When most people picture human traffickers, they often imagine masked men kidnapping teenage girls, speeding away in white vans with tinted windows. However human trafficking goes far beyond abduction. The act includes fraud, deception, abuse of power, or providing payments or benefits to exploit someone.
To protect and uplift the well-being of Black girls, you must recognize certain push and pull techniques used by exploiters. Push factors include things like disasters, violence, racial or gender discrimination, and lack of or limited employment and educational opportunities. Pull factors are things like safety, security, jobs and improved quality of life.
At the 5th Annual Black Girls Equity Summit and Awards Ceremony, we took a deeper dive into understanding how these factors are used to attract underaged victims. In a candid conversation led by young people, panelists share their experiences with exploitation, trafficking and survival.
Speakers Included:
Jovanna – Youth Voice Speaker
Brittany Brown – Gwen’s Girls young adult program coordinator
Korie Christian-Moreland – Allegheny County Department of Social Services youth support partner
Karleigh Maide – Gwen’s Girls BGALA mentor
Jalisha – Youth Voice Speaker
The panel discussion was one of the most talked about sessions at the summit. So it’s no surprise that Gwen’s Girls is launching it’s live replay events starting with Voices of Youth: Push Pull Techniques.
Watch the replay on Thursday, October 29th at 3 PM EST on our Facebook channel. Learn about the push and pull techniques often used by exploiters and the programs and practices that can break the cycle of abuse.
Join the live chat in the comments as we explore solutions to this problem and seek to answer critical questions, such as how to avoid arrests of young girls, how to keep them safe and how to move them out of survival mode.
We’ll share key findings in our latest reports as well as recommendations, such as creating a
24-hour hotline for services and resources.