Runaway Teenagers - Vulnerable Targets for Predators
August 31, 2017
Hosted by Opal Singleton
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Guest Information
Episode Description
Nearly every other day it seems Million Kids posts cases on the Facebook page about how runaway teenagers are targeted for sex trafficking or sextortion. It is truly heartbreaking. This week we will have as our special guest, Lindsey Kahney, Prevention Specialist for the National Runaway Safeline. Together we will discuss the statistics revealing how often this is happening around the country. We will talk about why kids choose to runaway; some of the driving forces of conflict between teens and their families; and the impact of social media on the issue. Lindsey will share with us solutions for families who have had a child who chose to runaway from home and preventative ideas for families who have a child who may be at risk.
EXPLOITED: Crimes Against Humanity
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This program is designed to educate first responders, civic leaders, social workers, education professionals, faith based leaders and parents about how predators access, groom, recruit and exploit victims into prostitution and sextortion. We analyze real cases from the perspective of Law Enforcement, the victim, and the perpetrator. We look at hard core trafficking cases and how law enforcement is able to intervene. We examine cases of child pornography and the Dark Web. We examine how predators use apps, chatrooms, games and the latest technologies. We discuss the impact of gangs and cartels on human exploitation. We also look at trends in global human trafficking. Our goal is to build a global interactive community of individuals empowered to eradicate human exploitation.
Opal Singleton
Opal Singleton is a global human trafficking and child pornography expert. She has trained tens of thousands of first responders, government and civic leaders, faith based leaders and education administrators about how predators groom and recruit innocent victims into prostitution and exploitation. Opal works with the Riverside County (CA) Anti Human Trafficking Task Force through a Department of Justice grant. Opal sits with parents of missing kids and assists teens in trouble through social media. Opal is the President and CEO of Million Kids, a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating child sex trafficking. She has authored a book “Seduced: The Grooming of America’s Teenagers” to educate parents and grandparents and educators about how predators use apps, chatrooms, online video gaming and social media to exploit young people. Opal is on the Board of Rapha House serving human trafficking victims in Cambodia, Thailand and Haiti. She is an Instructor for the USC Sol Price Institute for Safe Communities training law enforcement administrators and is an Instructor for the Los Angeles Fire Training Academy. Opal retired in 2000 after a lifelong career in international marketing having accrued nearly three million frequent flyer miles. Opal is passionate about protecting families and youth from predators and is dedicated to providing an in-depth global interactive internet training program to educate leaders around the world to stop human exploitation and trafficking.
