If you want to understand why sex trafficking keeps thriving even when victims are rescued and traffickers are arrested, we have to talk about the part many people avoid: demand. I’m joined by survivor and The SOAP Project founder Theresa Flores for a direct, compassionate conversation about the buyers who keep the market alive and the myths that protect them.

We break down the common story that prostitution is “harmless” or that people in commercial sex are simply choosing easy money, and we talk about the violence and coercion that so often sit behind the scenes. Theresa connects the dots between vulnerability, grooming, and the way traffickers exploit unmet needs like safety, shelter, and belonging. We also look at how the internet, social media, and even chat features in online games can create access points that predators use to target kids.

Then we move into what demand reduction actually looks like: men holding other men accountable, churches and community leaders addressing porn addiction and normalization, and practical programs that focus on buyers, including “John school” approaches and law enforcement stings. If you’ve ever wondered what you can do beyond sharing headlines, this conversation offers clear next steps rooted in awareness and action.

Subscribe for more conversations that turn awareness into protection, share this episode with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more people can find the show and help end human trafficking.

To learn more about The SOAP Project visit:
https://www.SOAPProject.org
The SOAP Project 
803-566-SOAP (7627) 

A single moment of privacy can be the difference between staying trapped and getting out and Theresa Flores has seen it happen. As a survivor of human trafficking and the founder of The SOAP Project, Theresa joins Julie Schwenzer to break down how ordinary community members can take action that is simple, safe, and surprisingly powerful. We talk about why awareness matters, but also why awareness without a next step leaves too many kids behind.

Theresa shares the origin story of The SOAP Project, including the hard truth that many victims do not realize what is happening to them, which makes direct “Are you being trafficked?” questions ineffective. That’s where the soap labels come in: a discreet message and the human trafficking hotline placed in hotels and motels, where trafficking so often occurs. You’ll hear what hotel staff can learn to watch for, why “if you see something, say something” applies to all of us, and how building a true neighborhood village helps prevent grooming and exploitation of missing and runaway youth.

We also get practical about how organizations, churches, schools, and families can volunteer, join outreach events in cities across the country, and support survivor services through donations and fundraising. Theresa describes wellness retreats, healing weekends, and programs that help survivors rebuild their lives with community around them. If this conversation moves you, subscribe, share it with someone who works with youth or travel, and leave a review so more people find real tools for human trafficking prevention.

To learn more about The SOAP Project visit:
https://www.SOAPProject.org
The SOAP Project 
803-566-SOAP (7627) 

A trafficker doesn’t need a van or a dark alley. Sometimes it starts with a single sentence in a mall: “You have pretty eyes.” We sit down with Theresa Flores, human trafficking survivor and founder of The SOAP Project, to unpack the real-world recruitment and grooming tactics predators use to identify vulnerability, earn trust, and quietly pull kids away from safety.

We talk through what grooming actually looks like over time, including the “Romeo pimp” playbook where a trafficker acts like a boyfriend, showers a child with attention and gifts, and then pivots into pressure, trauma bonds, and threats. Theresa also explains why the most dangerous situations can hide behind normal excuses like “teenage hormones,” and shares clear red flags families and schools can watch for: sudden depression, exhaustion, sleeping in class, grades dropping, unexplained new clothes or items, changing friend groups, signs of violence, and emerging drug use.

We also zoom out to the community level with a hard truth many people never hear: the scale of missing children. Theresa explains why The SOAP Project places missing kids posters in hotels, motels, and 24-hour restaurants like Denny’s and IHOP, and why those everyday locations can become turning points for a child trying to get free.

Finally, we dig into online safety and how video game chat, Roblox, Grand Theft Auto, and other platforms can become grooming pipelines. Theresa breaks down sextortion, how predators pose as peers, and what parents can do right now to “step up our game” at home. If this conversation helps you, subscribe, share it with someone who has kids, and leave a review so more people can find these human trafficking prevention resources.

To learn more about The SOAP Project visit:
https://www.SOAPProject.org
The SOAP Project 
803-566-SOAP (7627) 

Most people think human trafficking looks like a stranger grabbing someone off the street. That myth is exactly what puts kids at risk and keeps survivors silent. Julie Schwenzer sits down with Theresa Flores, a human trafficking survivor and the founder of the SOAP Project, to define trafficking in plain language and separate facts from the stories we see on TV.

We talk through the real definition of human trafficking: force, fraud, or coercion used to compel commercial sex or forced labor, with someone else profiting financially. Theresa explains how trafficking can happen without anyone being physically “kidnapped,” and why the money component matters when we’re trying to understand what is trafficking and what is not. We also unpack how manipulation, blackmail, and control can trap someone even when it looks “voluntary” from the outside.

Then we get painfully practical about where trafficking shows up in daily life. Theresa shares why familial trafficking is so common, why many exploited kids have a history of earlier abuse, and how LGBTQ youth who are kicked out can be pushed into survival sex. We also challenge the dangerous idea that minors are “bad kids” who choose this, and we put responsibility where it belongs: on traffickers and buyers.

If you want clear human trafficking education, realistic prevention insights, and a conversation that centers survivors with honesty, press play. Subscribe, share this with someone who still believes the kidnapping myth, and leave a review so more people can find this work.

To learn more about The SOAP Project visit:
https://www.SOAPProject.org
The SOAP Project 
803-566-SOAP (7627) 

She was 15, going to school during the day, and getting trafficked at night while still living at home. That reality is what drives Theresa Flores, a human trafficking survivor and the founder of The SOAP Project, to keep pushing for prevention that actually reaches people where trafficking hides in plain sight.

We talk through Theresa’s personal journey, including why “typical” kids can be targeted and how low self-esteem, frequent moves, and the need to belong can become vulnerabilities traffickers exploit. Then we shift to what’s changed today: the internet, social media, and the rise of sextortion. Theresa explains how blackmail can start with a single message or photo and spiral into fear, isolation, and serious mental health pressure for teens who already feel like no one is listening.

You’ll also hear how The SOAP Project turns awareness into action through community outreach that’s simple but powerful: volunteers label bars of soap with the National Human Trafficking Hotline number, deliver them to hotels and motels, and educate staff on trafficking signs. We dig into why hotels are a key intervention point, plus what survivor support can look like in real life, from retreats for male and female survivors to emergency help and major dental assistance.

If you care about human trafficking prevention, protecting children, and building safer communities, listen through and share this with someone who works with teens or travelers. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell us what your community could do next to make exploitation harder and help survivors heal.

To learn more about The SOAP Project visit:
https://www.SOAPProject.org
The SOAP Project 
803-566-SOAP (7627)