ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Sufiya Yasmin experienced sexual exploitation at a young age.
“With no adults to protect me, I found myself directly in the hands of people who wanted to harm and exploit me,” she said. “I was abused between the ages of 12 and 16.”
Now, Yasmin uses her lived experience to serve as a prevention advocate for Sera Freedom, a Sarasota-based anti-trafficking nonprofit that supports other survivors of exploitation and abuse.
“It can affect an individual for life,” Yasmin says.
Much of the abuse now occurs online, such as on social media sites and video games.
The National Center on Missing and Exploited Children received more than 36 million tips on suspected online child sexual exploitation in 2023.
Often young people are forced to send explicit photos to deceptive strangers, who are then blackmailed for money.
It’s become such a problem that the federal government is now involved.
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security launched a new awareness campaign, Know2Protect, and announced partnerships with companies including Google, Roblox, SnapChat, and Meta.
Meta will promote the campaign on Facebook and Instagram.
St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said education and awareness are critical because it is difficult, if not impossible, to find and prosecute those responsible for exploitation.
“Most likely, I’m not going to sit here and lie. 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 think everything was up about 60-70%, probably higher than that,” he said.
In response, the department worked with the FBI to create a public service announcement to raise awareness and serve as a warning to both children and parents.
Since then, Holloway said, sexual exploitation cases have fallen sharply.
“We’ve had 25 cases so far this year, and believe it or not, only one of those 25 involved a juvenile,” the chief said.
He hopes the new federal campaign will make a difference at the national level. He also hopes it will encourage conversations between parents and children.
“Be a parent. Monitor what your child is doing. Ask your child what he or she is doing. And encourage yourself to go and see what your child is doing.” Don’t be afraid,” he said.
If you need help, call Selah Freedom at 1-888-8-FREE-ME. If you suspect a child is being abused, call the Department of Homeland Security at 1-866-347-2423.
