ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Sufiyah Yasmine experienced sexual exploitation as a young person.
“I didn’t have adults looking out for me, and I pretty much ended up running right into the hands of people who would want to harm me or exploit me,” she said. “I did experience abuse that took place between the ages of 12 through 16.”
Now, Yasmine draws on that lived experience as a prevention advocate with Selah Freedom, a Sarasota-based anti-human trafficking nonprofit that helps other survivors who have experienced exploitation and abuse.
“It can impact an individual for a lifetime,” Yasmine said.
Nowadays, much of the abuse happens online — on social media sites and even video games.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children got more than 36 million tips of suspected online child sexual exploitation in 2023.
In many of the cases, young people are coerced into sending explicit photos to deceptive strangers who then blackmail them for money.
It’s become such a problem that now the federal government is getting involved.
Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security launched Know2Protect, a new awareness campaign, and announced partnerships with companies like Google, Roblox, SnapChat, and Meta.
Meta will promote the campaign on Facebook and Instagram.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway says education and awareness are so important because finding and prosecuting those responsible for the exploitation can be hard, if not impossible.
“Nine times out of ten — I’m not going to sit here and lie to you — we’re not going to catch these suspects,” he said.
Just last summer, St. Petersburg saw a spike in cases of online sexual exploitation of both children and adults.
“So, last summer, I’d say everything went up about 60-70% — probably higher,” he said.
In response, the department partnered with the FBI to raise awareness and produced a public service announcement that served as a warning to both children and parents.
Holloway says sexual exploitation cases have since plummeted.
“We’ve had 25 cases so far this year, and believe it or not, of those 25 cases, only one is a juvenile,” the chief said.
He hopes the new federal campaign will make a difference on the national level. He also hopes it will spur conversations between parents and their children.
“Be a parent. Monitor what your child is doing. Ask your child what they’re doing. And don’t be afraid to go look and see what your child is doing,” he said.
If you need help, you can call Selah Freedom at 1-888-8-FREE-ME, and if you suspect a child is being abused, call Homeland Security at 1-866-347-2423.
