Riverside County hosts virtual human trafficking conference

Touching on a wide variety of topics relating to human trafficking and the prevention of human trafficking in Riverside County, the 2021 Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children Virtual Conference was hosted by Riverside County DPSS – Children's Services Monday, Jan. 11, through Thursday, Jan. 14.

The event kicked off with a keynote speech by Ashley Hanson, a senior transition age youth peer support specialist with RUHS-Behavioral Health who was a survivor of commercial sexual exploitation.

She shared her experience of recovery and laid out how in 2019, Hanson obtained her bachelor's degree in sociology and is due to graduate with her master's degree in social work from California Baptist University April 2021.

"Who knew that was meant to be my journey being here as a peer support as a parent partner," Hanson said. "It wasn't until my life experiences gave other parents and other youth hope that I finally realized that I was meant to go through all those things. Getting to provide services within RUHS has given every single experience that I've gone through meaning and purpose. I've been able through my own recovery to heal from those wounds and learn the skills that I need when things get tough.

"Always try to remember. It's not going to happen right away most of the time, all the time, actually. My experience is completely different from all the youths I've ever worked with. The things that we have in common are the feelings. Maybe not the experiences, maybe not the verbiage, but what we do have in common is the shame and guilt.

"That's why it's so vital that we just meet them where they're at," she said.

Clayton Cranford, owner of Cybersafetycop.com, gave a presentation entitled "Social Media & Youth: Threats and Solutions," explaining current technology and applications that youth are using to access the internet and social media networks.

"Parents are like 'I don't know how to talk about it, I don't know what it is and when I talk about it I feel kind of done talking about it,'" Cranford said. "One of the goals that I have is to empower parents so that they know how to do this successfully. A lot of the problems they have is because kids don't feel safe to go to mom and dad and ask for help because they're pretty sure mom and dad will take everything away. So, they'd rather suffer than lose the connectivity to all of their friends in the entire world.

"And sometimes that suffering includes being trafficked, being sexually exploited. I have lots of stories, real stories about real families and parents and children where we have a kid going from your average happy-go-lucky kid and the parents saying, 'Something happened over the summer. I just saw my child withdraw and hide and get depressed, and I do know how to help my kid.'

"And later they found out that the child had been sexually exploited online and extorted with a nude image that they shared. A bad choice and now the thing is hanging over their head and they're being extorted to do things online for a predator. That is not an unusual story," he said.

Cranford talked about cyberbullying and other online threats that are defined with current trends and real-world examples. Finally, he gave participants tools and an action plan that they can immediately begin using.

"What predators are looking for, they're looking for someone who is vulnerable," Cranford said. "A child that is emotionally needy, isolated, needy or lacks self-confidence and frankly that describes every child at one point in their life. This is typically every kid, and that's why I've had cases where kids were being exploited and trafficked in a nice home, in a nice family in South Orange County. With two parents in there and all the advantages that a child could want, right? Money, access to education, all the things that a child could need and want. Parents need to understand that some are more vulnerable than others and that it could be your kid too," he said.

Also speaking at the event was Dr. Katarina Rosenblatt, author of "Stolen," highlighting her experiences as a 13-year-old runaway who became part of a prostitution ring from which she narrowly escaped with her life; Opal Singleton, president of Million Kids, and Norma Vazquez, director of anti-human trafficking programs for Operation SafeHouse.

"It is a challenge to get people to collaborate, to become aware," Rosenblatt said. "But most tips come from the general public. If you see something, please say something, because you could be the one to make a difference."

Over the course of the four days, topics included pimp culture, Marsy's Law, "Rape Trauma Syndrome: Aftermath," positive youth development, technology and human trafficking, grooming of children and parents, harm reduction and peer recruitment and more.

It was unclear at press time whether the presentations would be available to view following the event's conclusion.

City News Service contributed this report.

Jeff Pack can be reached by email at [email protected].