Ruthi Hanchett and Sandie Morgan discuss the role social media has played recently in spreading misinformation about human trafficking. They also go into detail about how the rise in children being online, due to COVID-19, is exposing them to a greater risk of coming into contact with predators. As mothers, both Sandie and Ruthi list actions parents can take to protect their children from becoming victims to predators.

Ruthi Hanchett

Ruthi Hanchett has been a leader in the field of children’s and women’s rights, human trafficking, and gender equality for over a decade. While working for World Vision International, she regularly represented the organization to global political leaders, the UN Human Rights Council, UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, UN Girls Education Initiative, and the NGO Advisory Council on Violence Against Children. One of her favorite responsibilities has been enabling children and youth around the globe to speak out for justice. Ruthi currently serves on the board of Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice, teaches as an adjunct professor, and coaches Vanguard’s Live2Free student-teams, which speak on human trafficking in local middle and high schools. Ruthi often lectures and speaks on issues related to human trafficking, as well as mentors survivors of human trafficking in her local community. Ruthi is a volunteer with the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force, a wife, and mamma to two little girls.

Key Points

The majority of people who are exploited are exploited by someone they know.

Ruthi and Sandie discuss the role social media has taken in spreading false information about human trafficking.

There has been a rise in predators accessing children online since quarantine began.

There are steps a parent can take to protect their children when online.

It is our job as a community to protect and look out for the children in our lives

Resources

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Transcript

Dave [00:00:00] You’re listening to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast; this is Episode 232: Social Media and Finding the Truth About Human Trafficking.

Production Credits [00:00:09] Produced by Innovate Learning, Maximizing Human Potential.

Dave [00:00:30] Welcome to the Ending Human Trafficking podcast. My name is Dave Stachowiak.

Sandie [00:00:36] And my name is Sandie Morgan.

Dave [00:00:38] And this is the show where we empower you to study the issues, be a voice, and make a difference in ending human trafficking. Sandie, we have a friend back with us today who’s been on several times before, who’s going to help us to navigate what’s happening in social media right now. We’re so glad to welcome back Ruthi Hanchett. She is the Live2Free coach, adjunct professor, and also on the board of the Global Center for Women and Justice here at Vanguard University. And she’s a mom, too. Hello, Ruthi. We’re glad to have you back.

Ruthi [00:01:11] Hi. It’s good to be back. Thanks.

Sandie [00:01:14] We want to dive into the flurry of social media that has just I mean, my inbox is full. I have emails, my phone. I get texts, I get phone calls because people are anxious about some of the stories being circulated on social media. So, I thought it would be a really interesting conversation for us to talk about it. Partly from the perspective of our basis. Both of us have been working and anti-trafficking for a very long time, but also from the perspective. I’m a grandmother, you’re a mom, Dave’s a dad. So how do we find the truth in the midst of all of this? And you have to factor in why we might be seeing this as it relates to having been in this lockdown mode. Does that have anything to do with how the longevity of some of these stories is emerging? So, Ruthi, you wrote a blog for the Global Center for Women and Justice. The title is Hashtag Activism, Conspiracy Theories, and the Truth About Human Trafficking. People if you want to see that blog, you can go to gcwj.org and click on blog, or you can find it on our Facebook and our Instagram. So tell us what your experience has been in this season.

Ruthi [00:02:51] Yeah. You know, there’s not a lot going on. It’s a very challenging and anxious time, as you mentioned, Sandie because people have a lot of concerns and fears right now for very good reasons. And a lot of us are facing these big challenges of working from home or having to work outside the home and not feeling completely safe. Concerned about our kids. You know, I’m homeschooling my kids right now back to school from home. And there’s a lot of fear and concerns and also this sense of not being in control. And then when we add in this issue of human trafficking, it’s scary because it is an awful thing to happen to anyone. And then when we think about it possibly happening to someone we love and care about, that makes us anxious. It makes us fearful. And so, I think people are looking for ways to control the narrative, to have some sense of both understanding what is this issue, how does it happen and how do I keep myself and my loved ones safe. But what we’re seeing, unfortunately, I think right now is a lot of misinformation on the Internet. A lot of posts and videos and documentaries and claims that are linking both human trafficking and the way it happens to even larger issues that people are concerned about. And that’s leading to this spiral of concern and anxiousness that I think is really hurting both us as a community and a society. But even hurting the real victims of human trafficking, because it’s perpetuating myths that simply aren’t true or typical of the real experiences that most human trafficking victims experience.

Sandie [00:04:29] So let’s start with one of the first ones. I woke up to a text. I wake up pretty early and my friend knew how early it was and she was texting me. Have you heard Wayfair is selling children in cabinets? And I just thought, oh, my goodness. I got to look this up and find out where she’s getting this. So talk about that.

Ruthi [00:04:53] Yeah. I also had those sorts of texts from friends like, have you seen, do you know, is this true? And I appreciate that pe...