1. Empowering Society’s Youth
Abstract:
Empowering Society’s Youth aims to make the world a better place for our
children in New York. The increasing affordability and accessibility of the internet has
led to an unprecedented number of youth internet users. Therefore, our organization aims
to teach the importance of internet safety to at-risk youth and youth who have already
fallen victims to sex-trafficking and pornography. This will help them be effective
leaders in society. In addition, our staff will provide training to first responders to ensure
proper identification and response mechanisms.
Executive Summary:
The increasing affordability, accessibility, and anonymity of the internet have
made it a dangerous place for children. Youth tend to see the internet as a free space to
express their feelings and problems safe from judgment. This is especially true for
children who are not sociable and who have trouble making friends. As a result, there is a
risk that they will overshare personal information online which traffickers will use to
their advantage.
Traffickers prey on the vulnerabilities of youth to gain their trust and to exploit
them. Offenders chat with their victims on many trusted social media sites such as
Facebook, OoVoo, Twitter, and Skype. They then ask the youth to either pose in sexually
explicit positions or to engage in live web-cam sex also known as live-streaming child

2. abuse. Sometimes, the online relationship can move offline. It is important to know that
victims can be both boys and girls, domestic or foreign, and be as young as three.
Therefore, our staff strives to empower youth both at- risk and those who have fallen
victims to this crime. Furthermore, we offer training to first responders to ensure proper
identification and response to this crime.
Statement of Need:
In the U.S., 300,000 children are at-risk of becoming sexually exploited (Estes,
Richard J. and Neil Alan Weiner, “The Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in
the U.S., Canada and Mexico.” University of Pennsylvania, 2001). If we do not take
action now to prevent this crime from occurring, traffickers will continue to exploit
children for profit. They need to know that they will be held accountable and that society
is watching them.
Currently, there are two resolutions in Congress waiting to be passed. H.R. 2730
“Strengthening the Child Welfare Response to Human Trafficking” mandates
collaboration with state and local law enforcement and extending services for trafficking
victims to 21 years of age. In addition, it requires the Department of Health and Human
Services to provide recommendations to child welfare agencies and residential safe
havens on helping victims or at- risk youth. In turn, H.R. 2801 is the “E-SAFETI Task
Force Act” which seeks to establish a task force to study and make recommendations on
cyber traffickers. If passed, it will have twenty members from different departments
including DOS, Federal Communications Commission, FBI, ICE, Administration for
Children and Families, DOJ, DOL, and thirteen appointed by Secretary of State: internet

3. website company, non-profits, academic institutions, State AG, a victim of severe form
of sex trafficking, and representatives from public or private sectors. Until these laws are
passed, victims and at-risk youth will not be effectively protected. The only two
technologies in effect are the Cyber Tipline from the National Center for Missing and
Exploited Children and the smartphone applications created by Homeland Security
Initiatives Operation Predator to report suspicions either online or by phone 24/7.
Although there are a number of organizations focusing on child trafficking there
is not one that specifically focuses on cyber trafficking or internet facilitated trafficking.
THORN is an organization that uses technology innovation to fight the sexual
exploitation of children but not on empowering youth. It partners with government,
technology companies, and NGO’s to deter child predators. In addition, it conducts a
national survey of victims to determine the role technology played in their recruitment,
exploitation, and escape. Statistics of this survey indicate that 70% of domestic minor sex
trafficking victims were sold online, 75% of victims had access to a cell phone when
trafficked, and 71% had access to internet when trafficked. This data demonstrates an
urgent need to teach youth to adopt safe internet practices and become active members of
society. Another integral part of this project would be to train first service responders to
identify at-risk youth and victims; otherwise they will not be helped. THORN cites data
from NCMEC that it received 17 million images and videos in 2011. Moreover, in 2009,
police identified 22 million IP addresses used for pornography of which 10 million were
located in the U.S. Furthermore, 19% of identified offenders had images of victims
younger than three years old, 39% images younger than six years old, and 83% images

4. younger than twelve years old. The time to act is now; every child has the right to be free
from sexual exploitation.