sex trafficking Archives

July 6, 2026June 22, 2026

Eyes Peeled, Prayers Strong: A Mom’s Wake-Up Call About Sex Trafficking

I’m excited to welcome Jessica Brodie back to Hopeful Mom. Jessica’s passionate about educating parents on mental health issues and the sex trafficking trade. She’s done her homework and wrote about trafficking in her newest novel, Hidden Seeds. Keep reading for a sneak peek into the book as well as helpful information to keep our kids from getting caught in a potential trafficking situation.

I thought sex trafficking involved women—or men—being violently kidnapped and coerced, or lured into trafficking through addiction.

What I didn’t realize until far too recently was that trafficking usually starts subtly, and right here in our neighborhoods, with young kids who could live next door. Both girls and boys are brought in through a gradual process called “grooming” that preys on their emotional and sometimes physical needs.

January 5, 2026December 29, 2025

How Predators Groom Kids for Sex Trafficking Online

Sex trafficking doesn’t typically start with kidnapping. It starts with grooming. Predators build trust first. They use affection, attention, and manipulation to slowly convince preteens and teens that abuse is love, secrecy is normal, and speaking up will ruin lives.

Grooming for sex trafficking happens in person and online and is particularly prevalent on social media platforms. Pornography and sex trafficking are intertwined, so we must discuss signs and grooming techniques with our children.

I recently watched a reel on journalist Lori Fullbright’s Instagram that clearly explains how predators groom their victims. You can watch the reel here. The following transcript reveals phrases predators use to manipulate, isolate, and control children before trafficking begins.

June 2, 2025June 3, 2025

Yes, Your Child is Being Targeted by Online Predators

I met Kimberly Ells, our guest author, through the Safeguard Alliance and was impressed by her passion to help families. She’s a policy advisor and has spoken at the UN. Her passion for keeping kids safe from online predators shines through in this piece.

For many parents, the day they find out their child is being approached, targeted, educated, and manipulated by strangers on his or her digital devices is the day they finally take seriously all the warnings and admonitions about phone and digital device use they have heard for years. By that time, often great damage has been done. It is never too late to take action to protect your child but the sooner you do so, the less damage will be done.

"It's never too late to take action to protect your child." Kimberly Ells – Yes, Your Child is Being Targeted by Online Predators #mentalhealth #humantrafficking #parenting Share on X

If you think that digital abuse, moral deprogramming, transgender grooming, porn addiction, or even trafficking can’t happen to your child (because your child comes from a good family, or your child is smarter than that, or you’ve already warned them about digital dangers) you’re wrong.

Here are three real examples from good families with smart kids who talked about digital dangers together and still faced serious digital entanglement and danger.

February 3, 2025January 31, 2025

From Trafficking Victim to Advocate: Kelley’s Journey of Triumph and Transformation

Trafficking Victim, Kelley Frenchko-Gordon

When I first met Kelley, her smile and energetic disposition lit up the room. I would not have guessed her past. Her enthusiasm and zeal for life is contagious and inspiring. I’m certain you’ll find her message insightful. practical and full of hope.

It’s safe to say we are living in strange times, and sanity of mind is a hard thing to come by these days. Up is down, left is right, evil is good, good is evil, and we’re just trapped in the whirlwind of it all. But I’ll begin by posing this question: are we actually trapped or were we intentionally placed here for such a time as this? To speak truth louder than the lies and to shine forth a light in the darkness. To shake things up. To disturb things. To flip some tables. To raise up a generation who will not be silenced. A generation who will lead in boldness and power, authenticity and humility. A generation built by confrontation, having learned to stand in the face of opposition and fear. I believe wholeheartedly that we are called to just that, and if you’re reading this, I’ve got a feeling you do too.

January 10, 2025January 10, 2025

Opening My Eyes to the Realities of Sex Trafficking

January is Human Trafficking Awareness month. I met Jessica Brodie last fall and learned of her passion to educate others about the sex trafficking issue plaguing our society. Jessica offers insight and wisdom to us in her post.

Like many people, I used to make a lot of assumptions about sex trafficking—I assumed it only happened in “those” neighborhoods or to “those” kinds of kids—girls who didn’t know better, or whose moms were in the sex industry. I assumed the girls knew what they were getting into and simply made a choice—a bad one, but one they made with eyes wide open.

September 4, 2023September 5, 2023

Sound of Freedom

Sound of Freedom, the movie that packed theaters and reached number one at the box office quickly, is getting a lot of publicity. But the message of the movie is debated. Is it good or bad? Is it positive or negative? Does it help or harm the anti-human trafficking industry? Great questions, but not easily answered, in my opinion.

As with most topics, we can’t peg Sound of Freedom as all good or all bad. I believe those of us in the anti-human trafficking space critiqued the details of the movie more than the average American because of our knowledge on the subject.

January 25, 2021December 29, 2023

Porn Fuels Human Trafficking

In recognition of Human Trafficking Awareness Month, let’s look at the link between pornography and human trafficking.

Porn fuels human trafficking and human trafficking fuels porn. Let’s explore this statement.

Human trafficking is modern day slavery. It’s buying and selling humans. It’s objectification. Traffickers turn people into products or commodities—not just in countries “over there,” but in the states also!

Right now, TODAY, people—men, women, and children—are illegally traded. They are recruited, controlled and used through deception, force, and coercion. You may be thinking: How is this possible? And Why should I care? Before I answer these questions, let’s look at some facts.

October 10, 2018

Difficult Conversations: Talk About the Effects of Pornography

I am a mom of four and have been homeschooling for nineteen years. Over the past two decades I have teetered back and forth on whether parents should tell their children about the birds and the bees. And if they do tell them, what age is appropriate to have “the talk”? In Christian circles you will find a myriad of answers on when and how to expose your children to this subject. The spectrum widens in homeschooling circles because, as home school families, we have slightly more control over their environment. But let’s not kid ourselves; no amount of sheltering short of never leaving the house and having zero access to a TV or computer or phone will keep our children from hearing about sex. And if we think we can keep our kiddos from hearing about it, we are only deceiving ourselves. Continue reading “Difficult Conversations: Talk About the Effects of Pornography”