youngest reported victim in 2018 was 1 year old. These children can't protest, or march in the streets, so we need to stand up and be their voice.”
Tulsa’s demonstration will be held on July 30 from 6 to 8 p.m. outside of the Woodland Hills Mall.
July 30 is World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. (Not to be confused with Human Trafficking Awareness Day in January.)
“We will march down 71st Street with signs,” Wood said. “With flyers and handouts for information.”
John Shehan is vice president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s Exploited Children Division. He said their organization is aware of predators openly discussing the pandemic as an opportunity to entice unsupervised children into producing sexually explicit material.
“At the same time, we experienced an explosion in reporting to our CyberTipline from both the public and electronic service providers, all while transitioning to a telework environment,” Shehan said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the staff at NCMEC for demonstrating their ability to adapt and respond during this time while always maintaining their commitment to the children we serve.”
NCMEC reported a 93.33% increase in online enticement reports between January and June 2020 versus the same time period in 2019.
Wood said she first heard about O.U.R. a few months ago after watching a documentary called Operation Toussaint.
“The documentary is about a team of former US law enforcement officers on a mission to hunt down human traffickers running a child prostitution ring,” Wood said. “Tim Ballard, the CEO of O.U.R. was a special agent for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. After watching Operation Toussaint, I started looking into his foundation.”
You can sign up to take part in Thursday’s demonstration in Tulsa here: http://cerv.is/m?0059x3621
Wood said the event will adhere to Tulsa guidelines regarding COVID-19 safety, including wearing masks to protect each other.
Businesses are also encouraged to support the RISE UP FOR CHILDREN movement by donating proceeds to the cause.
So far only one Oklahoma business is registered on the organization’s website: The Bud Shop in Roland is donating 40 percent of their proceeds to Operation Underground Railroad now until July 30.
Click here for more information: https://ourrescue.org/
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