By Lydia VanDerKamp, Contributing Writer

Your child could be the next victim of sex trafficking. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, there has been a 90% increase in reports of missing and exploited children. While cybersecurity education is available to teach children and young adults how to be protected from online predators, many are still kidnapped or exploited. Others are promised jobs or fame and tricked into leaving with strangers who abuse them—some of whom even sell children to the highest bidder in an online auction to be sexually abused. 

Truly, sex slavery is on the rise in America, and it is not stopping. Operation Underground Railroad, or O.U.R., is a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending this destructive habit. Tim Ballard, the organization’s CEO, inspired the launch of the Rise Up for Children campaign, which launched on July 30, 2020, on World Day Against Trafficking, to raise awareness of these horrendous acts and rescue children who are forced into the sex slavery industry. Ballard emphasizes the importance of government enforcement in these matters. O.U.R. partners with over 25 states in the U.S. and several countries worldwide to save victims, prosecute predators and provide support services for survivors. 

In 2019, over 3,000 individuals were rescued.  O.U.R.'s YouTube channel has several real-life stories that will fill your heart with compassion. These emotional stories will make you start asking, so what’s next? Help starts by raising awareness. To show your support, volunteer to attend or host an educational session. You can read more about the Rise Up for Children campaign here. To further show  your support, please share this blog with your family and friends to stay united in our endeavor to end slavery. And if you haven’t, sign up for our newsletter in the footer of any page of our website, one-bread.org, to stay updated on the latest news and ways to combat child sex trafficking.