What happens when a child trafficking survivor goes undercover online pretending to be a 12-year-old girl?

What Kim Kelley told me about what happened next is something I think every parent needs to hear.

Kim says she is a child trafficking survivor and child safety advocate who was born and raised inside the Children of God cult. She describes growing up in a world where trafficking, exploitation and coercive control were all she knew. Today, she has taken what she survived and turned it into a mission to protect other children.

In this episode, Kim takes me inside her undercover work with law enforcement investigating online predators and trafficking. She tells me what happened when she created profiles posing as a 12- and 13-year-old girl using an innocent photo.

She didn't message anyone. She didn't send friend requests. She didn't like posts or invite anyone to connect.

They found her.

And that's where this conversation really hit home for me as a Mom.

We talk about online predators, smartphones, social media, location-based apps, children's mental health and why we can't simply assume that technology companies are going to protect our kids for us.

Kim also challenges some of the conventional narratives surrounding trafficking and explains why she believes we need to better understand what child trafficking actually is and the different forms exploitation can take.

But I don't want this episode to leave parents terrified or feeling helpless.

One of my favorite parts of our conversation is Kim's challenge to all of us: pick five kids.

You don't have to solve child trafficking. You don't have to fix the entire internet. You don't have to spend every day consuming horrifying stories and worrying about everything that could happen.

Look at the kids around you.

Your children. Your nieces and nephews. Your friends' kids. Your neighbors' kids. The kids on your child's team.

Pay attention. Be involved. Be someone they can trust.

Because maybe you can't protect every child.

But you can start with five.

This is an uncomfortable conversation, but it's one I believe parents need to hear.

🎙️ Melissa Unfiltered

This episode contains discussions of child trafficking, exploitation, abuse and online sexual predation. Listener discretion is advised.

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